EUROVISION 2025 FINLAND: UMK 2025 FINAL TONIGHT

Finland will select it's entry for the Eurovision song contest 2025 tonight in Tampere's Nokia Arena. The 13th Uuden musiikin kilpailu has grown to be one of the best and most anticipated national finals over the past few years giving birth to year's biggest hits and has also turned Finland's fortunes in the competition. Once the underdog and one of the most unsuccessful countries we have now qualified for four years in the row for the final - a new record! - and scored two of our all time top-3 placements ever in 2021 and 2023, 6th and 2nd. A win is in the horizon?

Six songs in the line up (after one got disqualified or rather withdraw) , all of them already a charting success (read more here) and a Top-10 hit. Fan favorite Erika Vikman seems to be the one to beat but you never know with Finns, the staging and live performance will be crucial. Last time she didn't quite shine with Cicciolina back in 2021 but hopefully this time it will be better. She's also a very divisive personality in Finland; she's got a lot of fans but there are also many who hate her with passion so it will be interesting to see how the televotes go, and do the juries appreciate her somewhat raunchy act this time. Her worst opponent is out of the picture as before their withdrawal it was all shaping up to become Erika Vs. OML.

Goldielocks, the least known name in the line up has grown into a favorite by many, while Viivi with her beautiful heartfelt ballad seems to be the second favorite to win but also Nelli Matula, who has the biggest radio hit so far out of these can't be ruled out either. Neea River and costee might be out of the race for the first spot unless they do spectacular vocal performance and get it all right in staging.

My own mini jury of various age groups had this ranking based on videos and studio versions:

1. Goldielocks 4,3/5

2. Nelli Matula 4,0/5

2. Erika Vikman 4.0/5

4. Viivi 3.33/5

5. costee 2.0/5

6. Neea River 2.0/5

The show will have as guest last year's winner Windows95man with world premiere of his new song What's my Name, and a surprise group of six ladies: Bess (her Ram pam pam from UMK2022 became the most succesful song of 2022), Eini (1996 Aina sun luonas and 2016 Draamaa), Annika Eklund (3rd in 2006 with Shanghain valot, a true evergreen), Keira (2023 No business on the dancefloor), Laura Voutilainen (ESC 2002 with Addicted to you plus several songs in national final like this fantastic Kosketa mua), Linda Lampenius (classical violinist of Baywatch and Playgirl fame making comeback soon to pop violin, check out Violator and Aquamarine

Co-host and popstar Sanni will also do a medley of her hits.

Käärijä is in town with Hooja and their new hit San Francisco Boy and performing at some point but not on the live programme, Or are they? They already did Melodifestivalen and are going to do also Söngvakeppnin.....

As usual Yle will provide commentary in Finnish, Swedish, English, Ukrainian, Russian, sigh language and two different Sami language. You can watch the show live on Yle1 and Yle Areena strreeaming platform, as well as Spanish TenTv and Dutch OUTtv where Eurovision veteran Krista Siegfrids will do the commentary.

The voting is 75% televote + 25% international juries.

Running order:

costee - Sekaisin

Neea River - Nightmares

Goldielocks - Made of

Viivi - Aina

Nelli Matula - Hitaammin hautaan

Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME

Comments

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Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

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