We might have had to wait the whole weekend after Tika’s “I Let My Heart Break” arrived on Friday, but Erika Vikman’s UMK 2020 “Cicciolina” has finally dropped.
Armed with a new format, the Finnish broadcaster YLE is searching for the song to take them back to the grand final.
Erika Vikman “Cicciolina” (UMK 2020)
Erika’s song is enticingly described as an “energetic Finndisco piece, where no attempts are made to hide sexual freedom.” The jury also thinks it may become a staple of Finnish bachelorette parties. Erika typically sings in Finnish and “Cicciolina” is no exception.
Music and lyrics: Janne Rintala, Mika Laakkonen, Janne Rintala, Erika Vikman, Saskia Vanhalakka
UMK 2020
The final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020 will take place on 7 March in Tampere. Hosted by Mikko Silvennoinen and Eurovision veteran Krista Siegfrids, the winner will be decided by televote and an expert jury.
In the past two years, Finland has internally selected its artist and utilised UMK to select their song. This yielded mixed results, with Saara Aalto ending a three year non-qualification streak in 2018 before Darude and Sebastian Rejman crashed out in Tel Aviv.
This year, YLE has abandoned the internal selection and UMK will feature six different artists vying for the right to represent Finland in Rotterdam.
It’s definitely trash but I kind of like it because it’s so fun and positive. Finland has 50/50 chances because there’s no clear 100% qualifier. I’d go for Sansa since I enjoy the vibe but I understand that eurofans won’t appreciate it.
as electronic’n 90’s fan, this song is for me, what a catchy tune, especially intro, hell yesh~
mah selection winner~
Oh come on ppl! Euroclubs, couple of drinks, Cicciolina.. perfection 😉 just surrender 🙂
Finland is surely last if they really are going to select this awful bad song! It has no chance also because its singed in finnish, great majority of people hate finnish language because its so ugly language. Finns seems to be extremist, they are all the time in wrong time so their selections are always worst possible. This is same thing as that horrible bad punk band was, finnis believed that everybody loves it but everybody outside finland hate it. Finns songs in eurovision are always something which is musically very weak, I suppose they believe that stupid show and… Read more »
Bit harsh of you. We Finns live in a very secluded community as we don’t really socialize with other cultures. But we have some amazing and beautiful things as well. I hate the song too but you’re wrong about our media industry as a whole. And Finnish isn’t an ugly language. Klingon is 😀
I have been in Helsinki and there I saw many interracial couples. If I compare it to many other cities in europe the difference was notable. That tells very different about socializing with different cultures. Nice city to visit, but that song have no change to qualify.
What the hell does interracial couples have anything to do with the last comment? You have a screw loose somewhere.
Wow this comment is so cruel and disrespectful. I would love to give a huge answer to it, but my honour tells me to just complement Erika for her great entry! <3
It sound like You are a Finn and woman? – Why Finnish women attack against a song which is for their rights to be equally treated as men? In YouTube all from other countries say the language is beautiful in this song, but Finns are repeatedly explaining “how awful Finnish language is” and how difficult.-Why ?? It is neither of these according to comments I have heard from foreigners. Actually you can speak Finnish in quite an awful way, and many do especially in rural areas and in northern part of Finland. -But also in a quite beautiful way if… Read more »
Sound like Abbas song
Remember, one of thr crude indicators of its advantage is that it reaches more than 150k views only one day after its release.
For the Dutch and belgium people out there its sounds like a k3 song. Voor het begin
No it does not.
I’m Dutch and I LOVE Cicciolina
This is so pure oldschool schlager that I hate to love and love to hate. Of course it will crash and burn eventually, no matter how much love it well get by the fandom…
I’ve missed those finnish pop-schlagers so much. Thank you, Erika!
So you would suggest another title instead of ‘Cicciolina’?
I don’t really get why the song would be called ‘Argentina’ (or argentiina in finnish).
Erika was inspired by a documentary she watched about Cicciolina. And the song is about living like Cicciolina. Since it’s a person’s name it really can’t be translated.
So I think it makes sense that a song about Cicciolina is called ‘Cicciolina’
Did I misunderstand your comment or would you like to explain further what you ment?
It’s very catchy. I love it!
I would like this song to represent Finnland this year, but with one condition: They MUST keep it in Finnish.
Erika has promised in multiple interviews that she will never record or perform this in English so no worries on that one! 😀
this is definitely not disco, and it’s also very, very messy, and i also really, really hope it doesn’t win, BUT it’s also like the most concentrated espresso shot of schlager that’s ever existed, so… go off erika for keeping the genre going strong
This was worst I have never heard Finland producing. It was too embarrassing to listen, its horrible bad. As I understand she is together with 80 year old man and praising someone like cicciolina!!?? First Finland song was honestly very good, but this is ultimate worst possible. It has 0 chance to qualify and its completely disgusting!
Many strong reactions here haha. I think we all should count to 3 and breath. We all know it will not win in Finland and its not the best song ever or the worst song ever.
iceland 2018 – are you sure ?
of course this is adored by many, ”ethnic fun bop” as many are saying
LOVE IT. Absolutely loving it.
I really, really, really love this.
The best so far in UMK! I hope Finland will send Erika to Eurovision 🙂 it’s fun!
I know this will be divisive as an entry. But, for me this works. I love it. It’s fun, I can dance to it and she seems really fun. Will be on this year’s eurovision playlist for me. That being said, maybe not a great choice for May Finland.
No, not for me. The music and the melody are annoying, I’m not into disco music so it sounds dated to me. Well, maybe it is retro, not dated, but as I said disco music is not my thing. They say the message is interesting but I don’t understand a single word so that doesn’t help obviously. I like famous classic disco songs from the 70s and early 80s, I also like music in foreing languages not only in Spanish or English, but all in all “Cicciolina” is just not interesting nor funny or enjoyable. I wouldn’t be surprised if… Read more »
This has nothing to do with “disco”, it’s utterly crap…
You could understand the message just by searching the translated lyrics on Google. It’s that easy. Not everything has to be in English.
I quite like it. To date, this is my fav! Go Erika!!! 🙂
He he he.. I don’t think I will add it to my playlist.. It sounds dated in a bad way.
I love this song. Retro disco , catchy , funny and above all in finnish. Top 10 material.
Just… Nope
Date sound but it can qualify if they can create so fun on the stage. That’s the fun side of Eurovision. Just like IOTA from Australia. It all depends on the staging.
Not date sound, but retro sound
It’s dated for me. The retron sound can also sound current if it’s done right. Dance Alone is an example but she sucked live. But dated doesn’t mean bad. This can surprise people if they can create some fun on the stage.
Something between Verka, Poland 2014 and Fin Marry me 2013.
I’m sorry, but this does nothing for me. For me it sounds dated and not fun. A little plus for not being in English, but that’s it.
Actually, after hearing both Tika and Erika’s songs, I think this year’s UMK is getting me so excited that the renewed format is exactly what Finland needs. As a Finnish pop music and UMK lover, I assure you Finnish music industry is of high standard. It’s just they don’t really find the right way through in EUROVISION. After this year’s presenting, I am already confident that Finland could stick to the new format in the next decade and may even win. Nothing is eternal as in EUROVISION!????
The intro is cool, the beat is dynamic, the Finnish language sounds good. Erika is selling the style and the “retro-vibes”, meant in a positive way. It’s actually my new favorite of the season 😀
Playboy! 😉
Its honestly a very fun song, will it win ESC? No. But will it be memorable? Absolutely. She is absolutely gorgeous an tbh this is gonna be the one to beat since UMK has kinda let me down in the selwction in the past. Hopefully we keep stepping the bars up!
Look, I’ll just say it: remember Saara Aalto? Remember how fans hyped her up like crazy when her song wasn’t honestly that original in the grand scheme of things? Remember how she finished third(!!!) in the OGAE vote and finished second-to-last in the final? This song is not honestly that different. I know it’s fun and appealing and if it’s staged well enough it could be a real fan favorite (like an Alcazar sort of deal), but fans (especially Finnish fans) need to bear in mind that this is 100% not a guaranteed smash at the contest. Maybe it would… Read more »
Remember how Saara’s staging ruined everything? Hyping up is ok if you deliver with your staging, let’s hope Erika does.
Saara was also disadvantaged by the presence of Netta and Eleni in the competition, in that a lot of potential Monsters fans ended up supporting Toy and or Fuego, meaning she lost a lot of televotes. While there are likely to be at least a couple of Fuego like songs at ESC, Toy can’t really be reproduced, so Erika would have less competition for televotes as it were. I do concede that this will struggle with the jurors though.
The way she pronounces Cicciolina is weird. It should be tchee-tcho-lee-na, she says tchee-tchee-oh-lee-na. Oh and that song is awful.
What. Is. This. Nonsense?
No wonder ESC gays are loving it – it’s trash.
Looks like the ESC gays downvoted you lmao this is indeed awful, I guess people dont want Finland qualifying with the way they are trying to make it happen
“No wonder ESC gays are loving it – it’s trash” Just freaking @ me next time oml
This is something that belongs to a different era. ESC moved away from this trash looooong time ago.
Yes this is trashy indeed. There’s Finnish Eurovision community name Viisukuppila it’s very dated with their opinions. I visited their wall some time ago and for my amusement I learnt Cicciolina is Viisukuppila’s favorite :D. They also follow ESCForum and Wiwibloggs so I bet they’re who downvoted you. Sorry Viisukuppila. If you read this: I wonder how bad all those drop out 594 songs were if Cicciolina selected.
I probably don’t share the enthusiasm of most of you here, but this is indeed a charming earworm (the chorus is already stuck in my head!). I hope the lyrics are smart (I suppose it’s too early to find a translation) and the performance to be unapologetically retro just as the song is. As Azaad pointed, it’s clearly a homage and I would prefer a well done throw-back to a different musical age than any pale attempt to reproduce a hit from a few years ago.
Chorus:
One beutiful day when i arrive to you.
It wouldn’t help even if i would dress up nun’s gown.
Or even if whole Argentine would cry for me.
If one has already lived like Cicciolina
For the pleasure i put crown in my head
And if i want, you will kneel before me
One can see the world so beutiful,
If you have lived like Cicciolina
That actually seems quite well written. So the message is that she should embrace her sexuality and not try to be demure to please society?
Nope.
YES exactly, basically not to give a f*ck about what people and the society thinks and live free and enjoy life as you like!
The translated lyrics are in the lyric video’s comment section on youtube if you’re interested
Thank you Riri and Oxu, you were both very helpful. 🙂 It seems the lyrics will make it even more divisive, because they’re pretty straight-forward, just the opposite we normally have in Eurovision. They made it clear to me that Erika is presenting a character (Cicciolina ist not just name-dropping) and let’s see how she’ll play it. I’ve seen a video of her performing “Vogue”, so she has previous experience with this kind of performance.
It’s more than a yes from me.
From me too ! Sometime I like eurotrash and I love finnish language.
Just, NO!
This genre is actually quite popular in Finland and it’s an artist staying true to her style. That combination has been relatively rare in earlier editions of UMK. Also she’s great live. Getting excited about the national selection of my own country is something that has never happened to me before and I’m all for it. Hopefully the rest of the songs will keep up the hype.
No. Maybe if Aiste sang it.
Kidding. Just no.
Yes! I love this 80s disco realness! This is camp at its best, and I miss it so much in Eurovision. It may very well be the best song I’ve heard so far during this pre-ESC season. As Laura Voutilainen sang in 2002 – “Cicciolina”, I’m addicted to you!
anyway here it’s more about the entertainment than the song itself. yeah, it’s dated af, but i’ll overlook it bc she clearly isn’t trying to create a radio hit, she’s rather selling a character. it’s just…very entertaining and it does what it has to do very well!
It’s not dated, it’s retro. It’s not an accident.
Still don’t understand the hypocrisy with him. He loved Verona but anything else is dated…
By the way, “Verona” was one of the entries that came my to mind after I’ve listened to “Cicciolina”. I also thought about “I Do” from last year’s Melfest and “Say Na Na Na”. All of them are clearly not trying to sound current and this ends up being a big part of their charm (though, of course, some will appeal more than others to each one of us).
I couldn’t agree more! A lot of songs in the past have purposefully done this, yet some people look past it and label it “dated”
and what about it? i live near verona it was an unintentionally comical tribute
Absolutely not ! At least could it stand out and it´s memorable – yes, “retro” ist the correct description.
This is actually really catchy song. And so great that it’s in Finnish. We need more languages in Eurovision!
Because it sounds like the 80s/90s rather than the 00s it comes off as a vintage homage rather than being dated. Good staging could make this a real treat in both Tampere and Rotterdam. So far UMK has been good. Neither Tika or Erika would realistically win ESC but they would be massive improvements on Darude.
I quite like this, probably would of been a top ten hit in 1996 in Finland. It reminds me of those songs you would here at the end of eurotrash back in the day.
Cool song! 🙂
Love it!
This is fun!
Wow! set free the diva inside you! ^^
I like how every sentence in finnish sounds just a little bit too long and clumsy xD