We at That Eurovision Site will be ranking national finals throughout this coming season. The next national final that the team have taken a closer look at is UMK 2025, which will take place on the 8th of February. UMK 2025 will select the Eurovision representative for Finland in Basel.
Who is taking part in UMK 2025?
There are six artists taking part in UMK 2025. The eight artists taking part are as follows:
| Artist | Entry |
| costee | Sekaisin |
| Erika Vikman | ICH KOMME |
| Goldielocks | Made of |
| NEEA RIVER | Nightmares |
| Nelli Matula | Hitaammin hautaan |
| VIIVI | Aina |
Who are our favourites from UMK 2025?
We ranked the songs taking part in UMK, using a 1-6 ranking. 1 being our favourite, 6 being our least favourite song. We then calculated the average of all our rankings. Right below, you can see our top three for this selection.
3rd. NEEA RIVER – “Nightmare” (3.56):
2nd. Goldielocks – “Made of” (3.22):
1st. Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME” (2.89):
What did some of our team members have to say about their favourite songs from UMK 2025?
Rory (ICH KOMME): “Ich Komme” is just oozing with charisma and sexiness in its delivery, with the raunchy Erika at the helm. This, to me is FAR better than her previous effort “Cicciolina” (spell check that, but should be fine), and it shows how much she has learned to hone her craft and improve on her experience from 2020; if this wins, this will 100% be a show, so I wouldn’t rule out a really good position for Finland in Basel with this
Daniel (Made of): I’m not really the biggest fan of any of this year’s UMK songs, but I think Goldielocks’ Made Of is the best of a fairly mediocre crop. I think the chorus especially is very fun, and all things considered, this is a very solid pop track that I could see doing well in the Finnish radio airplay charts.
Lewis (Nightmares): I thoroughly enjoyed “Nightmares” by Neea River! The production on this track is astounding. Her vocal is incredible. I truly felt like I was listening to the product of a blend of “Monsters” by Saara Aalto (Finland 2018) & “We Will Rave” by Kaleen (Austria 2024). Plus her vocal sounds very akin to Alexandra from Keiino. I usually have objections to tracks that sound like they have dance breaks built into them, but here I’m not mad at it at all! This would be a very solid Finnish entry to send to Basel!
What is UMK?
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK for short) has been the method of selection for Finland since 2012. The national selection has seen a variety of different formats over the years. We have had semi-finals, we have had a song selection for internally chosen artists, Yle have really given us it all in terms of this national final.
Currently UMK takes place over one night, with seven acts taking part. Thanks to high production value, an international focus. and fan favourite songs, UMK has grown in popularity over the years and is now one of the most anticipated on the national final calendar.
Finland’s Eurovision Journey
Finland debuted in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 10th with Laila Kunnunen’s “Valoa ikkunassa.” Since then they have competed 56 times, and appeared in the final 48 times. Finland has finished in the top 10 an impressive 14 times. They have won the contest once in 2006, with Lordi’s performance of “Hard Rock Hallelujah” getting 292 points.
Finland’s most recent entry was “No Rules” by Windows95man. They came in 7th place in the semi-final in Malmö, thus qualifying for the final. At the close of voting, he gained a total of 38 points, earning them 19th place. Windows95man received 31 points from the televote, and an extra 7 points from the juries.
Who would you like to see represent Finland in Basel? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all things Czechia at Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: YLE