Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  The 2020's have been very good for Finland, the best era of the whole Eurovision history by far. Four out of six our best placements ever have been in the past six years.  1. Lordi - Hard rock hallelujah - 1/37   2006 2. Käärijä - Cha cha cha  2/37  2023 3. Blind Channel - Dark side  6/39    2021 4. Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen -Liekinheitin  6/35    2026 5. Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME   11/37    2025 5. Softengine - Something better  11/37    2014

Topi Latukka was the lead singer of Softengine that brought Finland its third best placing at the Eurovision song contest ever in Copenhagen 2011. The band is no more and  28-year-old Topi has been busy launching his solo career a few years ago and then silence. The silence was not due pandemic like for many but a rare bone cancer, adamantinoma. He has been operated this week, his leg basically rebuilt and now he has expect a full recovery in 6-12 weeks, including learning to walk again as he tells in his Instagram . This blogger wishes Topi a speedy recovery. #Cancersucks .

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%

Eurovision 2020 may be cancelled but the various broadcasters are filling the empty hours with Eurovision related programmes and their plans are slowly coming out. Besides the specials in the making in Germany and Sweden, and EBU's own Love shine a light show airing on May 16 that should involve all the artists of Eurovision 2020 somehow there are alternative ideas. Yle has decided to celebrate the brightest moments of Finland in recent years instead. On May 14 Krista Siegfrids and Mikko Silvennoinen will be hosting a Top-10 show (19.00-20.30 local time). Finns have an opportunity vote online before hand the Eurovision 2020 songs and they will reveal and showcase the top-10. The voting opens on May 8 and the show will feature also other performances and guests. After that Yle will broadcast again the Eurovision 2014 final , where Softengine placed 11th with their Something better .  On May 15 we will have Krista and Mikko again (19.00-20.30 local time) and this tim...

Täydellisii paperil , or Perfect on paper is Topi Latukka's new solo single in Finnish. It follows Pehmeitä pintoi and Tekohengitystä   in the past few months  The video is apparently the first in the world fully filmed with OnePlus phone. The song itself is midtempo radio pop, maybe a bit anonymous like the previous ones with lyrics that challenge all grammar rules like it is the habit these days. He is a good vacalist and writes good songs, perfect on paper , but something better is needed to stand out I'm afraid. However I'm positive sooner or later he hits the jackpot and gets a major smash hit he deserves. This one is not that one. Yet. 

Softengine scored the best Finnish finish in the Eurovision since Lordi's win with their Something better in Copenhagen 2014. They released their debut album, got good critic abroad and for a while it seemed they would actually make it and become world known band. Then September one of the guys left the band and they continued as foursome, releasing singles and promised two EPs to be released. One came, the other never. Then May 2017 another guy left and they were three... Then we haven't quite  heard of them until now: lead singer Topi Latukka has released his debut solo single (but the band still exists). In Finnish. Pehmeitä pintoi is a far cry from bands rocky pop and flirts with today's radio friendly trends and thus remains rather anonymous sadly.... The year after Satin Circus was in UMK and instantly became a fan favorite with Crossroads . They already gained popularity before UMK but sadly Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät run over them for all the wrong reasons...

  Finland celebrates its 100th year as an independent state and has ever since searched for its place in Europe and the world, between East and West. Sometimes with less success. As we speak in 1939 we were at war again with Soviet Union but - let's make a huge change of subject here -  since 1961 Finland has been taking part in the Eurovision song contest (and we also took part, and won twice, the copycat contest behind the Iron curtain, Intervision song contest). It may have taken awhile before we won, but it never stopped us taking part. EBU did, in those crazy 1990's-early 2000's. Let's look back in coming days as a countdown to the Big Day some of the most memorable and significant entries from Finland..... In 2002 Finland sent Laura Voutilainen with Addicted to you to southern neighbour Estonia. Expectations were high as usual, and there was a thrilling buzz all around Helsinki the big night; bars were showing the contest, thousends of Finns were at...

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.... Alex Mattson is really Aleksi Kaunisvesi (20) and the first Finnish solo artist and DJ to be signed to Grammy winning Ultra Music. Besides his solo releases he has prodiuced songs to names like Isac Elliot , Reino Nordin , Mikael Gabriel. UFO feat Solamay and Forget you entered the international playlists and his latest Good kids is following them... Runaway Zoo is a band from Porvoo. The five little town boys have known each other all their live...

It's not every day a Finnish artist appears in the UK charts but Alma is there now with Chasing highs and follows Hanoi Rocks (#61), Softengine (#93), Lordi (#25) and Top-10 ones Darude , The Rasmus and Bomfunk MC . That's just about it. Can't remember any others. She's at #45 this week in the official singles charts and going up.  In Finland she took part in Idols 2013 but was voted out as 5th-7th (along with Zühlke, UMK2017's runner up). In years between she has matured to one of the most interesting voices of the decade and Finns are expecting great things from her.... Last year she was awarded with Emma award (local Grammy) as the Newcomer of the year and also with a special Export Emma. Her previous singles Karma and Dye my hair have also had some international chart action. She's also featured in Felix Jaehn's Bonfire and Sub Focus' Don't you feel it . 

There were a lot of media fingers pointing at YLE and especially UMK as a failed production ( here , here , here  and here ). After Portugal's win the discussion has heated up again, and some are even demanding those responsable for UMK to resign, producer Anssi Autio especially. It has been noted out also that Portugal proved all the Eurovision mynths wrong:  1) You don't need a Swedish written/produced song to win,  2) You don't have to sing in English,  3) You don't need to do promotional tours and events,  4) You don't need a fancy and expensive video,  5) You don't need a voting block,  6) You don't need props and special effects on stage and  7) certainly you don't need fireworks and windmachines.  The Portuguese staging must have been the simpliest and cheapest since 1960's.  And all this right after when UMK people have been putting all their future effort in making huge stagings. IL clearly points the...

Softengine has been talked a lot in the past week as Finland is expecting a similar success at the Eurovision song contest as they did back in 2014 placing 11th - nation's best since Lordi's win 2006 and overal the second best placing if we look at the number of countries taking part. And now they have announced that keyboardist Henri Oskar has left the band due to musical indifferences, just like bassist Eero Keskinen, when he left the band after Eurovision. Good luck as trio!

The oldest OGAE fans organized contest, OGAE Song contest has come to its 30th edition this year and is doing better than ever. Wolrdclass acts like Adele, Delta Goodrem, Mariza and Enya battling it out along with Eurovision stars Anna Vissi, Dina Garipova, Sirusho, Amir, Kati Wolf, Eva Boto, Marija Serifovic, Lena Philipsson, Daniel Kajmakoski, Helena Paparizou and Softengine and all the others the local clubs have chosen to represent themselves. A total of 28 great songs to choose from - what would be a better past time? You can listen to all the entries here and have a look at the voting here .  The past few years the victories have all went to same nations: United Kingdom (2009, 2010, 2011), Spain (2013, 2016) and France (2014, 2015), only Italy breaking the trend in 2012. And these four countries do have the most wins ever in the contest anyways. At least the Big5 is ruling here.... One can only wish and hope Alvaro Soler would be one of the shortlisted and invited a...

Softengine has released the first single off the forthcoming EP, Free rider . And once again it's a very catchy rock-pop affair, that would make an awesome dance mix, too (hint, hint!).  Topi Latukka tells there was a rather mystic coincidence with this song: the very day they finished the demo for this song Prince died. The song includes the line "party like it's 1999"....

Eurogames 2016 are happening as we speak in Helsinki and the Eurogames village has been set to the city center, in the Helsinki people's living room next to Music Hall. Tonight the opening ceremony will take place and yes, they are all there:  Krista Siegfrids (ESC 2013),  Softengine (ESC 2014),  Sandhja (ESC 2016),  UMK runner up Mikael Saari and  eternal runner up in everything Saara Aalto.  Even Tuuli Ukkonen of UMK fame makes an appearance. Altogether 14 disciplines, 1500 athletes from 40 countries all around the globe it's a little bit like Eurovision bubble. It's also the Pride week and Saturday's parade will be propably the biggest Finland has seen yet, and the Closing party will be the biggest gay event ever held in Finland.  And yes, Krista is there, too! 

After the huge media and social media outcry YLE's UMK producer Anssi Autio has met the press. When Sandhja didn't qualify for the final last night in the first semifinal, it marks only Finland's second run of two years in a row since the semifinals started 11 years ago as we missed the 2004 and 2005 finals (only to come back in 2006 and win it!).  People have critizid everything from singing offtune, to her dress, styling and choreography and staging. And the way she was selected. Saara Aalto and her fans are all over the press again....  This year the UMK voting had 50-50 televote and the civil juries, while last year it was 90-10 and both acts failed to qualify. Last year PKN won the televote, too, while this year Saara Aalto won it but lost to Sandhja in combined result. In 2014 Softengine finished 11th in the Eurovision final having been selected by combined televote/jury vote.  "I wouldn't start blaming the UMK voting system, but maybe we have to che...

Finland's brightest pop star Robin has teamed up with Eurovision 2014 rockers Softengine in his new single Salamatie , off his Super Deluxe version of Yhdessä album, where he duets with another Eurovision veteran, Vesa-Matti Loiri in Lapin kesä  andothers like Sanni and Kasmir. Robin may be still only 17, but he has already released seven albums/re-releases over the past four years, and Salamatie is already his 19th single! Each album has sold multiplatinum and he has already 9 top-10 hits. Talk about teen hysteria.....

Softengine has something better cooking up: a mini tour in Baltics! And guess what? You can join in and tour with them! Check out the itinerary below and join in the real rock'n roll tour bus experience! Meanwhile the band is prepairing an EP to be released in November following the release of their latest single All about you & I.   October 27, 2015 Departure from Helsinki 7.45 and arrival in Tallinn at 11.00. With tour bus to Tartu where you can hang out the afternoon after checking in and  before the gig in Glen.Klubi around 23.00 October 30, 2015 After breakfast the travel continues to Liepaja. Check in and gig at Fontaine Palace around midnight after pre-party in guys' room. And then of course after party til morning light. October 31, 2015 After breakfast to Riga . Check in, hang out with hangover before pre-party in Cafe Leningrad or similar. The gig at 23.00 in Nabaklab. Party on! November 1, 2015 Check out before midday and back to bus...

Softengine has released the first new single, that's not from the debut album just in time for the summer. All about you & I continues where we were left with the previous singles and the guys have proven they are not one hit wonder as all singles Something better , Yellow house ,  The Sirens  and What if I? did well with radio play and the album went to #7. Their summer is filled with gigs, including the legendary Provinssirock festival. After this year's Eurovision disaster their 11th place last year feels even better....

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...