Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

 Mahmood & co enjoyed a mudful day at Dead Sea  Sergey found the sign.  Tamara found Old Jaffa.  Wake up, meditation over, Eliot!  Kate the Copycat.  Strike a face!  Ding dong, Krista is everywhere.  Lake Mudawi.    Wallflowers Darude & Sebastian.  One big Eurovision family.    Fuego!  Take me to your doublechin heaven.  Home is where the doublechin is.  Proud display of a tongue. Jump!

Helsinki's Musiikkitalo aka  Music House   has the biggest permanent screen (172m2) in Nordic countries with the Helsinki's "public living room" just under its feet where tens of thousends of people can gather and enjoy various events, right next to the new and fabulous library  Oodi , and Museum of Contemporary Art  Kiasma .  Finlandia Hall , the venue of Eurovision 2007 Welcome Party is just around the corner, too. Musiikkitalo is organizing the viewing on Saturday 18 to watch the final all together! How cool is that? Something like that happened only back in 2007 when Helsinki was hosting the show. Krista Siegfrids and Mikko Silvennoinen are the commentators for YLE in TV2 and the broadcast that will be seen on the screen. They will also report all week from Tel Aviv what's going on in Twitter , Facebook and Instagram . They will be interactive with viewers all through the live broadcasts, too, on social medias mentioned before. Just befo...

Finland is choosing its entry for Eurovision song contest 2019 tonight in Logomo, Turku. DJ Darude of Sandstorm fame was internally chosen to represant the country and he presented three entries in February, all sung by singer-musician-actor Sebastian Rejman. Eurovision veteran Krista Siegfrids is hosting the live show with Kristoffer Sandberg and Mikko Nousiainen. Eurovision winner Emmelie De Forest will also perform. The winner will be chosen by 50-50 international jury (UK, Ireland, Spain, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Deenmark, Czech Republic) and televoters. It seems it's going to be between Superman and Look away as they have featured best in various polls. Superman has references to Sandstorm in arrangements while Look away is the only one Darude aka Ville Virtanen and Sebastian Rejman have written together. This blogger is team #Superman. 

Gabriel Alares may not say much to most but he's not only an Idol 2013 participant in Sweden where he finished only 7th. He has made a name as a songwriter and with a lot of success. He co-wrote Russia's What if in 2013 that placed 5th, and A million voices in 2015 that placed 2nd. He can only do better now.... And he is one of the co-writers (with Magnus Wallin, Gustaf Svengunsson and Krista herself) of Krista Siegfrid's Faller in Melodifestivalen 2016. The song is apparently an uptempo and as Krista loves a good show on stage, there will be a full explosion of Eurovision glitter for sure! Krista has told this is the first song she has written in Swedish, despite it being her mother tongue and it feels real good to sing finally in Swedish. Her aim is to make it in Sweden as there really isn't market for Finlandsvenska music in Finland and sees Melodifestivalen not only a childhood dream but as a vehicle to promote herself and maybe make it in Sweden..... Lycka t...

Sometimes ago ti was revealed Krista Siegfrids will be hosting #UMK2016 with Roope Salminen. The shows start on February 6, primetime Saturday evening. The very night the Swedish Melodifestivalen starts and yesterday it was revealed she will be competing there with her song Faller . That happens the second week, February 13. So, we know she's multitalented woman and can do many thing, even at the same time and overcome most everything but how can she on stage in Malmö in Sweden singing her song live and hosting the #UMK2016 live in Finland at the same time? Not even Krista can do that .... Her quick solution was the helicopter. I guess she'd need more like a space shuttle.  It seems poor Roope needs to host the second show alone and there's hope we will have a live link to Malmö and see how it goes there. Some fans are already speculating Roope would chat with Gina and who knows what else.... On the other hand some are already afraid #UMK2016 will turn into Melod...

Now that was a surprise! A nice one! Excellent one! Readers of my blog know I'm not the biggest Melodifestivaen fan and I do find it way overrated. Great entertaining show yes, musicaally interesting and great? Not so much. Anyways, Krista Siegfrids continues her never stopping career going onwards in Meldoifestivalen. She has told she was asked to take part last year but said nej as the song didn't quite convince her. Now she has co-written her entry and follows Arja Saijonmaa's footsteps becoming only the second Finn to be in*. Arja scored a second place, with one point behind the winner back in 1986 with Högt över havet and returned in the 2000's with less success. Will Krista become the third time lucky Finn? Maybe not, but this is her a huge opportunity to sell her bubbly personality and music to the Swedes. After all, she has always been the odd happy "Swedish like" artist in Finland. If only she could spread that positivity, fun and happiness to oth...

The first annual QX Gay Gaala was organized last night in Helsinki and Krista Siegfrids won the award for the Best Artist of the year. Elias Koskimies , who has directed her videos among others, and directed the fabulous I've only just begun was voted the Homo of the year. Congrats to both!   That's Elias in disguise with Krista and the Ding Dong girls, who also performed last night in the gala. 

Krista Siegfrids was on live chat with Ilta-Sanomat's Poppipoliisit today and some facts were revealed along the chat with the hosts and questions by the followers. She's very un-Finnish artists as she started with a bang with her More os more theme and wasn't asking apologies from anyone for breaking through, and she has managed to avoid being labeled both Voice-Krista or UMK-Krista - maybe because she's so different and has been around for such a long time working her butt off.... She will on stage in Malmö in all female company; five girls and herself (three dancers, two backing singers) She will be doing promo in Amsterdam's Eurovision in Concert as well as London Eurovision, and Stockholm, too Her album will be released on May 10, 2013 and is called Ding Dong! She describes it as a mix between the styles of Kesha and Joan Jett! She told that she feels completely confortable alterning from rock to pop. With a hint of dance thrown in! She also told ...

Krista Siegfrids, the pop explosion in UMK 2013 took time from her busy schedule in Dubai of all places to answer some questions. Is she Eurovision fan? Who took her like a stormwind? What does she think about Loreen? Did girlpower rule over hanky dancing boys? Do want to get ding donged? In that case vote for her in my poll on the right side! When and how did you hear you have made the cut of the top-12 in UMK 2013? I was at home when they called me and told me I was one of the 12 finalists. I was REALLY happy to join the competition with my own song Marry Me! I was jumping up and down in the sofa like a happy kid! What made you to take part in UMK after The Voice? I wanted people to hear my songs. I have no record deal so it's really hard to get my music out there. UMK was a great opportunity for me to get people to discover me and my music How did you start writing songs and do you remember your first song you wrote? I started to write texts and rhymes. I w...

I will be once again live blogging the UMK live tonight. It's time for the semifinal and see who will be the two (or apparently it is four!?) lucky ones the jury and televoters send to next week's grand final with Mikael Saari, Diandra Flores, Krista Siegfrids and Arion. Like the previous weeks the show time is on YLE Areena with UMK+ 19.45 CET and the show itself starts at 20.00 CET,  also on YLE's website. Tonight's guest star is Elonkerjuu. Twitter #UMK13 19.45 UMK+ has started online and soon we will move to The Circus nightclub in Helsinki city center. One of the judges, Aija is interviewed and she tells how she has given advice to the vocalists in the early stages of UMK but now they are on their own and the judges only... judge. She also tells she wished there was more indie pop but apparently that's something missing in the Finnish scene at the moment... Next we talk with the hosts, Ile and Anne, and most of all their outfits for tonight. They remind ...

It looked like the judges would turn the tables but in the end the televote turned them back and all ended as planned: Krista Siegfrids and Arion straight to the final and Atlérico Kumpula was kicked out. Here are the full jury votes (as usual the televotes were not announced): Great Wide North 36 (Toni 9, Aija 9, Tomi 9, Redrama 9) Arion 35 (Toni 9, Aija 9, Tomi 9, Redrama 8) Krista Siegfrids 34 (Toni 8, Aija 8, Tomi 9, Redrama 9) Atlético Kumpula  28 (Toni 7, Aija 6, Tomi 8, Redrama 7) Lucy Was Driving 26 (Toni 6, Aija 7, Tomi 7, Redrama 6) Elina Orkoneva 26 (Toni 6, Aija 7, Tomi 7, Redrama 6)

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 t...