Mari Pudas
The level of the new music competition is far from last year’s, writes Iltalehti editor Mari Pudas.
Cyan Kicks (front left), Sini Sabotage, Sara Siipola, Jesse Markin (back left) Windows95man, Mikael Gabriel and Nublu and Sexmane are seeking a place in Eurovision. Over
In recent years, the new music competition has been an outright celebration. The rise started in 2020, when everything was replaced at UMK, and it ended in 2023.
Sad, but true.
The UMK songs are not bad this year, not at all. Every one of the seven songs is of high quality and, above all, looks like its performer. They haven’t fallen into the traditional mistake of making a song just for Eurovision.
On the other hand, the question arises, is UMK already too far from Eurovision? Is a representative place for the wise men the goal of all artists? Or has UMK become Finland’s San Remo music festival, where the goal of winning the festival and the Eurovision itself is a side event?
Last year, UMK was a jackpot for every artist. Wrapper whole life changed, runner-up Portion Boys became known to an even wider audience. This also happened to the band Kuumaa, which Overpowered was the summer’s most listened song on the radio and Spotify’s second most listened song of the whole year in Finland.
It also says something about last year’s UMK that it was jumbo in the final Benjamin’s Take care of me -song became a hit that was always played at Liverpool’s fives parties.
This year, the participants cannot be promised the same massive success.
Back in the days of the “old” UMK, i.e. seven years ago, each of this year’s songs would have been received with squeals and they would have won UMK by a toss.
Now the situation is that when UMK has been better year after year, the wall sometimes hits. And of course the Käärijä hangover is strongly present at UMK and at the spring Eurovision.
It was already clear before the release of the songs that there would be no Käärijä-huuma this year. It will probably never happen again. Artists, especially the one who wins UMK, have to hear comparisons to Käärijä. So hats off to every artist who has gone into the game knowing these starting points.
Now we have only heard the songs, so the situation can still change when the performances are seen live. Also included this year is Cyan Kicks Hurricane took off for a new flight in Logomo. There are similar expectations this year in particular Blue Sabotage regarding. Peel me literally screams live performance.
All the same. This year, UMK is one of the toughest, perhaps the toughest qualifying competition in Europe. Such a thing could not have been imagined in the last decade.
I have bet that Finland will win Eurovision within five years. I can still stand behind this.