Skip to main content

UMK 2013 - HEAT TWO LIVE

Join me again tonight at 20.00 CET for the second heat of UMK 2013. Two songs will send to the final directly with 50/50 jury/televote. One act will be send home, the others will get another chance next week.
The Circus nightclub in Helsinki is once again sold out venue and you can follow it here. UMK+ will bring you backstage 19.45-20.00 here and during the break before the results part of the show. 
Last week fan favorites Mikael Saari and Diandra made it to the final, this week we have Krista Siegfrids (who just today has signed her first recording deal with Universal, congrats!) and Arion as clear fan favorites and knowing the judges like them, too, anyone else qualifying would be a surprise. But who will be kicked out? That's the question tonight! And tonight's guest star is Jesse Kaikuranta!
Don't forget to read these UMK artists exclusive interviews right here ->

19.45 Here we go again! The backstage UMK+ online has just started.The web presenters are telling what happened last week, and what will happen tonight. Then the real presenters Ile and Anne are interviewed, their hairdos tonight admired and talk about Twitter and tweets follow. Remember it's #umk13 to join in! Some talk with Toni Wirtanen, then we have a talk with guest star Jesse Kaikuranta :-) He explains how he has been spending his long day between rehearsals.... drinking coffee and such. He also reveals his favorite is Diandra. Ok, let's get to the business, shall we....
20.00 And here we are. Ile & Anne are on stage explaining the procedure and yes, The Circus is sold out also tonight. The judges are being presented and they are Toni Wirtanen, Tomi Saarinen, Aija Puurtinen and Redrama as always. The televoting is open and here we go without further delay: first act....

The shortest song has got a long intro now, but the vocals are still very weak me thinks.  Toni thinks they sound very professional and the song is good but he isn't too impressed still. Aija liked the atmosphere and thinks they did better than before but she didn't seems so impressed either. Tomi thinks people like this as the song has already got radioplay but alos he was expecting something more. Redrama likes the song more and more and thinks they were good with the audience, but something was still missing. I agree with them all. Nice, but that's all...
Krista just signed a dream deal with Universal and is one of the favorites. She's got two backing singers and three female dancers and the wedding theme of course. Vocally good, visually memorabile whether you like it or not and that's sometimes all that one needs. And she surely delivers on stage! Aija congratulates Krista for the record deal first. Then she says Krista has always given something about 150% on stage, maybe less would be more? Aija needs some space, not a musical number. Tomi says she divides people, and also he says less would be more but he hopes to see her in final. Redrama continues with the less department but at the same time thinks Finland does have a spot for someone who is so over the top. Toni concludes saying she may not be the best singer or performer here but surely has UMK's best show. This blogger thinks she's the full package and ready for Malmö. But I'm afraid Finns will stop that before we are that far....
Hmm, I'm starting to think this is the one going out tonight. It just don't work for me, and the vocals weren't that good either. Shame! Tomi isn't yet convinced as the song is in a genre that the competition is very tough. Redrama thinks it isn't enough either even if he likes the song. Toni loves the intro and likes the song, but... he thinks the song is better than the band!? Aija is pleased they have practised their vocals and was thinks the harmonies were much better.
The song has been cut to 3 minutes. The heavy-Beaber does a good job with the vocals and it's more like a band performance now on stage. Sure qualifier, as the Ile said, this is Finnish national music.  Redrama was pleased, the song awakes feelings in him and this is fresh. Toni is happy the band is here and ... respect! Aija praises the singer and thinks they are awesome. Tomi thinks the record label bosses are calling them right now. So, I guess it's full points from the jury for them. I have still mixed feelings about this one, I admit.
 New look and dance moves to Elina, her girls and band. Excellent vocals and groove. This has improved so much! Me likes! And yes, she was nastier and sexier rather than sweet and nice. Well done, Elina! Toni thinks she sings well and has matered the miss pageant pose. He thinks she has improved a lot but it isn't enough. Aija agrees it's better and Elina has now attitude but she wants even more erotica in body language. Tomi also would like to have something more, but agrees there was some mystery in it now. Redrama agrees it has improved, but doesn't yet buy her story... Oh, well... Sometimes it's hard to get what the judges really want?
The brothers from the north end the competition tonight. NIce look, anthemic song, a bit shaky vocals in the beginning. Is it enough?  Is it big enough? I'm afraid it is not. But what did the judges say? Aija says this is one of her favorites and she enjoys the way he sings and the melody is great. Aija wants them to win! Tomi thinks they are ladies' wet dream (?) and that they are real. Redrama says he has liked the song since the beginning and he likes them as they are real and believe in it. Toni has learned to like this more and more. Hmm, ok. High jury points then.... if they get all the religious people to back them they are off to Malmö. A bit like Edin-Ådahl.

20.45 The show continues now online in UMK+. The Krista Siegfrieds fans are going totally ding dong in the audience and Lucy was driving fans are there, too, with their banners. And even Atletico Kumpula's fan is there, with watercolor written banner. How sweet. And let's have some tweets ... oh, there's one from Alejandro, in Spanish and the presenter is completely lost. Ay que dolor! Then Atlético and Elina are interviewed, and then Arion and Lucys. All talk how the atmosphere backstage is good and all support the others and there's no competition. Then off to Krista and congrats for her record deal! And she stick to her motto More is more! Agreed! And then off to the guys of Great Wide North.... and yes, they're over excited over their performance, everything's so cool! And then talk about the ir looks, that is mostly cured by stylist Tommi Kilponen. And indeed, the looks have caused quite a stirr this year in media... And then we are back to the real thing on TV.....

21.05 Back on air with the recap. The voting is still on for a moment. The judges are giving their votes now. Toni's top votes went to Arion and Great Wide North, and Aija does the same. And Tomi continues but adds Krista in the game. Let's see if Redrama agrees.... more or less.

The jury votes: Great Wide North 36, Arion 35, Krista Siegfrids 34, Atletico Kumpula 28, Elina Orkoneva 26, Lucy Was Driving 26. The televote will be crucial here!

21.26 Guest star  Jesse Kaikuranta performs his Syksyn Sävel 2012 winner Järjetön rakkaus.The televote is closed now. Jess told the press today that he's not interested in Eurovision as he sings in Finnish and there's no use going to Eurovision in Finnish. Sigh. Well... who knows, maybe one day he will have a change of heart?

Now to the results.... Great Wide North and Elina Orkoneva to the semifinal! Straight to the final goes... Krista Siegfrids! The last semifinal place goes to... Lucy was driving! So, Atletico Kumpula is out and Arion is in final! Next week we have the semifinal with Iina Salin, Last Panda, Rautakoura, Great Wide North, Lucy Was Driving and Elina Orkoneva and two more will qualify for the final.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ESC 2016 WISH LIST: MARGARET FOR POLAND

Małgorzata Jamroży aka Margaret has also been tipped for Eurovision and apparently she did turn it down but she'd be perfect. She's got a look and persona you can't unnotice nor forget, she's got hit songs, she has been voted or nominated for everything from Trendy artist to the Hope of the Year, Fashion Icon and Glamour Woman of the year besides the usual best video, song, album, debut..... Oh she's also a fashion designer! She's very clever with social medias and would surely use it to her advantage if selected for Stockholm 2016. Her debut album is titled Add the blonde , do we need to say more? Except it includes mostly Swedish written pop tunes like Tell me how are ya , Wasted , Start a fire and Heartbeat . And of course her debut single and internationally noticed Thank you very much that you can enjoy below with all its anti-textil feel. I think she's Eurovision perfection, she's cheeky and fun, can we have her?

SONGS OF THE YEAR 2015: #5 KRISTA SIEGFRIDS - ON & OFF

Krista Siegfrids is delivering nice pop tunes one after another and this one is particularly catchy and soon you will be singing along..... Hopefully her Melodifestivalen entry will be equally good!

Regina Lund - naked and censored

Regina Lund's new video Jag är osynlig was censored by Youtube only minutes after it had been uploaded. In the video she was playing a female Jesus who gets crusified in the end. "I was shocked!" she says. "There's nothing more naked in it as in every church! It's ok to have naked man hanging on the wall but my nakedness is too much on internet? ". Oh well, no comment. She's prepairing a new album Dare Regina Lund and we of course remember her from her Melodifestivalen 2007 adventure with Rainbow star .

ESC 2016 BELARUS: NAKED WITH WOLVES?

Today's funniest Eurovision related story comes from Belarus. Some sources claim Ivan wants to perform on stage naked and with live wolf or wolves. It surely would be a first on Eurovision stage! We have seen some forgotten underwear over the years, and some cardbox animals though..... Is it time to take things a bit further?  No, according the rules live animals are not allowed, and Eurovision being a family show nudity won't do either. (It seems to be ok to be half naked if you are a dancer though..... )

CAROLA'S BOOBS STEAL THE SHOW, SVT APOLOGIES

Update! Another thing got Swedes talking last night: Carola's boobs when she was giving away an award. This is not the first time her boombs cause headlines; her misfortunate adventures in the 80's in Japan wer explained with her boobs being too big for Japanese market. Ok.... Or was it the song ? Anyways, Carola apologies and says she thinks the dress is stylish and elegant (even her friends said so) and she's a mature woman in her 40s, not a 16-year-old girl and looks like one. The Swedish Oscars, Guldbagge awards were given out last night. Carola was there as a guest star to sing Barbra Streisand's The way we were when honoring the movie stars who passed away during 2012. However, the cameras were too much on Carola, not on the stars showed in photos in the background and that upset many viewers as that part of the show was to celebrate them, not Carola. Oh well...  The producer of the show tells in Aftonbladet the part of the show was made the sam

TIM SCHOU AND HIS NAKED GRAVITY

Tim Schou has a pretty good solo career going since he left his friends in London. He's travelling the world and relesing songs and videos. The latest one is a great track and comes with a steamy video that kinda takes away from the song really. But who's complaining. If you got it, flaunt it. Enjoy the video below. This post coming after the other Dane, Rasmus Seebach as wishlist for Eurovision. To think about it, Tim would do nicely, too. Maybe he should give it another go?

JEDWARD GETS NAKED FOR THE FANS

Well, almost. The boys celebrated their 650.000th follower on Twitter by being photographed fresh from shower as promised. It's not the first time they drop their clothes as you see here . Meanwhile their second album is nearly here and the title track Young love is hitting the charts....

GREECE: HELENA PAPARIZOU HITS AGAIN WITH HAIDE

Eurovision song contest 2005 winner Helena Paparizou has been enjoying Top-5 hits every year since 2003 with the exception of 2010 and 2014, this latest one being already her 27th! And Haide is charting also in Bulgaria and Finland, of all places. The catchiness of her hits has changed less over the years than her face....  Here's the English version , below the Greek version. 

ITALY: ALICE 70 - PER ELISA

Alice's second Sanremo. No longer Alice Visconti, nor Carla Bissi but simply Alice. A song written by Alice herself with Franco Battiato and Giusto Pio. An usual song lacking a proper refrain, performed in an aggressive way by fierce looking Alice with wild hair. It was a real breakthrough. If the trio's first offering the year before for Italian hit waves was a hit this became a mega hit and international success that made her known not only in Italy but abroad as well. Such a shame Italy didn't participate in Eurovision that year (but her time would come) but then again, most likely they wouldn't have had sent Sanremo winner anyways. Number one hit in Italy, Top-5 in Austria and Switzerland, Top-20 in Germany.  The song featured in her 4th album simply titled Alice, that was published abroad as Per Elisa with different styling. A new version of the song is included in Personal Jukebox album. Per Elisa Vuoi vedere che perderai anche me Per Elisa Non sai più distinguere

ITALY: ALICE 70 - NATA IERI

  Alice - Nata ieri In 2012 Alice released her first studio album with new original songs in 14(fourteen!!!) years, Samsara . Among them a song Franco Battiato had written especially for her (Eri con me), a first since 1982!, a couple from Tiziano Ferro including this Nata ieri. The album included also three covers from Lucio Dalla, Giuni Russo and Califfi. Her fans had been waiting for this album and it entered the Italian charts straight at number 10.  Se la vita è migliorata dopo ogni ferita, è grazie a te. Tra le grigie ceneri dei giorni neri, lì sono nata ieri. If life has improved after every wound, it is thanks to you. Among the gray ashes of the dark days, there I was born yesterday.