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

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!

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?

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..... )

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....

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...

Rumors, rumors, rumors....

While the national selections for Junior Eurovision are going on around Europe and Ani Lorak's been confirmed as host all sort of rumors about the real thing are beginning to be the order of the day. Austria returns - or then not. Andorra stays home - or then not. San Marino returns - well, most likely but not surely. Luxembourg should make a come back - or then maybe not. Liechtenstein is still in the running - or has it ever been for real? Has the local TV ever confirmed anything? Is it just wishful thinking by the fans? Poland on the other hand has confirmed they will be in Oslo. And Italy will be still out. And apparently there will be no ban or such for Azerbaijan nor Spain for the irregularities in and after the 2009 edition. EBU had to change the text in the rules to make it sure nothing like that what happened in Azerbaijan could happen again. Or if it will they have means and rules to back up a ban or sanction.... Katerina Avgoustakis has been rumored to be in Oslo...

Russia recycles the video

Here is the video for Alexey's previous hit Бам Бам! and here is the video for his Eurovision 2011 entry Get you as Alex Sparrow as he likes to be called now abraod. Looks like he potreys the new rich Russia well.... The only problem is that he can't play the bad part convincingly not even a second. And did I say the song is crap? And of course as he is a Russian star he must have nude fotos of him flotaing around internet trying to be sexy and he fails there, too, big time. If you are not bad nor sexy you shouldn't push it. Maybe he should stick to singing jolly little numbers like the Kalinka rip off instead....

GOODBYE, FAREWELL...

The time has come. After all these years, 5,7 million visits, 12.000 articles I guess the time has come. As much as I love and care for Eurovision it just doesn't feel the same. The Corona years took their toll and the past two years and certain decisions have helped me to mature the idea that next year I will hear the songs for the first time in semi-final just like any so called local. The bubble has burst. Add the toxicity in social medias and fandom. The arrogant teenagers who saw their first contest somewhere 2017 or even 2021 who think they know it all and only their opinion matters. Did I mention the toxic atmosphere on social medias? I'm too old for that sh*t. It's been a long ride that took me to various Eurovision on spot as a fan and tourist, as a journalist, as a delegation member. I met some great people, made memories of lifetime. In stressful, sad periods of my life this blog has been my safe place, a place to escape and forget everything else for an hour o...

UK: Naked Blue

The boys of Blue have posed nude again. This time for the Attitude magazine's annual Naked issue and they are also in the cover. Watch the video of the shooting here . Band member Duncan, who is bi-sexual, recently told The Daily Star : “We are getting our kit off for Attitude magazine like the McFly boys did. I’m up for showing everything off. I’m happy enough about the size of my manhood. ” Extra media attention won't hurt their changes in Germany to win it for the UK for the first time since 1997... They will and they can!

Jedward Vs. Blue - the naked truth

Not so long ago Blue took it all off for a Attitude photoshoot that surely didn't hurt their chances. Now Jedward follows with GT photoshoot and behind the scenes video you can see here . The fight is on. The Lipstick guys have also taken every possibility to badmouth the British veterans. But I think Blue are with a chance to win it all and wouldn't be suprised if Jedward would do the Irish turkey trick - their live vocal capacities are pretty much the same! Lipstick vs. I can ? Grown up muscle guys with voices vs. skinny quite tunedeath teenage boys, who do you prefer?

Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

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