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Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020
This year's UMK will take place on 7 March 2020 at Mediapolis in Tampere, where six acts will compete. The winner will be selected by a 50/50 combination of public/jury votes.
Krista Siegfrieds, Finland's Eurovision representative in 2013, will host the contest for the fifth time, and Ville "Viki" Eerikkilä and Juuso "Köpi" Kallio will host the Green Room.
Finland's recent record has not been the greatest: Darude finished last in the semifinal one of the very last contest, and although Saara Aalto managed to qualify after breaking a three-year streak of non-qualifications for Finland, she came second-to-last in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2018.
In last June, it was announced that the Finnish broadcaster was opting back to the classic format of their national selection, regarding their recent failed attempts.
In the past two years, Finland has internally selected its artist and utilised UMK to select their song. This yielded mixed results, with Saara Aalto ending a three year non-qualification streak in 2018 before Darude and Sebastian Rejman crashed out in Tel Aviv.
The acts selected for the UMK 2020 final are:
- TIKA – I Let My Heart Break
Tika was the winner of the 2018 series of the X Factor Finland, where she was mentored by Saara Aalto. Her speciality is power ballads and she says her biggest idols are Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. The UMK jury described her song as being “at home in the latest James Bond movie.”
- Erika Vikman – Cicciolina
Erika’s song is enticingly described as an “energetic Finndisco piece, where no attempts are made to hide sexual freedom.” The jury also thinks it may become a staple of Finnish bachelorette parties. Erika typically sings in Finnish and “Cicciolina” is no exception.
- Aksel Kankaanranta – Looking Back
Aksel Kankaanranta is a 2017 alum of the Voice of Finland. He says he’s shy, but that won’t stop him performing in front of an audience of one million, saying, “I want to transmit emotions with my singing.” His song is described as a “sensitive song telling about world-weariness, love and the feeling of inadequacy.” The UMK jury compared it to a hit song from an artist like Sam Smith or James Arthur.
Three-piece girl group F3M are made up of Viv, Baby O and Miara. Their song is described as a “catchy and dance-inspiring pop song performed with an anarchistic touch.” The UMK jury says the song’s production “has ensured that each second is packed with strong pop hooks.”
Established musician Sansa has an electronic style via an indie-folk background. Her song for UMK is described as a “cool and sensual piece of electropop.” The UMK jury describes the song as” classic Nordic pop at its best” and compared the track to something from Swedish pop icon Robyn.
- Catharina Zühlke – Eternity
Fans may remember Catharina Zühlke from UMK 2017, where she finished second with “Perfect Villain”. Now performing with her first name as well, her song is described as being about “the power of love”. Zühlke says she “got a strong feeling that [her] song has a greater meaning.” The UMK jury doesn’t hold back, describing the song as a “potential world-beater at the Eurovision Song Contest.”