Finland’s national selection for picking their entry to the Eurovision Song Contest kicks off this weekend. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (with UMK widely accepted as the alternative name thankfully) will have three semi-finals – on the 7th, 14th, and 21st of February. With a final taking place on Feb 28th.
18 songs compete in total. Some good, some alright, and some downright tripe – so standard Eurovision national selection fare.
If you’d like to listen to all 18, YLE have released the album worldwide – and here it is on Spotify.
For your convenience (and our own sanity) however, we’ve cut away a lot of the dead wood, and shortened the list by 50%. SO – here are the 9 songs that are worth familiarising yourself with before the competition starts this Saturday;
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Heidi Pakarinen – Bon Voyage
Bottom-of-the-barrel disco schlager. The dregs of last decade’s golden era. But we’re lapping it up no matter how bad it is for us.
Järjestyshäiriö – Särkyneiden Sydänten Kulmilla
A synth rock rumber with a brilliantly catchy riff, and probably the only real threat to the song that everyone believes is going to win this. Perhaps in any other year, this would be the favourite?
Pihka Ja Myrsky – Sydän Ei Nuku
This one takes a few listens (probably not the best omen in a contest like this), but once its clicks, it’s an enjoyable pop track with a lot of merit. If only the melody was as instant as the production though…
Siru – Mustelmat
The most recent winner of the Finnish version of The Voice. We covered her previous single on Scandipop last month. In truth, ‘Mustelmat’ isn’t as good as that was. But it’s still a belter of a ballad, and one which we’re looking forward to seeing how she handles live on the night. She IS after all, The Voice.
Eeverest – Love It All Away
A contemporary dance tune, the likes of which neighbouring Sweden are having hits with all over the world. And while this is hardly Axwell, Avicii or Alesso – it has its place in the UMK final, and would most likely reach the ESC final too, while it’s at it.
Ida Bois – Kumbaya
This song and the previous song are going to cancel each other out. Both of the same genre and style, and both no more than a solid 7/10. And as with the last one, we’re looking forward to seeing how they incorporate the RAVE elements of the track onto the stage.
Aikunen – Kyynelten Lahti
This song is bizarre and eccentric and we don’t know why we like it so much, but we do. And is it really so far out of the realms of the possibility that it could charm the Finnish public the way it has us? This is our third favourite of the whole lot.
Opera Skaala – Heart of Light
Ridonkulous opera infused dance music. Six years after ‘La Voix’, someone has decided it would be a good idea to make a watered down version. But instead of using water, they’ve used cheap poppers. Therefore, any more than one hit of this is gonna give you a roaring headache. So approach with caution. But DO investigate.
Satin Circus – Crossroads
Y’all know the score here. We’ve already praised this song’s virtues, covered the career of the band preceding this chapter, and heralded Axel Kalland as the Hottest Guy in Scandinavian Pop Music 2014. But even leaving aside everything that we’ve written about them before – this is all such a no-brainer. ‘Crossroads’ IS the best song. By far. And it MUST win UMK 2015, going on to represent Finland at Eurovision. Come along now Finns – do your nation proud.
