The last time we checked in with The Masked Singer Finland, fans were wondering if the singer inside The Wasp costume was none other “Cicciolina” singer Erika Vikman. And now it’s been confirmed. In the series final, the UMK star was revealed as the woman behind The Wasp.
The masked Ampiainen — that’s Finnish for The Wasp — finished third in the contest. And with that placing, she was also revealed as Erika Vikman.
The singer herself also confirmed the news with a post on Instagram, writing “Queen bee, it’s ME!” She also described doing the show as a “fun and special experience.”
Earlier in the series, The Wasp had performed Cher’s “Believe”; Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s “Bang Bang”; the Finnish rap song “Levikset repee” by Sini Sabotage; and Loreen’s “Euphoria”.
More recently, she performed Peggy Lee’s classic “Big Spender” and Dolly Parton’s ode to working women “9 to 5”. In the grand final, Erika tackled Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”.
While Erika placed third, the contest was won by the comedian Sami Hedberg (The Lion), while second place went to the singer Ilkka Alanko (The Haystack).
Behind the Masked Singer
The Masked Singer Suomi is a celebrity singing contest based on a popular South Korean show format. The acts range from established singers to amateurs from other fields, such as modelling, cooking and meteorology, who just fancy a singalong. But while the contestants are household names in Finland, they can’t rely on their fame.
The contestants all perform in disguise, wearing elaborate costumes that hide their true identity. The Finnish series features a Chicken, an Alien, a Wasp, a Rabbit and a Haystack. But regardless of the costume, it ends up being all about the voice.
Former Eurovision stars have also had success on local editions of The Masked Singer in their own countries. In August 2019, Germany’s Eurovision 2004 singer Max Mutzke won the German edition of the show. In December, France’s Eurovision 2001 singer Natasha St-Pier finished fifth on the French edition, while Equinox singer Zhana Bergendorff was the runner-up on the Bulgarian edition. Earlier this year, Portugal’s Eurovision 2003 singer Rita Guerra won the Portuguese edition. Most recently, t.A.T.u.’s Lena Katina finished eighth in the Russian edition, while Sergey Lazarev made a guest appearance.
What do you think? Should Erika Vikman return to UMK 2021? Should she compete at Eurovision as her wasp persona? Tell us your thoughts below!
Getter Jaani and Lucy Diakovska (No Angels) were also a part of The Masked Singer. 🙂
For a moment I was wondering why she was dressed as Nusa Derenda!
Thanks for covering this, Robyn!
Erika was great but Sami really was a deserving winner.
Just so you can add to the article, I’ve just finished catching up with the Estonian version this week, won by Stefan Airapetjan. The series also featured Kaire Vilgats (multiple time ESC backing singer) and Getter Jaani (ESC 2011).