Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Another week, another dose of #Finpop 2026. With the Big guns this time. Lauri Haav, Nelli Matula, Jenni Vartiainen and Robin Packalen - all familiar established names. Enjoy! LAURI HAAV- PERHONEN NELLI MATULA - MUN VUORO LUOVUTTAA JENNI VARTIAINEN - JOKU JOHON NOJATA ROBIN PACKALEN - 1001 TAPAA  

  Another dose of #Finpop for your enjoyment. Last year's revelation Hugo teams up with UMK veteran Sexmane while Jenni Vartiainen teams up with last year's most streamed artist Turisti. UMK veteran and disco queen Eini belts out another banger - written by Kuumaa's Johannes and Softengine's Topi among others! -  and finally a newcomer Kaukua.  Hugo / Sexmane - Sekunnis Jenni Vartiainen / Turisti - Leima Eini - Cocktail Kaukua - 10 000 tuntii

I already posted the Official singles chart #1's here , and it's time to check out the Radio play charts that often featured very different songs. And as the singles chart was all Finnish but the Wham's Christmas #1 the situation is not different here: Only one song, in the last week, too, made it to #1 and that was Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars! Only 12 songs made it to #1 as most of the year they kept going up and down and switching places at top. UMK Sara Siipola scored #1 here, as did UMK veterans BESS and Benjamin together, and BESS with Elastinen as well. Also another UMK veteran Robin Packalen scored his biggest hits in years. And if Mirella dominated the Singles chart being on top for 25 weeks here she did with two songs for six weeks. BESS was the Queen here with her 16 weeks on top! Elastinen feat BESS - Pimee (weeks 1-4, 7, 9) Jenni Vartiainen - Lanka (weeks 5, 10-12) Bee - Viimeisiä sanoja (weeks 6, 8) Mirella - Timanttei (weeks 13, 19, 21-22) Sara Siipola - Paska...

  Another week, another dose of #Finpop2024. This week only Big names from the Finnihs music industry, all of them numerous hits and sold out arenas with their latest efforts. Could someone of them return or debut to UMK in 2025? Enjoy! (Such a shame the music videos seem to be very rare these days...) BESS - SAANKO MÄ LUVAN ROBIN PACKALEN / TUPE - HÄITÄ PIDELLY SANNI / GETTOMASA - PAPERIHAAVOJA  JENNI VARTIAINEN - VILLIT VEDET

This week superstar Jenni Vartiainen's new single along with already more or less known names AHTI, Averagekidluke, Pihlaja and Jari Uutela, all already featured here previously. Jenni Vartiainen / Etta - Viimeinen pisara AHTI / Averagekidluke - Kissa Pihlaja - Delulu Jari Uutela - Silmät tottuu pimeään 

  Almost there. Here's Jenni Vartiainen's comeback (she's heavily rumored for UMK 2024 as well), as is Mikael Gabriel's. Then we have a remake on Eurovision 2006 wannabe and fan favorite by Annika Eklund, and finally another goodie from Eurovision veteran Darude's new album. Jenni Vartiainen - Lanka Mikael Gabriel - Ruotsinlaiva DJ Oku Luukkainen / Spekti / Annika Eklund - Shanghain valot Darude / Gid Sedgwick - Closer together

Ram pam pam, performed by BESS in UMK 2022, the Finnish national selection for Eurovision - placing third - has made history becoming the longest running #1 in the official Finnish radio charts, or being the most played song in the Finnish radios for 19 consecutive weeks already! It has reached according statistic 110 million listeners from April to August in a country of 5,5 million.  In the official singles chart Ram pam pam topped the charts for 10 consecutive weeks being the biggest hit along with Italy's Brividi of all national final songs this season in any country. It dropped out of Top-20 only last week after 34 weeks.  The previous record holder was Epäröimättä hetkeekään by Elastinen and Jenni Vartiainen. 

If BEHM was the Queen in the official singles charts ( here ) she also dominated the radio charts with her two song with a total of 17 weeks at number one and a total of 97 weeks in Top-100 with her various songs. In radios the longest lasting number one was however Epäröimättä hetkeekään by Elastinen & Jenni Vartiainen with 20 weeks at number one. Then comes surprisingly Erin with Yhtenä sunnuntaina and its seven weeks. Another duet 2020 by Anna Puu and Olavi Uusivirta spent 4 weeks at number one while Stereo feat Samu Haber and Arttu Wiskari topped the charts only for a week, making it only seven radio number ones in 2020! All of them Finnish. BEHM - Hei rakas (Weeks 1, 3, 4-11) Stereo feat. Samu Haber - Sä saat mut palasiksi (Week 2) Elastinen & Jenni Vartiainen - Epäröimättä hetkeäkään (Weeks 12-29, 33-35) Anna Puu & Olavi Uusivirta - 2020 (Weeks 30-32, 40) Arttu Wiskari -Tässäkö tää oli? (Week 36) Erin - Yhtenä sunnuntaina (Weeks 37-39, 41-44) BEHM - Frida (45-...

Biggest radio hit in 2019 so far.... and ever! Topping the chart for 14 weeks he replaced Jenni Vartiainen's Missä muruseni on (#1 for 13 weeks in 2010) as the song with most weeks at #1.  Benjamin's video was filmed in one shot and released late last year, but it's playing on radio only now.....

  Pyhimys feat. Aksel Kankaanranta - Jättiläinen JVG - Popkorni Adi L Hasla feat. Pihlaja - Kevät Nikke Ankara - Rikkinäinen prinsessa Pikku G feat. BHM - Solmussa The most listened Finnish artists were  Cheek,  JVG, Pyhimys,  Sanni,  Evelina,  Ellinoora  and Jenni Vartiainen. I guess it's safe to think none of these artists is the UMK2019 chosen one...

YLE has been very, very quiet about the coming UMK2019 - so much that fandom is creating such a fuss about it in chat rooms and message boards that even the tabloids are starting to talk about it. Last year this time we already knew Saara Aalto was selected in a surprise twist and YLE angered most everyone who had submitted songs to the selection that was cancelled just like that. Lack of any information or hints only fuels the idea YLE is clueless what to do or simply won't get anyone decent. The only thing known so far is that the selection will take place on March 2, 2019 somewhere, with someone with three songs. When UMK boss Anssi Autio was interviewed about it the whole affair can be summed up in this way: He didn't comment the No comment line of comments he gave to most every question. Meanwhile the fandom has desperately seeked for clues and created several lines of conspiracy theories and even a rather credible reason: Yle may have had someone booked up who then ...

Here comes the last set of hits from the Finnish airwaves this summer for now. YLE might be keeping an ear for possible #UMK2019 and Eurovision song contest entrants. Or possibly not.... Ilta is a new Finnish-German artist, who started at the top being the featured artist in megastar Cheek's #1 Sillat . Another featuring followed with some Adele covers before she released her first solo effort Koukkuun that went streaming gold. Let's see if she can make it and battle out off the shadows to spotlight among all these new up and coming female artists.... If Antti Tuisku is the male #1 in most everyone's wish list, Jenni Vartiainen is a true wet dream. When YLE announced they go internal again in 2019 media and chatrooms shouted out for Jenni in unison. She' working on her 4th album at the moment (all previous ones have sold multiplatinum). Meanwhile she has released alresdy four singles off it, this Väärään suuntaan was a radioplay #1, and her latest Voulez...

Yle has revealed that next year's UMK will be handled out like this year's, aka internal selection for the artist who can handle the big stage, live performance and has high tolerance for stress. This way they are able to invest more on staging and the rest, they say.  They don't know yet however if there will be one artist or several, and how the song(s) will be selected. Yle has contacted record labels, artists, songwriters and producers for ideas. In other words: depends who they manage to get and on what conditions .  The Finnish musicians association approves Yle is clear from the beginning this time and has offered their help, but Yle hasn't yet agreed nor disagreed on that. This year Yle angered them when they changed the rules and threw away the 300 submissions wasting their time and money for nothing when Yle went for Saara Aalto instead all of sudden.  Fans and common people pretty much in unison have named Jenni Vartiainen as the suitable and dream o...

It's September and the Eurovision 2018 season is officially on. I will feature in coming days names that could be in UMK18, if only...... I say if only, as most likely we won't see any of them in there for UMK is profilied as a newcomers contest instead of being our own Sanremo or Melodifestivalen. In short: a major contest all the big names want to take part not only to win but to boost their record sales and score hits. But one can dream, right? I have thrown in some not so known names for variety. Let's go.... Vol.5 (Check out Vol1 , Vol2 , Vol3 and Vol4 ) Kauriinmetsästäjät are Heikki and Tuomas, and they have already enjoyed Spotify and radioplay success with their Sua sua , Intiaanikesä,   Oisit vaan sanonu , Kun mä mietin sua niin uuh  and Revi mua (below). Could this Pet Shp Boyish in style and look do the trick in Lisbon? Jenni Vartiainen was part of the Popstars winning girlband Gimmel in 2002. In 2007 she came back after a break as a solo artist...

There are no semifinals this year but it doesn't mean one has to settle with one off final. No no no. YLE is having on Thursday and Friday pre-shows for #umk17 hosted by Mikko Silvennoinen live on stream and later recorded on TV2.  Let's see what we can expect later this week: Thursday - live stream at 5pm CET and in TV2 9pm CET The stage is revealed with footage from the rehearsals. The online prevoting closes   The pre-voting result will be revealed! Krista Siegfrids , Club La Persé , Lauri Yrjölä , My First Band , Norma John and Zuhlke will be present.  Friday - live stream at 4pm CET and in TV2 9pm CET Alva , Anni Saikku , Emma , Gunther & D'Sanz and Knuclebone Oscar & The Shangri-La Rubies will be present along with Marcus & Martinus .  Also on Friday 5.30pm  CET Puoli Seitsemän will reveal the Cow milk-o-meter results! Saturday  - live stream 8pm CET and TV2 8pm CET Pre-show starts 7.30 CET with the late...

Finnish pop superstar Jenni Vartianen and Norwegian teenage sensation Marcus & Martinus are the guest stars at #UMK17 final in Metro Arena, Espoo on January 28.  Jenni has released three multiplatinum selling albums (two of them #1s) since she went solo. She has also three platinum selling singles ( Ihmisten edessä #2, Missä muruseni on #1 and Mä en haluu kuolla tänä yön ä #1) and countless other hits. She's been nominated to 13 Emma Awards (aka Finnish Grammys) and won nine of those in various categories from song of the year to album of the year, female artist fo the year, live performer of the year and even video of the year.... She's been having a break and ready for a comeback it seems. If only she was competing ..... Marcus and Martinus are 14-year-old twins. Their career kick started by winning Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2012. Three years later their debut album topped the Norwegian charts, as did its re-release Fan spesial, and their second album few mont...

Follow up to this post . One can dream right? Here are the artists for the second semifinal, hand picked by yours truly.

Emma, the Finnish Grammy award nominations have been revealed today. Among the various nominees in different categories we have Softengine , the band that scored 11th in Copenhagen Eurovision 2014. They have been nominated as the newcomer of the year, and they are also among the nominees in the People's Choice award. In newcomers they fight it againt Arion , from UMK 2013. Jari Sillanpää has three nominations: Schlager album of the year, Male artist of the year and he's also listed for People's Choise. Another Eurovision veteran Katri Helena is still going strong; she scored also nomination in Schlager album of the year and also Female artist of the year. Diandra , Idol winner and UMK participant is also nominated for the Female artist of the year and People's Choice. Finally we have Tango King and national selection participant Amadeus Lundberg up for Peoples Choice. Also UMK judge Redrama and national final participant Samuli Edelmann are nominated. The...