Missed Opportunities 2014: Finland!

Softengine placed 11th in Copenhagen, which is Finland's best result since Lordi. UMK, the national selection in Finland, provides us Eurovision fans with a number of great songs. It was one of the stronger selections. Softengine were probably the best choice, but it's worth remembering these awesome songs! :-)

Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn reunalla
Mikko Pohjola was one of the favourites to fly the Finnish flag - and he was so close. Mikko came 2nd with Sängyn reunalla. A stunning ballad. Black and white effects were used in the live performance, until the last chorus. The juries would have appreciated this, however it would not have made top ten.

MIAU - God/Drug
MIAU achieved 3rd place with God/Drug. A wacky yet wonderful song! It's insane. Their live performance was memorable, to say the least. It is very catchy though and I sometimes find myself singing "Are you a god?, Are you a drug?, You must be god!, You must be drug!" 

Hukka ja Mama - Selja
Hukka ja Mama are a duo made of two childhood friends and I believe they should have represented Finland. Selja contains folk elements and it's really a sweet little number. A cute song. I just feel so relaxed when listening to this. Finnish is a beautiful language and I would love to hear it more in the contest. However, I fear Hukka ja Mama's effort would have gone unnoticed in Copenhagen.

Finland: Softengine win UMK!

They did it! Softengine will represent Finland in Copenhagen! Great choice - I feel kinda sad Mikko didn't make it, but Softengine are awesome nevertheless so I'm not disappointed. A great strong rock entry from Finland this year.

The Swiss national final is still taking place, I unfortunately couldn't get a decent stream so I've been giving all my attention to Sweden and Finland. Oh, and Latvia when Samanta Tina performed <3 I'm not sure how this will go do in Copenhagen - it'll probably make the final but then who knows? Maybe a result similar to Krista's...

Finland: Representative to be selected tonight!

It's not only Switzerland who are selecting their entry for Copenhagen tonight, as Finland's UMK will come to an end this evening. There are 8 participants in the running - and I have high hopes. I predict either Softengine, Lauri, Mikko or Hukka ja Mama will win - although I also think Hannah Sky has good chances too. Clarissa and Josh's song is very radio friendly but it doesn't really work live. I doubt they'll win. If I had to make a prediction to win - I'd probably opt for Mikko. Lovely ballad.

The Finnish selection has been great - there have been many great performances in the semis/heats. Krista Siegfrids will give a special performance tonight. #TEAMDINGDONG! The outcome will be decided by televote and a jury. Personally, I wanna see Hukka ja Mama win!

1. Softengine – Something Better
2. Hanna Sky – Hope
3. MIAU – GodDrug
4. Lauri Mikkola – Going Down
5. Madcraft – Shining Bright
6. Mikko Pohjola – Sängyn Reunalla
7. Clarissa feat. Josh Standing – Top Of The World
8. Hukka ja Mama – Selja

You can watch the show here at 20:00 CET and is expected to last roughly two hours. Onnea Kaikille!

NuVidz: Hukka ja Mama, Sabina Babayeva, Joni, Buranovskiye Babushki!

Hukka ja Mama are one of the acts who are participating in UMK, the Finnish selection. and they have released the official video-clip of Selja! The song is so sweet and infectious - I hope they'll win! Fingers crossed. Sabina Babayeva is celebrating her homeland with her latest single - it's entitled Ey Azerbaycanim. This basically means "Oh Azerbaijan". The video-clip features the Aliyev family, postcards from Eurovision 2012 including the famous Flame Tower. It also features Ell & Nikki. The Hungarian national process is well underway and Joni, one of the front-runners, has released Waterfall. Lovely song. I can't wait to see the live performance. Oh, and I've saved the best for last! Ha-ha! Ветерок (Breeze) is the song Buranovskiye Babushki have apparently entered into the Russian selection. Which is due to take place in March. It's a fun song and incredibly catchy... it would be so entertaining to see them back on the Eurovision stage!

Finland: Running order revealed!

YLE has revealed the running order ahead of Saturday's final. Eight acts are in the running to represent the country and I believe there are three main contenders - Hikka ha Mama, Mikko and Softengine.

The jury have a 50% say so I guess we can count Clarissa and Josh out - unless her vocals have really improved. The song has international appeal I guess but will the Finnish people like it enough to vote? I don't think so, although maybe they will if the performance is good enough. I would love to see Hanna win - but she hasn't got a good draw.. Hukka ja Mama is my favourite by far. Their song is so sweet and it would be fantastic to see the Finnish language represented in Copenhagen.

1. Softengine – Something Better
2. Hanna Sky – Hope
3. MIAU – GodDrug
4. Lauri Mikkola – Going Down
5. Madcraft – Shining Bright
6. Mikko Pohjola – Sängyn Reunalla
7. Clarissa feat. Josh Standing – Top Of The World
8. Hukka ja Mama – Selja

Finland: Final line-up revealed!

The UMK semi final has just finished and six acts have qualified to the final - and will therefore join Hanna Sky and Softengine, who won their respective heats. Unfortunately, Dennis Fagerström and Jasmin Michaela were eliminated... Here are tonight's results:

To the final:

• MadCraft – Shining bright
• Hukka ja Mama – Selja
• Lauri Mikkola – Going down
• MIAU – God/Drug
• Mikko Pohjola – Sängyn reunalla
• Clarissa feat. Josh – Top of the world

Eliminated:

• Dennis Fagerström – My little honey bee
• Jasmin Michaela – Kertakäyttösydän

The jury didn't like Clarissa and Josh - they said her vocals were very poor once again. And her outfit was rather brave, too. Although Hukka ja Mama qualified, wahoo! The final will take place next Saturday.

Finland: Lili Lambert eliminated, Softengine qualifies directly to the final!

Finland kicked off their selection tonight, with the first heat of UMK taking place.

A total of 6 acts performed where one act qualified directly to the final, one act was eliminated and four acts will take part in the second change round. I think the most underwhelming performance tonight was Dennis actually - it's a sweet song but the performance was so boring. Here are the results:

Qualified to the final:

• Softengine – Something better

To Second Chance:

• Dennis Fagerström – My little honey bee
• Jasmin Michaela – Kertakäyttösydän
• Hukka ja Mama – Selja
• MIAU – God/Drug

Eliminated:

• Lili Lambert – Let me take you there

I'm disappointed that Lili has been sent home, but her song was boring and it wouldn't have stood out in Eurovision. My favourite from tonight was actually Hukka ja Mama. The second heat will take place next Saturday.