Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Well, most probably not but this list of artists seems to fit the hints Yle gave and it did spread around fast like a forest fire in August . It does include names that this blogger has been toying with as well, and names that could fit the concept well and most of all feature several strong names so it wouldn't be one or two horse run but a real battle and more battle between the songs rather than artists. In theory. Here they are for your enjoyment and speculation: Portion Boys feat Meiju Suvas Portion Boys, the biggest party band (maybe) with three Top-5 hits in the past year, one of them with Teflon Brothers from Umk fame, with Meiju Suvas who's been around 40 years and living a new fame peak thanks to Vain elämää season 13 this fall. She's tried to get the ticket to ESC several times already. Pete Parkkonen he shot to fame in Idols 2008/09 and has had ups and downs in his career, the ultimate sex symbol who finally proved to most everyone he's a real international ...

  The Rasmus was born at the high school where they had their first gig in 1994. Their debut EP was released a year later. Now they have released nine studio albums and two compilations. 32 singles including global hit In the Shadows (Finland #1), F-F-F-Falling (#1), Heartbreaker / Days (#1), Living in a world without you (#1) and their latest Venemous moon (with Apocalyptica).  A curious fact is The Rasmus lost one member and gained a new guitarist, Emppu Suhonen who herself enjoyed great national success and fame with TikTak about the same time The Rasmus broke through. As we remember also Lordi changed its members a bit just before Eurovision.... Current band members are Lauri Ylönen and Eero Heinonen, both original, Aki Hakala and before mentioned Emilia "Emppu" Suhonen. Lauri has had also a sort but successful solo career with gems like Heavy and In the city . Btw he lives these days in Hawaii. Apparently Yle asked them to represent Finland (when Saara Aalto and Da...

Yle organized among its other consolation Eurovision 2020 programming also a voting to find out the most loved Finnish entries of each decade (here). The clear winner was Something better and saara Aalto finished where she usually lands to: second. 2014 Softengine - Something better  29,3% 2018 Saara Aalto - Monsters  19,3% 2017 Norma John - Blackbird  12,5% 2013 Krista Siegfrids - Marry me   12,3% 2011 Paradise Oskar - Da da dam   10,5% 2015 Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät - Aina mun pitää   5,7% 2010 Kuunkuiskaajat - Työlki ellää  4,8% 2019 Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman - Look away   2,1% 2012 Pernilla Karlsson - När jag blundar  2,1% 2016 Sandhja - Sing it away  1,3%

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 ...

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...

Saara Aalto's runner up Domino was my favorite out of her UMK 2018 songs. The live performance includes the upside down singing then borrowed to Monsters Lisbon staging, but more than that it's a classy ballad that comes alive when sung live with the audience. The simple yet effective staging would have been so much better than the over choreographed and gimmicky Monsters . And the song's better, too. 

YLE declares satisfied with the Eurovision 2018 adventures, despite the disappointing 25th place or second to last, in the final. 1,9 million viewers were registered for the final on Saturday night while 1,5 million watched the first semi-final, and in Yle Areena, the web portal Eurovision content was viewed over 800.000 times, and Yle's Eurovision website had over 1,2 million visits.  Meanwhile there has been a lot of talk about this year's selecting process, media demanding to know how much money was spent - aka tax payers money - in promoting Saara Aalto's career. Yle has refused to give any numbers saying Eurovision is an all year round project and it's not possible to give exact sums. Hmm...  People are not happy.  They are also yet undecided what to do next year; open call or internal selection of the artist. The later might be a better choice at this point when they have angered the songwriters in the country (when changing the selection process all of sud...

Finland is all about monsters at the moment. The original ones, and Eurovision song contest 2006 winners are in Lisbon to promote their new album Sexorcism "because our German label wants so". It's of course also an excuse to meet up this year's monster and have a short dive into the bubble again, as Lordi is used to do every other year or so. In a lenghty interview with Helsingin Sanomat Mr Lordi also tells what the victory brought them: shame. Finns were ashamed before they won, and a year after the victory again and it continues still. No gigs at home while abroad they tour all the time. Finnish radios won't play their music. Media interest comes only once a year, in May. Common people don't even know they are still active and ask him "when did you split?". Yet he doesn't regret participating as now everybody even outside heavy music circles know them. Would he do it again like Rybak this year? No. Would he consider doing it now for the...

AUSTRIA - CÉSAR SAMPSON - NOBODY BUT YOU After your words have been my bible How could I search for someone new? Vocals **** Staging **** Song **** Overall **** Sadly non qualifier GREECE - YIANNA TERZI - ONIRO MOU (You’re) the end and the beginning You’re everything Vocals **** Staging **** Song ***** Overall **** Likely qualifier FINLAND - SAARA AALTO - MONSTERS It’s my life, I’m ready to lead it I’m gonna roll the dice, you better believe it Vocals *** Staging *** Song **** Overall *** Borderline qualifier

Greece - Yianna Terzi - Oniro mou Yianna looks like a Greek goddess in her white dress that flows in the wind (aka windmachine).  She's the second artist after Croatia's Franka to be alone on stage. One hand is painted blue (henna?) and symbolizes the Greek sea and skies. Something Finns can relate as well with our blue and white and their symbolism. Apparently there will be some augmented reality effects on screen as well as they promised some surprises and the screens in press center were turned down.  "Intense", "Passionate", "Powerfull", "Traditional", "Safe and not challenging" Finland - Saara Aalto - Monsters Oh dear. Who was expecting something really new and innotative - like this blogger - is disappointed. One starts to question how good this Friedman guy really is as all we see in this revamped Monsters staging is recycled ideas and gimmicks from other acts they have done, starting from Dominö ...

While all eyes are in Lisbon and the first semi-final rehearsals Saara Aalto had one more performance of Monsters on live television tonight in X Factor semifinal, where one of her girls made it to final next week, that she's going to miss obviously. But no worries, Matt Terry will replace her. Saara will fly to Lisbon early tomorrow and will have her first rehearsal on stage at 13.40. 

Saara Aalto has been around forever but international debut comes in a form of Wild wild wonderland album today. The album's cover is pure 80's Stock-Aitken-Waterman! (And not only the cover...) Thirteen songs in total, including all her UMK2018 entries Monsters , Queens and Domino , as well as her UMK16 runner up No fear as a bonus track. One song has curiously Finnish title, HÄN .  After being the runner up in Talent Suomi, The Voice of Finland, twice in the national final for Eurovision and X Factor UK she was internally chosen by YLE to represent Finland this year. This is her her fifth album following Blessed with love (2011), Christmas album Enkeleitä - Angels (2011), You had my heart (2013) and Chinese language compilation album  Ai De Zhu Fu (2013). Her only sales chart appearances so far are the You had my heart 's one week at #43 in album charts, and Monsters peaking at #14 in the singles' chart and dropping to #15 the week after before vani...

  Azerbaijan - Aisel - X my heart Aysel Mammadova (28) aka Aisel is jazz and blues singer,  pianist and songwriter but for this Eurovision adventure she goes all pop. There are so many reasons I shouldn't like this one but this has grown to be my guilty pleasure this year aka Slavko vol.2. These lyrics are priceless. She's got the honor to open the contest this year and set the tune so let's hope she delivers vocally and being Azerbaijan they must have come up with some staging gimmick. And qualify. I may have liked the original version better though. Can't help it but 9/10 (blush) Australia - Jessica Mauboy - We got love Jessica (28) is Australian Idol runner up 2006, and the hint of things to come for Australia in Eurovision as she starred in the interval act in the 2014 contest and the rest is history, Australia has taken part in the contest ever since.  She may have not quite shined vocally in Copenhagen but apparently she's got it. The song...

The Finnish Eurovision song conteest 2018 entry Monsters has got some cool remixes: very 80's sounding Initial Talk remix , club anthemic Cutmore remix , Cutmore radio edit and Extended version . Listen to them on Spotify for example.  In an interview her ex-hubby Teemu Roivainen said Domino was his favorite of her three entries because it has such cool remixes. Now when can we hear those?!

Yesterday's news was YLE was unable to "pay everybody" to Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest and thus leaving the entry's writers home, read more here . That caused quite a social media stir and for the reason. After all this is a SONG contest and without the song and who wrote it there was no entry (even if sometimes one wonders if there's a song at all in some performances...)  Today YLE announces it was all a misunderstanding and Linnea Deb, Joy Deb and Ki Fitzgerard all are travelling to Lisbon and will be in the Green room with the artists as well. One wonders who had the guts and common sense to stay away and give room to those you really deserve it....  Well done YLE, whether it was due to the negative flashback or just commom sense. Still I have to press it's more of the first as in the statement they still insist "usually YLE hasn't paid the songwriters to the spot due to the delegation limits set by EBU". So you do mean you have...

Eurovision and remixes. Every year there are a few more or less interesting official ones, and many, many unofficial ones. Here you have some official ones out so far. And something else.... Ieva Zasimauskaité's When we're old has got a Jovani Remix. One of the most underrated entries this year if you ask this blogger works nicely even as a sort of dance mix,  Just like the Lithuanian language version Kol myliu it adds another dimension to this little pearl. The video itself follows her journey through the neverending selection process until her victory. Nice job! The favorite extraordinaire this year has got a remix, too, Sagi Kariv's remix of Netta's Toy doesn't bring much to the mix, just more and longer beats to make this work even better at the dance floor. For more adventurous remixes Youtube is full of unofficial ones.... SuRie's got Storm remixed by 7th Heaven making it sound like... err... any 7th Heaven remix since years but hey, if it...

  The favorite won the Finnish final and Saara Aalto will sing Monsters in Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest. As Krista Siegfrids said: This is our mothafuckinyear! My favorite was Domino , it came alive on stage and was vocally the strongest and most effective, more of a song and less show. Sadly the much advertised performances on stage #never seen before in Finland" and bla bla ba weren't anything new or innotative. I wonder how much Friedman got paid for those acts? The camera work was all over the place but not where it should have been. In Queens the locomotive or whatever it was supposed to be was so high and the camera angle such that you totally lost Saara on top of it. Monsters was dark and uninviting, no camera contact mostly and nothing new or anything to remember afterwards or that would have made you go WOW. Just a routin choreography from any big star with money show. YLE sais this is the way it will be staged in Lisbon but maybe a time out is necess...

YLE has sort of apologized the mess they created late last year when they threw away the UMK2018's 300 submissions and chose internally Saara Aalto out of the blue angering the Finnish musicians and authors, and most of the public as well. Not very fair indeed. But YLE says they got fed up."Last year we had a great song, performance and artist and it failed. Like many times before." YLE promises in the future this won't happen: it will be clear from the start: internal choice or business as usual next year. "People have been asking us big names in UMK, but the big names don't want to participate. Maybe they are afraid of losing. Or then winning and failing in the main event and Finns can be cruel afterwards. We knew Saara Aalto wants to do this and she has experience of big stages so why not?" YLE's Antti Autio still believes they did nothing wrong and there's a weird case of blaming one person, Finnish Musicians association's boss Aku...

  YLE was business as usual with separate artists and song submission calls with deadlines until out of the blue last Novembeer they announced they had selected internally Saara Aalto ,  angering both general public and most of all the Finnish authors and musicians whose work (around 300 submissions apparently) was thrown in to rubbish bin just like that with "it wasn't good enough". All that put aside, tonight's the night. Saara Aalto will perform - because it's all about performances really this time around - her three foreign written songs (only one has a Finnish producer it seems) with staging and choreographies done my foreigners the way they will be done in Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest stage, meaning no LED wall but a lot of props.... like in the old days! It's no secret I was not and I am still not fan of this decision and even less so after hearing the songs, but Finland could be in with a chance this year. Not because the songs, or th...

  Here they now are. The three entries by Saara Aalto for Eurovision song contest 2018 for Finland. What can I say? Not much there to say. Queens is plain bad, Monsters is okeyish and Domino is my favorite out of these three. Not that it is great. And she keeps pushing the LBGT theme in all videos, that aren't so great either. Monsters would have been cool and ground breaking. In 1995.