Softengine win Finland's UMK!

The band Softengine will represent Finland in Copenhagen.

Espoo, Finland - After the presentation and elimination shows in the past weeks it was time today to choose the Finnish entry in the final of UMK 2014. The jury favourites, Softengine, were announced as the winners and their song Someting Better becomes Finland's entry in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

Finland's national final, UMK 2014, took place tonight at the Barona Arena in Espoo. In the beginning there were twelve acts, four of them were eliminated in the past weeks while two of them, Softengine and Hanna Sky went straight to the final. The final line-up, in order of appearance, was like this:

1. Softengine - Something Better (Topi Latukka, Henri Oskár)
2. Hanna Sky - Hope (Hanna Sky)
3. MIAU - God/Drug (Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen)
4. Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
5. Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)
6. Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
7. Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)
8. Hukka ja Mama - Selja (Lasse Hukka)

Finland: UMK 2014 participants

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The final results

After the participating songs were performed, there was an interval act featuring one member of the professional jury: Redrama. Then it was time for that jury, also formed by Aija Puurtinen, Tomi Saarinen and Toni Wirtanen to give their marks. They evaluated each song in a scale from one to ten and this was their total result:

Softengine with 38 points, Mikko Pohjola with 35 and MIAU with 32 points were the jury favourites. After that, last year's winner of UMK, Krista Siegfrids, performed her new single Cinderella. Then the televoting results were added and it was announced that the same three were in the strong Top 3 (winner in bold):

1. Softengine - Something Better
2. Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (On The Edge Of The Bed)
3. MIAU - God/Drug

The female band MIAU got the 3rd place with the powerful performance of God/Drug, Mikko Pohjola was 2nd with the delicate Sängyn Reunalla and the winners are... SOFTENGINE! They reprised Something Better as the entry of Finland in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest (the performance below is from the UMK semi-final).

The winners, Softengine

 

Big sounds and epic melodies – that’s what Softengine is about. The members of this 5-piece band look up to such bands as Muse and 30 Seconds to Mars. If there’s any justice in this world, Softengine will be as huge as their idols very soon. They’re not in any hurry though; the guys are only between 16 and 19 years of age!
Softengine will participate in the 2nd Semi-Final in Copenhagen (Denmark) on the 8th of May. You can watch the Finnish final show on demand through our Web TV Player.

Do you like the results in Finland? Tell us below!

Watch tonight: UMK Final in Finland!

The presenters of UMK Anne Lainto and Ile Uusivuori

Espoo, Finland - UMK - Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, or in English: The Contest of New Music comes to an end tonight in Espoo. The national selection of Finland for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest takes place from 20:00 CET and you can follow it live with us on our Web TV Player!

Finland's national final, UMK, takes place tonight at the Barona Arena in Espoo and you'll be able to follow it live here on our Web TV Player from 20:00 CET. The line-up, in order of appearance, looks like this:

1. Softengine - Something Better (Topi Latukka, Henri Oskár)
2. Hanna Sky - Hope (Hanna Sky)
3. MIAU - God/Drug (Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen)
4. Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
5. Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)
6. Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
7. Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)
8. Hukka ja Mama - Selja (Lasse Hukka)

The results will be determined by votes from the jury and the audience - the latter have been able to cast their votes already since last Monday. The professional jury will be once again formed by Aija Puurtinen, Redrama, Tomi Saarinen and Toni Wirtanen.
Last year's UMK winner, Krista Siegfrieds, who took Finland to the Final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, will open the show with a mysterious short film titled Catch that Siegfrids B***c .Other guests in the show will include one of the UMK judges: Redrama.

Finland: UMK 2014 participants

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The winner of UMK 2014 will go on to represent Finland in the 2nd Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 8th of May.

Who would you like to see waving the Finnish flag in Copenhagen?

All finalists chosen in Finland

MIAU, are one of the finalists in Finland's UMK.

 

Helsinki, Finland - The twelve original participants in UMK 2014, the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest have been shortened to eight acts after the three semi-finals. In tonight's second chance show two were evicted and six got through to next week's final.

The semi-final tonight was in fact a second chance round with the eight acts that had progressed from the first two live shows. The line-up was as follows:

• Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)
• Hukka ja Mama - Selja (Lasse Hukka)
• Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
• Jasmin Michaela - Kertakäyttösydän (Mikko Kierikki, Jasmin Michaela, Jutta Annala, Johanna Viksten)
• Dennis Fagerström - My Little Honey Bee (Dennis Fagerström, Michael James Down, Niklas Hast, Andreas Anastasiou, Primoz Poglajen)
• MIAU - God/Drug (Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen)
• Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
• Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)

In the second chance the jury only commented on the performances and didn't rate them by giving points. So it was down to the audience to decide which contestants would proceed to the finals.
Two were eliminated from the competition: Dennis Fagerström and Jasmin Michaela.
while six other qualified to the finals: Mikko Pohjola, MIAU, Madcraft, Hukka ja Mama, Lauri Mikkola and Clarissa feat. Josh Standing. There they will meet Softengine and Hanna Sky who directly qualified from the semi-finals.
Tonight's guest performer was the hip hop artist Brädi, whose performance featured one of the UMK judges, Toni Wirtanen.

The UMK final

Finland's national final takes place next Saturday the 1st of February in Espoo and you'll be able to follow it live here on our Web TV Player. The line-up looks like this:

• Softengine - Something Better (Topi Latukka, Henri Oskár)
• Hanna Sky - Hope (Hanna Sky)
• Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)
• Hukka ja Mama - Selja (Lasse Hukka)
• Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
• MIAU - God/Drug (Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen)
• Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
• Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)

What do you think of tonight's results?

Second UMK show completed in Finland

Hanna Sky got the remaining direct ticket for the final of UMK in Finland. Photo: YLE

 

Helsinki, Finland - The second semi-final of UMK, the Finnish national selection for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest just took place. The second direct ticket for the final went for Hanna Sky with the song Hope. Four other acts progress to the second chance round and the band Makea was eliminated from the competition.

Tonight’s show, followed the same structure as in the previous week. First a warm up with the artists and then the live performances.
Here is the line-up of the second semi-final (finalist in bold):

• Makea - Painovoima (Makea)
• Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
• Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)
• Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
• Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)
• Hanna Sky - Hope (Hanna Sky)

The professional jury made of Aija Puurtinen, Redrama, Tomi Saarinen and Toni Wirtanen expressed their thoughts after each performance. And after a break they gave marks to the entries. Their winner was Hanna Sky followed by Mikko. This is a screeshot of the jury results:

While the televotes were counted, the audience was treated to a performance of Musta Barbaari.
At the end of the show, the expert jury together with the audience votes decided to send Hanna Sky directly to the final. She will join Softengine there. Makea were eliminated and the other four, Mikko Pohjola, Madcraft, Clarissa feat. Josh and Lauri Mikkola will have a second chance in next week's show.
Hanna Sky has written music for as long as she can remember but only now is she ready to release her music for the world to hear. Her song Hope combines electronic pop with ethnic elements and is about – well, the meaning of hope in our everyday lives.

The second chance

Next Saturday the second chance round takes place with the following acts:

• MIAU - God/Drug (Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen)
• Dennis Fagerström - My Little Honey Bee (Dennis Fagerström, Michael James Down, Niklas Hast, Andreas Anastasiou, Primoz Poglajen)
• Hukka ja Mama - Selja (Lasse Hukka)
• Jasmin Michaela - Kertakäyttösydän (Mikko Kierikki, Jasmin Michaela, Jutta Annala, Johanna Viksten)
• Lauri Mikkola - Going Down (Lauri Mikkola)
• Clarissa feat. Josh Standing - Top Of The World (Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing)
• Mikko Pohjola - Sängyn Reunalla (Mikko Pohjola)
• Madcraft - Shining Bright (Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila)

Do you agree with tonight's results in Finland?