Finland: YLE unveils the seven UMK 2022 contestants

Finland: YLE unveils the seven UMK 2022 contestants
Wednesday, 12 January 2022

  • The Finnish national broadcaster, YLE, has unveiled the 7 competing acts of the country's national final for Eurovision 2022, UMK 2022. 

    YLE,  is sticking with the Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) format in order to select the Eurovision 2022 representative.This will be the 11th edition of UMK which continues for another year, especially after this years record breaking numbers of viewers for the national final  but also for the contest itself combined with Blind Channel's good placing in Rotterdam which was Finland’s second-best result in the contest.

    Having received a total of 312 entries for this year's selection during the submission period, YLE, has shortlisted the seven acts that will be competing this year for the right to represent Finland at Eurovision 2022 in Turin. 

    The seven act that will compete in the Finnish national final are: 

     

    1. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane

     Cyan Kicks is a rock band conisting of Susanna Alexandra, Niila Perkkiö, Leevi Erkkilä and Pietari Reijonen. Cyan Kicks was founded in 2016, and the group has so far released two albums’ worth of music, which has been streamed over 10 million times. The group describes its music as unique modern rock with a fusion of styles. Their UMK entry Hurricane is an ideal example of this when it comes to style. Its verses are electronic, while the choruses and guitar solos form the heavier parts. 

    Elize Ryd, one of the lead vocalists in Danish-Swedish group Amaranthe, collaborated in writing the song. American musician-producer Chris Walla and producer-mixer Zakk Cervini also added their own touches to the song.

     

    2. BESS - Ram Pam Pam

    The music of pop artist BESS is known for its catchy lyrics and eminently danceable beats. Released in 2019, the eponymous debut album BESS has been streamed over 20 million times. The platinum streamed Tempo was the biggest hit on the album and a proper earworm with a big audience. 

    In addition to BESS herself, songwriter and producer Jonas Olsson and musician-songwriter Tomi Saario are behind the entry competing to represent Finland in Eurovision.

     

    3. The Rasmus - Jezebel

    Together for nearly 30 years now, The Rasmus is one of Finland’s most internationally successful groups. Its biggest hit In the Shadows broke the 100 million stream mark on Spotify. The Rasmus has released several albums, won numerous music industry awards, and played gigs all over the world. 

    The Eurovision entry contestant Jezebel was written in just a few hours based on Ylönen’s demo and was finlised in collaboration with world renowned producer-musician Desmond Child.

     

    4. Younghearted - Sun numero

    Pop group Younghearted is made up of a group of high school friends, vocalist Reeta Huotarinen and guitarists Atte Ranta and Emil Korkiakoski. Founded in 2015, Younghearted has released two albums. The first album, Nuorisydän, which was released in 2016, reached platinum, and the second album, Vapaa, received an Emma Gala Music Awards nomination in the Band of the Year category. The band’s best known songs are Hetkeksi and Vaikeeta. 

    In addition to Younghearted itself, singer-songwriter Vilma Alina and composer-producers Joonas Keronen and Ilkka Wirtanen also contributed to making the song.

     

    5. Oliver - Thank God I'm an atheist

    Olivera, a.k.a. Katriina Ullakko, is still relatively unknown to the wider public, even though she has had millions of Spotify streams and impressive international releases. Olivera is an indie-pop artist with 4 of her own EPs. With over 10 million listens, No more is Olivera’s biggest song, but she also writes music for other artists. 

    After finishing a raw, first version, Olivera presented the song to her producer and spouse Lenno Linjama, and ultimately to musician-producer Alpo Nummelin from the band Ruusut. Nummelin’s contribution gave the song the edge it desired.

     

    6. Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua

     Tommi Läntinen. A musician for over 40 years, Läntinen has released several albums in different groups, performed at thousands of gigs, and collaborated with countless artists. Läntinen launched his solo career in 1994. Some of his biggest solo hits are Via Dolorosa, Syvälle sydämeen sattuu and Kevät ja minä. Läntinen’s most recent radio hit single Meidän murusia was released in the summer of 2020. 

    Members of the band Haloo Helsinki! wrote Läntinen’s UMK entry: Leo Hakanen and Jere Marttila composed it and Elli Haloo wrote the lyrics.

     

    7. Isaac Sene – Kuuma jäbä

    Isaac Sene is vying for a ticket to Eurovision in Italy with his song Kuuma jäbä. Sene’s Koko kansan EP was released in 2020. The most streamed song from the EP, Bébé, features Vesta, and the song Älä oo liian kiltissä includes Yeboyah. Growing up in the North Savo region, Sene spent his childhood listening to all kinds of music, including everything from Mozart to Bob Marley, trance to Finnish heavy metal, thus laying the foundation for his enormously eclectic style. 

    Sene wrote the song together with producer Alvar Escartin, a.k.a. Yrjänä. Yrjänä has produced music for, among others, Finnish artists Lukas Leon and Hassan Maikal.

     

    Song Releases

    The UMK entries will be released on the official UMK Youtube channel every weekday at midnight Finnish time from January 13 onwards. The songs will be released in the following order: 

    • January 13 – Cyan Kicks
    • January 14 –  BESS
    • January 17 – The Rasmus
    • January 18 – Younghearted
    • January 19 – Olivera
    • Jaunary 20 – Tommi Läntinen
    • January 21 – Isaac Sene

     

    Tapio Hakanen, Chairman of the UMK jury comments this years artists:

    This year’s artist and song roster is probably the most versatile and best we’ve ever had. We’ll hear from Finnish music legends, and hottest rising stars. The overall quality of the songs in the final is amazing and I’m grateful that so many top composers and producers have participated in creating these future classics. The seven songs feature many powerful and different moods, and I hope every Finn will find one or several favorites among them. Previous finalists Erika Vikman, Aksel, Ilta, and Blind Channel have all shown how UMK can take to the stars both in Finland and internationally, and I believe this year’s artists will all further their careers through the competition. Combined with our super skilled team behind the show, I’m confident we’ll witness an unforgettable UMK final show in February.

     

    UMK returns to Logomo arena in Turku after a two year break, as the show was hosted in the Mediapolis Studios in Tampere the last two editions. The national final is set to take place on February 26, 2022. The outcome of the national final will be determined by a combination of public (75%) and jury voting (25%).

     

    Finland in Eurovision

    Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 53 times since its debut in 1961. Finland won the contest for the first time in 2006 with Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The country's best result before then was achieved by Marion Rung with the song "Tom Tom Tom" in 1973, which placed sixth.

    Finland has finished last in the contest eleven times, receiving "nul points" in 1963, 1965 and 1982. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Finland has failed to reach the final eight times. In 2014, the country had its best result in eight years when Softengine finished 11th. In 2015, Finland finished last in the first semi-final with the shortest-ever Eurovision entry, "Aina mun pitää" performed by Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät.

    In 2020 Aksel won the national final with the song “Looking Back”.  As the competition was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic he never reached the Eurovision stage in Rotterdam. 

    This year the rock band Blind Channel triumphed in UMK 2021 with their song 'Dark Side' and went off defending the Finnish colors in Rotterdam, where they achieved the country's second best result finishing 6th with 301 points in the overall score. 

    News Source / Image: YLE