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

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ESC 2016 WISH LIST: MARGARET FOR POLAND

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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...

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....

EUROVISION 2026 - SAN MARINO: SENHIT WINS SAN MARINO SONG CONTEST

San Marino. The tiny little thing that makes things big and never ever stops surprising us. This year after the usual very long selecting process that included several previous Eurovision entrants and wannabes from various countries, even with songs they competed in another country's selection, as the last twist of turns announced the qualified semi-finalists before they aired the shows..... Ok. Because why Not? Read more about all the zillion entrants here After all the submissions, castings through Dreaming San Marino song contest 20 semi-finalists were selected, among them previous Eurovision entrants Magdalena from Poland, Marayya from Slovenia and Star Guy (Norway), and from this years national final selections Elysa (Estonia), Sheila (Albania) and Xannova Xan (Greece) and even Edward Maya also running in Romania at the same time, with other singers from Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Czechia, Netherlands and United States. Ten out of those 20 semi-finalist qualified ...

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 .

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!

FRANCE: LINH - J'AVOUE

As I'm off to France for some well deserved holidays and will get back to this blog afterwards I will feature a song a day. From France as my travelling tradition goes. By my favorite French singers bien sur. Enjoy!

EUROVISION 2026 - PORTUGAL: BANDIDOS DO CANTE WINS FESTIVAL DA CANCAO

Portugal's 60th Festival da Canção came to an end tonight and the winner is Bandidos do Cante. Portugal's national selection for Eurovision song contest 2026 has been quite critical to the participation with most artists and/or songwriters declaring they won't go to Vienna should they win. In the end there are apparently only two artists who have declared they will go to Vienna, and one uncertain if they win. Let's see who eventually will go to Eurovision in the end.... Apparently Bandidos do Cante is one of those who have said yes. Read more here . Bandidos de Cante was formed almost by accident by childhood friends singing Alentejo folk songs at dinner parties and such. The quintet is composed of Miguel Costa, Duarte Farias, Francisco Raposo, Luís Aleixo and Francisco Pestana, all natives of the municipality of Beja, except for Francisco Pestana, who is from Monte Trigo. After tone of those dinner gatherings they were invited to record vocals to D.A.M.A.'s Casa ...

Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

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