Following the grand reveal of the seven acts competing in Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2024, Finnish broadcaster Yle is dropping the lyrics videos for each entry one by one. First up are Cyan Kicks with the song “Dancing with Demons”.
In 2022, Cyan Kicks competed in the Contest for New Music UMK with its entry Hurricane, placing second in the final. Their success in UMK was followed by numerous gigs all over Europe, a headline tour in Germany and, just recently, a tour in the United Kingdom and continental Europe along with rock group Smash Into Pieces.
The band is made up of vocalist Susanna Alexandra, guitarist Niila Perkkiö, bassist Leevi Erkkilä and drummer Pietari Reijonen. Cyan Kicks’ sound is easily identifiable, thanks largely to the band’s guitarist and producer Niila. Described as being “electric”, their ultimate sound finally took shape in 2017.
“You could say that our music is a metal heart in a pop wrapper,” states Niila.
Cyan Kicks – “Dancing with Demons”
The UMK entry Dancing With Demons is the result of long, hard work. It received its finishing touches in London’s legendary RAK Studios with the help of British songwriter Dan Lancaster. The song deals with harnessing one’s inner demons and turning them into a strength.
“Everyone has their own weaknesses and demons, which we’re ashamed of and don’t want anyone else to see. Then, we thought what if we were able to make our own inner demons our allies – what would happen?” describes Susanna.
UMK24 jury: “Placing second in the 2022 Contest for New Music UMK, Cyan Kicks is convincing with its song entry, which brings the group back to the competition for a second time round. The song has a catchy, strong chorus as well as depth and unexpectedness, which will help it withstand the test of time and keep it eminently listenable. The sound and interpretation of singer Susanna are full of emotion, both during the slow sections and the more powerful parts of the chorus. The explosive energy of Dancing With Demons cements the band’s place as a strong, modern bearer of the Finnish rock tradition”.
UMK 2024 song release schedule
- Thu, 11 January: Cyan Kicks – Dancing With Demons
- Fri, 12 January: Sexmane – Mania
- Mon, 15 January: Sara Siipola – Paskana
- Tue, 16 January: Jesse Markin – Glow
- Wed, 17 January Windows95man – No Rules
- Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage – Kuori mua
- Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x nublu – Vox Populi
They took the vocalists’ look fully from Bess – but the song from Rasmus, who robbed Bess’ entry. An unfortunate choice.
This pop-metal combo doesn’t work, it’s generic and wishy-washy in both genres. Has no chances in ESC.
They do really go for it in the video, so points for that.
There’s something here that just doesn’t really work. It grabs my attention at the start, but when the chorus drops … I don’t know, the transitions in this just don’t really flow well or something. It’s hard to explain but there’s something deeply unsatisfying about this entry. I can understand that rock fans are disappointed here because they don’t just go full-on in rock mode, and that those who aren’t real rock fans will not enjoy this that much either.
I am dissapointed
To me, this feels so much weaker than Hurricane. It lacks the drive and tempo and that infectious hook Hurricane had.
It could have been the list leak that ruined it for me, or perhaps the way the entry was advertised as a “hard hitting energetic rock anthem from a world touring rock band”, but this is disappointing to me. Finland is home of the best heavy metal scene in the entire world, and to me, this feels very formulaic and generic for a country that has so much to offer in this genre. The fact that this is their only rock entry meant there was a lot of pressure on this song to be good and represent the genre well,… Read more »
That last sentence is so important and how I generally choose to look at returning artists. As much as I don’t like their song this year, KEiiNO are returning with something completely different and worthwhile, unlike when they returned with “Monument”, which was just a pale re-run of SITS. Alexander Rybak, for all the flack he got, did something completely different when he returned, too.
Of course, it doesn’t help when Loreen pretty much won the competition with a “run-it-back” version of Euphoria…but I hope it doesn’t detract from my point too much. XD
Sets the bar high in my opinion. If Norway sends Keiino, finland sends Cyan Kicks and sweden sends a good Smash into pieces or Lisa Ajax for example the nordic countries could very well smash it again.
Welcome back Cyan Kicks! I LOVE this song A LOT! I think there’s a super neat lyric trick there as well, I just can’t. The production is super cool, the video is mega wowza, the fashion is spot on. Also, Susanna’s acting in the video is absolutely AMAZING!
“Dancing” and “queens”: a nod to Sweden for the event will be held in Malmø. Sweetness overload, salmiakki please!!!
I like the song; the stage show should be certainly impactful. This is a very decent comeback. Let’s go!!
a good solid start. I liked their other umk entry better tho
it’s very 00s lindsay lohan/the veronicas-esque, i like it
it’s a good start , too weak for the winner though but overall solid kick off of the UMK!
I like everything except the chorus, too generic :/
I’m not a rock kind of guy but I like this song a lot. It’s not as much of a hit as hurricane but it’s more my style. It could win UMK I think
I prefer a hundred times this song than their last one. Very good! UMK starts pretty well
As a rock fan, I just don’t like Cyan Kicks no matter how good their songs may be. Susanne makes their music sound like a generic pop song and the guitarists are way too tame.
They’ve always said their music is a mix of pop with rock elements 🙂
Ah, okay. Too bad for me then, because in my opinion the style just doesn’t work.
This girl gives everything in the music video, it’s wild!
I like the song, as im kind of the guy who doesnt care if the song is somewhat generic or has non-impactfull lyrics, as long as it sounds good and catchy. Maybe not as good as few 2023 songs (but you cant have that epic selection every year, right?). I guess someone could say this song reminds a bit of Melodifestivalen songs, except this is better than 90% of Melodifestivalen songs every year. Also i feel this song is going to be one of the songs that is better on stage than on studio version. Dance break warning incoming 😀… Read more »
If you liked their last song, you’re probably going to like this. And, to be fair, Finland did like it and placed it second in their final over a genuine Eurovision contender like Ram Pam Pam. So, despite any sort of negativity about this, it is objectively and genuinely in the running to represent Finland this year.
For my taste, if this had competed last year, this would’ve been 6th in my ranking, so…I don’t think it’s the strongest start for UMK, if you’re comparing to last year’s selection. Hope there’s better to come!
Just heard it and wow, what a comeback!
I was hesitant about them when I first read (through the leak) that they were going to take part of UMK this year, but I like their rebranding and this track is better than their previous attempt, so welcome back Cyan Kicks! 🙂
Evaluating this song a bit more now, it works really well visually and is a strong song but is it the best Cyan Kicks have ever created? When you put it up against Hurricane I think the main hook is better in their 2022 song because it’s more memorable. After one listen I cannot remember much about the song other than the music video. You need a strong hook for Eurovision. Even Blind Channel had a great hook for their rock song. Dancing with Demons needs a slight revamp.
Dora this year is fire! Baby Lasagna, Marcela, Natalie, Misha… VERY strong songs from each!
Like this song, don’t like the baby shark eh baby lasagna one ( too noisy) for me
i am still asking (meanwhile also for a friend) for the article about dora 2024 with all songs.
dora has not only lasagne this year to offer.
🙂
Reminds me of a kind of song from the eurovision movie hehe
Strong start! I really like this, could be a winner, but I won’t state anything before we’ve gotten all of the songs.
From all the leaked snippets I heard it seems Cyan Kicks will easily win
I get some winner vibes from this, but I feel like it’s too soon to call it a winner too
Not yet.
What did you all expect? The song is good and the music video is amazing. They fulfilled my expectations.
The music videos are produced by the UMK team, right, like last year? They will all be somewhat similar in production values.
Wow love this!! Cyan Kicks is back and better then ever, love the chorus and the rock elements!
I’m not a huge fan. I don’t understand what the lyrics are about. Seemingly, some sort of acceptance of mental health difficulties? Encouraging us not to strive for perfection, but just try to be content with what we have? Learn to live with it rather than waiting for it to go away? I suppose the message is a good one, but it is a little vague.
“We are the heroes of our time, but we’re dancing with the demons in our mind… oooh, oh oh oh ooh woh”
Not as vague as that, though, and that was a winner, so you never know.
Still terrible. That’s the one victory that I find the worst, especially considering how many better songs and singers this year had. Loreen I can understand based on merit. The more others cover her songs, the more I respect I have for her. But 2015? Nope.
The staging is what won it for that song. Technical, co-ordinated, impressive. I believe that is what some jurors were giving points to, and exactly what Frida from ABBA was talking about when she said it is not about the song anymore.
I do appreciate a good staging to elevate a good song but the song still has to be good. Another big minus for the jury who made him win. Loic was right there, for example. Arguably much more of an artist than Mans.
The little balloon boy is what swung it. The televote win for Russia the next year was a more egregious example of staging getting votes.
More? How so? His vocals were impeccably trained and the song was factory pop just like Heroes, only with more coherent lyrics. Bland as hell but at least you could understand them. Both guys were pets. Of Björkman and Kirkorov. Also, Sergey got 363 televotes and Mans 365 jury votes. Mans was more egregious in every way. By voting and by merit because 2015 had many better entries who deserved to win than 2016.
You put forward a convincing case, but I still think Heroes would have got a decent enough amount of points even without the balloon boy. Thunder And Lightning It’s Getting Exciting would have gotten very few if say, it was from Malta, sung by Ira Losco, without the impressive staging.
No doubt. But the same could be assumed for Ira singing Heroes with an Albania 2016 staging.
Heroes got points from the juries not just because of staging, but also because of it’s radio friendliness. It sounded current, and ahem, “reminiscent” of David Guetta. Who was big at the time. Sergey’s song sounded horribly dated and it was staging alone that got him points. Anyway, I suppose it is fair to say that Heroes was indeed the more egregious of the two because the unjustified points resulted in a win.
Agreed. Although for me it’s not so much the “dated”thing, it’s more like this song would have never been good for me, in no year.
Already a very good start of UMK for me! So certainly, the song is much less impactful and good than in 2022, nevertheless we can not say that it’s bad! On the contrary, it sounds really good and I think it will be even more so live because I know that Susanna performs very well live. There are still 6 songs to discover but I think that Finland becomes over the years a very strong and interesting country with a really great selection. Anyway, I love the Cyan Kicks song and it’s great to listen to! If they win, it… Read more »
If the live version lives up to the expectation, i can see Finland getting another top10 with this.
The chorus is killing it for me, its too weak and it doesn’t match the verses. But I really really like everything else in the song.
Me too! Not as good as the chorus for Hurricane!
Good song. Their previous effort was way better though and more immediate…Hurricane was one of the absolute best songs in the 2022 season, and way better than the song they ended up choosing. The lyric and verses are too poppy for me in this one, and I prefer the instrumental part most… But it is a good start of UMK.
Fully agreed!
I haven’t heard other songs yet (obviously), but I think Cyan Kicks are taking it
This is incredible, Susanna seems to deliver with more confidence this time around
Very excited to see how this will look live, I’m expecting a massive televote for this song
Also can we talk about the lead singer’s charisma? She’s out of this world. Truly a star. I can see her going global 🙂
Awesome video. I don’t think this stays in the ear like Hurricane did. I’m sure it’ll be elevated by the live performance and probably the only rock/metal/band genre in the lineup.
Agreed.
The video is INSANE and i really enjoy the song. I hope they win UMK since they were robbed last time.
I do not think they can win eurovision with this track though 🙁
Yeah Hurricane had a better hook.
It’s really good for me, and the melody keeps playing on my head (out of my mind…)
I do recognise I am biased, I do love Finnish Rock and Metal and I do like Cyan Kicks other stuff (Rockabye slaps, bite me)
But still, I do think it’s a good contender, can’t talk without the rest of the line-up, but if chosen, I can see it on my personal Top 10, even Top 5.
Also, let’s be honest. Susanna vs Raiven could make for a cool fight.
A really great start to the UMK season. This is their second time at UMK and there’s a lot less rock and more darkness in this entry! I think it’s got potential. Is it the best of the two songs when comparing it to 2022’s Hurricane? I’m not sure, but I could easily see this being the winner depending on the staging! However, I feel like we’ll see equally good songs or even better this year! I think Windows95Man and Mikael Gabriel could give us some contenders that could easily be better depending on the song, but we’ll have to… Read more »