Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  The month is almost over but this series is not, here's another dose of #finpop 2025! We have the latest from UMK winner Aksel Kankaanranta, already familiar Runo and Kiki with UMK veteran Mikael Gabriel and newcomer Lumo. Enjoy! Runo - Raudasta tehty KIKI / Mikael gabriel - Veri viiniks Lumo - Tuutko kiin aina pitämään Aksel Kankaanranta - Elää ikuisesti

  Another dose of #Finpop 2025: True veterans kaija Koo and Mikael Gabriel with their latest efforts along with already up and coming Aliisa Syrjä and newcomer Minttu with her second single - the first one I have already featured before. Enjoy! Minttu - Mokaamisen maailmanmestari Mikael Gabriel - Tää yö Kaija Koo - Räsypokka Aliisa Syrjä - Aamunkoi

Another dose of fresh #Finpop 2025 for you! It's Käärijä again, this time teaming up with UMK and fan favorite Bess followed by UMK veterans Mikael Gabriel and Benjamin along with Evelina who would fit UMK perfectly and I suspect and suppose has submitted song or two in previous years. Maybe next year she'll be there? BESS / Käärijä - Kaistaa Mikael Gabriel - Valinnu mun tien Evelina - Kirsikat Benjamin - Tommi (seksipommi)

Another week, another dosse of #Finpop2024 with some summery sounds even if here in Finland the summer's nearing the end. Two duets by already well known names Janna with Keko Salata and Finnish-Italian NOTO with UMK veteran Mikael Gabriel. ABREU continues to flirt with caliente Latin sounds and Tuuli goes rather dramatic, bang bang bang! ABREU - Caliente NOTO / Mikael Gabriel - Kolumbus Janna / Keko Salata - Muuttolintu Tuuli - Kevlar

  Another dose of new fresh #Finpop! Benjamin - Vanha minä vainaa jambo / Mikael Gabriel - Love Jaakko Kulta - Norjalaista puuta Karim B /Ege Zulu - Mi amore

As in previous years UMK 2024 is also a hit machine. The past three years the most streamed song in Finland has been an UMK entry, last year even Top-2 (and they are still in the Top-40 after one year!) It's funny to think just a few years ago the songs didn't chart at all, sometimes not even the winner and even longer ago some songs were not even recorded and/or released.  Here's how the songs have made in the Official singles Top-50 charts. As they were release one by one on different days and over two weeks chart period the positions enter gradually. Sara Siipola has featured the best here staying in Top-5 for three weeks already.  Cyan Kicks - Dancing with demons          14 . 21. Sexmane - Mania           4.   8. 15.  24. Sara Siipola - Paskana           19.  2.  4.  5. Jesse Markin - Glow           -  20 . -  -  Windowsman95 - No ru...

Finnish (pop) rapper Mikael Gabriel and Estonian nublu join forces for the third time for UMK 2024 and Eurovision with Vox populi. The previous efforts Universum and Vihje have been very different in style though, even between them. When the names were announced most thought this is the one to beat but then Sara Siipola kinda stole their thunder. We'll see how it goes next Saturday. Mikael Kristian Gabriel Sohlman (34) has Estonian mother which gives a little connection to this Finnish-Estonian affair. He tried Idols 2007 as a singer but didn't pass so he decided to go rapping instead. That has now come to a full circle as his releases in the past few years have been pure pop. He released his debut album in 2009 and his 7th came out in 2022. He has 5 n.o 1's to his credit, and 23 Top-10 singles. 3 of the albums have sold gold and his singles have sold/streamed 29 gold/platinum/multiplatinum. He has starred also in two long films as an actor.  He comes from a broken home a...

  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

  This week new releases of big stars Antti Tuisku, Mikael Gabriel with JVG along  with Nelli Matula and Ollie. Antti Tuisku - Koti Mikael Gabriel / JVG - Nallekarkit Nelli Matula - Kiltti tyttö Ollie - Kaksi sydäntä

Vain elämää is a hugely popular semi reality music program where top artists get together for a week and each day is dedicated to one of them. The day's artist sits through lunch and dinner telling about own life and career while the others each perform a cover song of this artist's repertoire. At the moment the season 11 is airing. The season always gives birth to countless streaming hits, restarts careers, cements the up and coming ones and sells out Hartwall Arena for a concert later in the year.  The artists are so already so many, and fit also the other given #umk2021 categories like past Eurovision stars and Emma award winners. Withoiut further a do, here the very unlikely big stars come: Jannika B - Kaksi jotka pelkää Petra - Miljoona syytä Mira Luoti - Plää plää plää Sani - Tulin tänne sua varten Reino Nordin - Antaudun Nikke Ankara - Rikkinäinen prinsessa Juha Tapio - Päiväni ilman sinua Mikael Gabriel - Oli aikoi Erin - Yhtenä sunnuntaina Ellinoora - Nartut Anna Puu -...

Yle is going internal again in 2019 and it will be very curious to see who they choose (or get) after Saara Aalto - will they go for big international name or something big in Finland.  Or someone new and emerging? If Robin has been the biggest teenage sensation in Finland ever, Isac Elliot comes close second but most of his repertoire has been in English and more international. Now that he's finally 17 he could well be Eurovision worthy. Already popular in Norway - apparently causing teenage hysteria there - and Poland, Singapore and some other markets, and being in some American radios playlists including Disney and Billboard's Next big sound and winning the MTV Europe best Finnish act twice already... Do I need to say more? Three albums, two EPs and a dozen charting singles to his credit so far wouldn't Eurovision be a logical next step in the world domination? After all he already did Estonian national selection - as a guest star!

In the post- Despacito era also Finnish artists are taking the Latin sounds to their own and we have some surprising hits in the charts. Evelina 's Sun vika hit the airways already in winter and despite being labeled as Havana wannabe has found its way to the radiowaves. Abreu goes back to her Portuguese roots and throws in a lot of Latin flavor to her Amor amor while Mikael Gabriel hits gold with his Naapurit kuulee . Another rapper turned into pop singer Nikke Ankara also has his share of Latin vibe in his Rikkinäinen prinsessa .  I suspect we will get some more of this stuff in coming weeks and months, thankst to the heatwave we are enjoying in this hottest May ever.... Ay que calor!

A total of 18 songs made it to the number one in the official Finnish singles charts in 2017;  15 of them being Finnish! But as the Finnish ones, mostly various pop rapper, shot to the top and dropped out in a week or two mostly, the foreign ones stayed on top for several weeeks and months making a total of 30 weeks! The hugely popular Vain elämää's two seasons both gave us countless radiohits but only two made it to #1 (Nikke Ankara and Cheek with a Jari Sillanpää cover) last year, one from each series. Without further a do, have a listen below.... ARTTU LINDEMAN - HUKUTAAN (Week 1) ED SHEERAN - SHAPE OF YOU (Weeks 2-6, 12-15) MIKAEL GABRIEL & ISAC ELLIOT - LIIKAA SUSSA KII (Weeks 7-8) JVG feat. ELLINOORA - SITÄ SÄÄT MITÄ TILAAT (Weeks 9-10) ANTTI TUISKU - RAHAN TAKII (Week 11) REINO NORDIN - ANTAUDUN (Weeeks 16-17) NIKKEluis f ANKARA - PETTÄVÄLLÄ JÄÄLLÄ (Week 18) LUIS FONSI  ft. DADDY YANKEE - DESPACITO (Weeks 19-23, 24-31) ANTTI TUISK...

Happy birthday to Axel as he turns 27 today. Congratulations! Axel Ehnström aka Paradise Oskar Dada dammed for Finland in Eurovision 2011 winning the Marcel Bezençon award and placing third in the semifinal and gaining praise from left and right. However, he never intended to become a singer himself and after his debut album (#4 in Finland) he has created a succesful songwriting career. Some of songs he has co-written: Isac Elliott - New way home (#1 Finland, #4 Norway) Kasmir - Wowowow (#4 Finland) Anna Abreu - Bandana (#5 Finland) RAF Camora - Mein Leben (#3 Germany, #12 Switzerland) Alle Farben - Bad ideas (#4 Austria, #7 Germany) Lost Frequences - All or nothing (#10 Belgium) - Also vocals -  Sofi De La Torre - Vermilion Mikael Gabriel - Riippumatto (#4 Finland) Pretty Pink feat. Axel Ehnström - Superman

  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.8 Check out the previous posts by scrolling down. Benjamin didn't hit fame and fortune from Youtube or Spotify but from Instagram. Yup. He got a huge following before he even recorded one note or before anyone even thought he could be a singer. His debut Underdogs was a Top-10 hit in Finland and became a hit in Spain, of all places, where he apparently has a following. Unbreakable , Young and restless , Body and Man on the moon (below) continued...