Seven acts will sing in the final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023, but only one act can win and represent Finland at Eurovision. It’s not an easy choice. UMK 23 is already regarded by many as the best national selection of the year.
This year’s seven entries span the musical gamut, and include a heartbreaking ballad, a sexually-charged bop, a disco-tinged boogie, a hard rap banger, a boy band pop number and an old-school party anthem.
But who has what it takes to advance through the televote-only semi-final at Eurovision? And who can win enough jury support to push toward the top of the grand final?
Vote in our poll and let us know your favourites.
Poll: Who should win UMK 2023 in Finland?
Keira — “No Business On The Dancefloor”
Benjamin — “Hoida mut”
Robin Packalen — “Girls Like You”
Lxandra — “Something To Lose”
Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha”
KUUMAA — “Ylivoimainen”
Portion Boys — “Samaa taivasta katsotaan”
The songs are out. Who do you want to be in? Let us know who you voted for in the comments box down below!
my head says Cha Cha Cha but my heart says Ylivoimainen TBF the line-up of this year’s UMK is one of the best!
I joined the Hoida mut train only yesterday but I have been listening to it non-stop ever since. It is so incredibly captivating and Benjamin is an outstanding performer. I really hope he wins because I want to see that staging on the big stage!
In any case with 4 out of the 7 songs Finland has a very, VERY good chance to finish top 5 this year.
Well done, Finland! What a fantastic lineup for UMK! All music styles, quality, more pop, dance, melody. All good. It’s going to be a good UMK this year. On first listening, Kuumaa caught my attention a lot, I feel it’s the most powerful one that might win. Then of course Käärijä, however, that one might be over the top a little bit, I’d be happy if it won, though. Let’s see what happens.
Käärijä all the way!
I didn’t really want to make a top cause I couldn’t choose one but here it is:
1. Ylivoimainen
2. Cha cha cha
3. Hoida mut
4. No Business on the Dance floor
5. Girls like you
6. Something to lose
7. Samaa Taivasta Katsotaan
Where my Kuumaa stans at? <<333
Ylivoimainen is indeed the best one, and the one that caught my attention on first listening.
Guys, kind of off-topic but I just checked the Finnish singles chart and Benjamin debuted at #7 and Keira at #10 this week
https://www.ifpi.fi/lista/singlet/2023/3/
Due to their release dates, the rest of the entries will be featured next week but it looks like Käärijä will debut at the top spot on next week’s issue and the top 10 could be stacked up of UMK entries
Oh my freaking God, I really can’t choose one! Finland has really done it again. I’m just so overwhelmed at the quality of every single song, regardless of whether I like it or not. Anyways the only one that i somewhat don’t prefer is the Portion Boys song, and it’s not even that bad. Others I just *loooveee!* (yes even girls like you) Good God the fandom is gonna be in shambles on the day of the final! I think the one song that doesn’t get enough appreciation & credit is Ylivoimainen. Honestly that song is just pure perfection. I… Read more »
By FAAAR the best NF of this year. I would be dissapointed if they end up sending Keira or Lxandra before all the other acts, but they aren’t terrible (just not on my radar)
IK Finns know better 🙂 Lycka till Från sverige!
Hats off to Finland this year . What a great line up of great songs . They are all very good . My personal favourite is Kuumaa because they remind me of my favourite band from Sweden which is ‘Kent’ , although they are a-lot younger. I can see Kaarija going to Liverpool though . At the end of the day I wonder who has the best vocals and who will stand out . Very close call .
Benjamin or Kaarija are the best! Watch them pick Robin ddddd…
Lxandra’s song is simple but beautiful. And sometimes that’s more than enough…But then yet again it’s not always the most beautiful song that wins, but the most popular one… unfortunately.
Lxandra is the best here, eurofans just doesnt have world music taste
Yeah Norma John 2.0
There’s nothing wrong with that since Black Bird was a damn good song.
Kaarija or Portion Boys. Two fun, solid choices that should see another Finnish grand final qualification.
What a great selection ! UMK does everything you have to do in a NF : great selection, musicwise, mixingwise, visualwise. Wether you like the song or not, it still has enough appeal to make you at least interested. As for the winner… I’ll be more than OK with Hoida Mut (which is still in my top-3 NF this year) but let’s say : I’m FULL TEAM Cha Cha Cha. It has great potential to storm the televote in Liverpool, people will go absolutely BONKERS about this. As for the juries, yeah, they would rank this lower than the audience… Read more »
1. Kaarija (10/10 never fallen in love with something so quickly in a national final in years)
2. Kuumaa (8/10)
3. Benjamin (7/10)
4. Lxandra (7/10)
5. Portion Boys (6/10)
6. Keira (5/10)
7. Robin (3/10)
If were talking about winning Eurovision, imo it is Kaarija – who has a very strong, unique and full of energy song that i can get back. If we are talking about my favourite, it is Kuumma – Eurovision and its NF selection songs rarely join my playlist because i think overall the competition doesn’t produce good or current songs that are also in my taste. Mahmood, Marco Mengoni, City Lights, De Diepte are the few exceptions. But anyway ive been non stop listening to Kuumma’s entry. Unfortunatley i don’t think it could win UMK. If we are talking about… Read more »
Finland’s consistently been serving quality since 2020 and it’s about time I think they deserve a proper result for that. OK, maybe the Rasmus wasn’t the *ideal* choice for them last year but so many of these songs bear a great amount of potential, even though there’s a few I personally don’t like. I’m honestly Team Hoida Mut here. What a banger!
My favourite is Kuuma, but being honest… CHA CHA CHA can win Eurovision.
I know – it’s very soon and blah blah- , but we know when an entry is strong like Sam Ryder or Chanel last year.
Cha cha cha is a safe top10, probably top5, and if things goe well… #1
I will support him with my vote when he goes to Liverpool
Cha Cha Cha is probably not winning anything as long as the final has still got 50% jury vote, and rightfully so…
Juries can be quite unpredictable, though
I prefer Kuumaa but I’d be happy with Kaarija as well. The thing is that songs like Cha cha cha are difficult to be staged and performed well live on stage. Let’s see!
same pal
So as of this moment, just looking at number of youtube views for each song we would have; Käärijä 516k Keira 366k Benjamin 315k Robin 222k Portion Boys 172k KUUMAA 170k Lxandra 149k So obviously Kiera and Benjamin have an advantage with the earlier release but this looks super strong for CHA CHA CHA and super weak for Robin and Lxandra. Also Portion Boys overtaking KUUMAA already is not a good sign for the later. Yes Youtube views aren’t everything and yes we Eurovision nuts skew national selection viewerships but this looks like a pretty easy win for Käärijä, and… Read more »
Don’t completely underestimate Robin with his televote pull by his name alone. This might be where the 75% televote slant might bite Finland in the butt if he wins despite the chilly reception.
I can’t see Robin getting enough support with that song. Also, the 12-year-old fan girls’ vote being split between him and Benjamin won’t help his case either
dont think keira has these many chances to win but they arent small
Lxandra is really underrated – I think with the right staging she’s a potential to win eurovision. Käärijä also slaps and would be divisive but enough people love it that it could also do very well. My personal favourite in benjamin, and with a great live performance this could also do really really well.
But i cant help but remember last year, where every track was a great studio cut, but the majority of performers disappointed live. im hoping käärijä and benjamin bring great live vocals, but if they don’t then lxandra is the clear winner
Yeah, the live performances will define the winner here, I fear
UMK22 just won Venla Award (Finnish Emmy) for TV-Event of the year.
I honestly have no idea how this NF will ultimately play out. Even if I am not as thrilled as others with the Finnish songs this year, I am really curious to see the final results, as all songs seem to have potential to win. My personal favourite has to be Lxandra. The song has an indie vibe to it and to the way it’s being performed that instantly resonated with me. Cha cha cha is divisive. And this can be both bad and good. I have absolutely no idea what to think about it. I have to say that… Read more »
I have q – How Lxandra will Stand out if she will go to UK? Bc she will have other slow dark pop ballads there as well? Norma John 2.0 Thank u,next!
Well Norma John was in my top 3 of 2017 so… they should have qualified for sure and they would have done so had it not been for the juries.
Yeah should but it never happened ..
I completely forgot that this was happening today.
Crickets
Only with Kaarija and Keira Finland have chance to go to final. With Kaarija 100 % TOP 10 from 6 to 10 place (similar result like Serbia and Moldova last year with televote, but maximum 15 points from juries)
With Keira result in final between 14-18 place.
Malta needs to ask Finland for a song bc their winner will stay in Semi
Ngl, I’d rather countries like Malta try a UMK reject instead of a Melfest reject (if they just buy their song) for a change
my opinion on all the songs No buissnes on the dancefloor: the only problem is the instrumental Good for me? 4/10 Good for esc? 6/10 Hoida mut: iconic Good for me? 9/10 Good for esc? 7/10 Girls like you: not this guy dropping from 1st to 7th in the fan’s rankings Good for me? n to the a to the h/10 Good for esc? idk/10 Something to lose: great Gfm? 8/10 Gfe? 7/10 Cha Cha: seriously im so torn on this one at first i deemed it to be soo weird but grew on me and i love the bridge… Read more »
I really like all of these, we should agree already before February starts that Finland has the best national selection for 2nd year in a row.
I’d be happy with any, but Käärijä will bring Finland 2nd victory possibly, but others are TOP-10 or TOP-15 material in the final!
Käärijä, KUUMA or Benjamin for me, I’d be happy with either.
Whatever the result, Finland will do well. I also hope if there’s a shock winner the Eurofandom doesn’t attack the artist and talk sh*t online. At the end of the day, Eurovision isn’t as serious as we all take it, we should enjoy all the flops, slays & shocks, because that’s what makes Eurovision fun!
same top 3 pal
Käärijä is my favorite, but based of the vocoder effects, I feel like he will flop live.
I hope he’ll prove me wrong though.
Vocoder sounds absolutely amazing live!
It’s not about whether it sounds good. The problem is that you as a vocoder user make your voice sound robotic. In a song contest, you’re supposed to show your normal voice and not a robotic one.
well i personally loved it when he used his natural rap voice in some parts. i think he van also pull of a deep naturall voice
I would have liked that part even without autotune
So if his vocals end up being so bad that people’s ears start bleeding (metaphorically), you’ll still like it?
And people were shading Norway about allowing autotune?
Just to be clear: do you think I want Finland to allow autotune? Because if that’s what you think, then no. No country should be allowed to use autotune.
Hoping for either Keira, Lxandra, or Kuumaa. I wouldn’t be mad if Benjamin goes through. Don’t see the appeal with Kaarija.
ALMOST SAME TOP
Taste
cha cha cha or nothing!
Undoubtly is Käärija the best one and I don´t like Robin.
But a quite good preselection from Finland.
Keira should win. Clearly best song international. Overall level seems very very low but Keiras song is good.
A big question is who will win the jury voting. Because they can absolutely ruin Kaarija’s chances of winning, however, I don’t really see a clear jury favorite in this lineup.
I remember when people said this about Netta’s Toy and then it came like 2nd or 3rd w the Juries.
Käärijä/Kuuma or I will fight and forget my Finnish roots
oh my god yes y_y
Caariya is the best choice. And rememeber – this boxerpiece is maybe his worst song!
But perfect for ESC.
Cuumaa is also good, grey chill nostalgic vibes.
CUUMaa?????
Cha cha cha needs to win ESC 2023. All the other countries can go kick rocks.
My favorites are:
Portion Boys — “Samaa taivasta katsotaan”Benjamin — “Hoida mut” Robin Packalen — “Girls Like You”
What a strong selection! For the very first time I can see each entry competing on the Eurovision stage. My favourite is Keira’s one.
Kaarija or I’ll riot
I voted for Lxandra, Benjamin and Käärijä, which (depending of course on what they’re like live) can all be great entries for Liverpool in my opinion. I’d say that Robin is probably in the mix to win as well, purely based on him being famous in Finland already. Kuumaa and Keira are probably not in the running although I do like their songs. The only one I really don’t want to win is Portion Boys. All in all, this really is a great national final. Finland is showing many other countries how you should do this.
“Cha Cha Cha” is a risk IMO (I don’t know if the judges will love it) “Hoida Mut” on the other hand is very safe, it SCREAMS top 15 or even top 10. I need to here them live to make the final decision.
Cha Cha Cha is could make the televote top 5 while Hoida Mut could NQ. Regardless of my own opinion, the smartest choice is Cha Cha Cha.
Cha Cha Cha is like a Finnish version of Uno (Russia 2020). That was a competitor to win!
Some Eurofans love comparing songs so badly for no reason lol.
Again, thank you, Finland, for a very high quality selection. It’s obvious for me that all of the songs are well-produced, and well-presented. There are options for different tastes, and this time around, it feels like more of an open field in terms of popularity among fans. That said, while I do kinda like Robin’s entry, it does feel safe and predictable in comparison with others, and it would feel anti-climactic if Finland indeed goes for that in this competition. However, I am used to not being in accordance with what Finnish public ultimately goes for, so I won’t be… Read more »
I haven’t listened to all the songs yet, so I won’t vote, but I just have to say that Finland gave us great selection again and other countries should learn! I am from Poland and I am super jealous. This is how it should be done.
Well, hopefully you guys at least get Jann in your NF. Gladiator is a hell of a song!
Lxandra really stands out in this group of 80’s/Teflon Brothers/Stefania wannabes.
Strong selection. Pity it’s not diverse enough. Musically.