The war has just begun! UMK 2020 has launched a new format to determine the song and artist who will Finland in Rotterdam. One song has been released each day and today marks the final release. Catharina Zühlke has released her song “Eternity” and the lineup is now complete.
Catharina Zühlke “Eternity” (UMK 2020)
Fans may remember Catharina Zühlke from UMK 2017, where she finished second with “Perfect Villain”. Now performing with her first name as well, her song is described as being about “the power of love”. Zühlke says she “got a strong feeling that [her] song has a greater meaning.” The UMK jury doesn’t hold back, describing the song as a “potential world-beater at the Eurovision Song Contest.”
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. With the release of “Eternity”, Catharina Zühlke completes the lineup of entries.
Is no one listening to the lyrics?
Those last couple of lines are a punch in the stomach; what a powerful twist. I want to listen again, but I think there’s something in my eye.
This is my favorite song of the season so far.
1-Cicciolina
2- Looking Back
3-Lover View
4-Eternity
5-I Let My Heart Break
6-Bananas
Good luck Suomi! :3
When the song started I kinda liked it – what a sweet balad, I thought. Then the beat joint the party and I was disappointed.
Oh, well – my top 3 of UMK:
1. F3M
2. Aksel Kankaanranta
3. Sansa
her voice sounds great but the instrumental really didn’t need that cheap dance beat! this way it sounds like a late-00s remix. oh well, looking back and cicciolina are still great choices for different reasons, so finland should be fine.
Some say it’s cheap, some say it sounds like Avicii. lol. Gotta love the internet.
avicii sweetie… leave his blessed soul alone.
I am the only one who do not like any of these songs ? 🙁 i think Erika should win, but her song remind me some Abba’s songs
I feel 10 countries in Semi 2 will have better songs then Finland. It will be an upphill battle for Finland to qualify this year.
I was really liking it at the start and then that cheap eurodance beat started and ruined everything…
Am I the only one who thinks none of the Finnish songs are deserving of representing them?
Keep disliking my comment triggered Finns, I said what had to be said.
I’m not Finn, and I disliked. Why are you so sure that those are Finns? Doesn’t make any sense.
But don’t you understand, that this is Finlands’ real level. Finland have not sent any amazing top 10 songs since 2014. But Finland can go to the final. They are placed in the end of semi 2, which is good
For me, it cannot beat “Perfect Villain”, but her voice is great and I love her personality.
I would definitely send Erika to Rotterdam though <3
While everyone is (deservingly) praising Portugal and The Czech Republic for their HQ selections, I want to take a moment and do the same for Finland. Only last year they dire selection of three weak songs and now the quality jumped by several degrees. Out of six songs, I think that five of them would probably return them to the finals (Bananas is okay for a casual listening, but neither compelling enough to dwell on it, nor “bananas” enough to qualify as a guilty pleasure.) Other five songs have different strengths, but with a proper staging, any of them could… Read more »
Wouldn’t go that far in praise but their streamlined approach has resulted in a decent NF with songs that can do well at ESC as complete packages. They certainly won’t end up last in their semi again
This isn’t terrible by any means but it does make three minutes feel very long.
Not bad. But i think I am rooting for Bananas.
Catharina herself is awesome, although the song “Eternity” is not an absolute winner.
The UMK contest I think is wide open this year. How exciting. 🙂
Disappointed by UMK this year. I think more likely than not Finland aren’t gonna qualify this year.
What did you expect? This is not Melodifestivalen (thats a cringe show tho)
I actually loved UMK in 2017 (Reach out for the Sun, Circle of Lights, Paradise, Arrows and Black Bird were all really good), this year I’m not in love with any of the songs, they are either really dated or chessy or so mainstream (Looking Back) that you can feel that the artist has no connection with the song itself
The lyrics aren’t the best but there’s something special here. Very pared back (and e-nun-ci-a-ted) it almost gets stale, but then changes up. I feel like people may not get the song immediately or turn it off a minute in, but if you can get to the last minute it’s so worth it.
I had high hopes for her but am dissapointed… saying that no one had any high hopes for Perfect Villain (was all about Circle of light) but she nearly won the NF.
Not my thing, sorry. I guess with a fun performance “Cicciolina” is the song that can make Finland stand out in Rotterdam, though “Lover View” is the song with more chances to make to my playlists. Aksel and Tika may wow voters with their vocals, so I wouldn’t count them out yet.
My favourite song so fär.
It’s like Zero Gravity, but with an awful and generic set of lyrics. Cicciolina is the only song with chances to stand out in Eurovision.
One more person that dont know the meaning of the word generic. Tired to explain it for the 5000th time.
What?
Hmm.. It’s definitely not a world beater 😀 But this year’s UMK is still a step forward from past years. I don’t know what’s up with these comical English lyrics though. Hopefully the live show will be a success. Also Cicciolina is currently 6th on Finland top 50 Spotify which is pretty much unheard of for a UMK or even for a eurovision related song.
its not a world beater but I like listening to it – it makes fun. And I feel in some parts some Avicii vibes (without you)
I’ll stand firm behind Tika to represent Finland.
I also find it hilarious that a country like Lithuania has a better selection of songs compared to both Norway and Finland.
Why is Lithuania doing well such a hilarious or ludicrous circumstance? Lithuania is a perfectly respectable country. Lithuania won the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Biennale.
Fine enough for a NF, but it’s like a more orchestrally driven cousin of Aiste’s Unbreakable. To be honest none of the songs in UMK are awful, but Cicciolina has unexpectedly become my favourite because it is unabashedly a throwback schlager bop.
This is just awful. As a Finn, knowing the usual quality of the songs at UMK, I’ve been very happy so far but it is beyond my knowledge how this song was selected by the jury… Probably just because she already prticipated in UMK and finished second.
All in all, my choice would be Erika or Aksel, I really like their songs. Tika and Sansa are good too. All we need is a place in the final and that will make the Finns very happy.
A place in the final? Maybe in 2021
Why can’t Finns go into the final? I see it pretty likely?
The songs are just too bland, nothing unique in the selection
Ignoring the lyrics, this is SO DISNEY
And what’s wrong with that? Why is a company which systematically produced Oscar-nominated songs a synonymy for anything other than good? Sure, there are some sappy songs that try to unsuccessfully emulate that formula, but actually sounding like one takes a lot of talent.
Disney is just a cultural industry that DOMINATES the world of entertainment. Of course, the Academy will nominate their production sistematically as a way to endorse that cultural domination. Does it mean everything they do is anything other than “good”? Of course, not.
I think this song is the worst…
Wow, what a depressing ending, I wasn’t expecting that.
The pedant in me wants to point out that “lasting for generations” is not eternity, but I have to concede as much as I thought I would hate it at the start, it got me bopping along. This has got banger potential.
I actually wouldn’t mind anyone but Catharina or Erika going.
Quite an emotional song with a good vocal. Very different from Perfect Villain, yet still good. If this counts for anything, ALL SIX SONGS are better than what they had last year. UMK is back and I am hoping for a great show! 🙂
I am: Disappointed
So… where is the potential world beater? Those descriptions were sarcastic, no? Self-deprecating humor? It hardly beats ‘Perfect Villain’. Say what you want, but for the first time ever, I couldn’t be more thankful for Sweden. Finland have lost their touch completely and utterly.
The weakest NF this year
Finland see you next year
This is my fave with Tika so i dont feel its over yet:) Finland is still in it:)
This one and Tika’s rank as the worse entries UMK this year, lol
thats nice but all songs are liked by some.
I dont know why you are downvoted, this NF has been so underwhelming. It even makes Latvias selection look impressive.. which is quite an achievement