Hyvää iltaa, everyone! On this not-quite Super Saturday, two countries pick their entrant for Eurovision (technically three but we’re not waiting for Italy). We’ve already reviewed Latvia for you, so it’s only fair we drop in our thoughts on Finland a few hours ahead of tonight’s UMK. The Finnish selection –Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu- has known a spike in quality since its revamp in 2021, resulting in three finalists and two top tens, with last year’s Cha Cha Cha cementing itself as an all-time beloved classic.
So will this year’s UMK bring Finland glory once more, or will they recess back into their misfortune ways? We’ve bundled our thoughts, and presented them for your convenience. Feel free to agree or disagree at your leisure ♥
On today’s panel we find:
- Spearheading another loquacious attack against professionalism, Boris Meersman
- Learning the ropes of Eurovision reviewdom, Daniel Theophanous
- Already regretting that he didn’t hand out even lower marks, David Popescu
- Yearning for a result where good (women) defeats evil (men), Tyler Griffith
- Unsure about how he feels about this lukewarm selection, William Carter
- Part-time mathematician and full-time club banger critic, Yehonatan Cohen
Each of our six reviewers has given the songs a score between 0 and 10, and a short write-up explaining why they feel that way. As always, every editor has their own style and standards, and diverging opinions on the matter – things are bound to get bloody, bound to get messy, as opinions clash and bad taste collides with each other. That’s the fun of it!
But just in case, a disclaimer i’ve C+P’d from previous posts:
Opinons stated below only reflect the views of the editor, and not of ESCUnited as a whole, nor those of our benevolent overlord Matt. You may direct your grievances at the editor responsible for vertical classification. Each reviewer is also aware that their opinions will be made public so if you’re one of these five reviewed artists and you meet the editor that eviscerated you, feel free to trash them back. They knew the risks. ^_^
Just as a reminder, these are the seven finalists we’re tackling today, in order of appearance on tonight’s show:
Is this a good UMK? Which of these is our favourite of the bunch? Well, let’s find out shall we? How about we start with a little bit of sabotage?
Favourite entry of Yehonatan
Boris – 7 – “This saucy cougar is so Doing It For The Gays and I’m sorta diggin’ it ♥ Only sorta though, because “Kuori mua” *sounds* like a song that could be a part of I*****’s pinkwashing mill and I’ve still not fully recovered from last year’s godawful third placer. Otherwise, “Kuori mua” follows the same paradigm as Bess, Keira and the other thot anthems that crop up in ESC selections: Always fun, always funny, but also never truly in contention for anything serious because loltrash. Its role is not that of a winner but more an enjoyable opener that sets the tone for the fun that’s yet to come, and so sit back and enjoy the show.”
Daniel – 8 – “Sini Sabotage is an impressive artist. Kouri Mua is exemplar of Sini’s finesse as a performer with her flawless Finnish/English rap and her sassy bravado. What seeps through Kouri Mua is Sini’s studious musical know-how, where the intersection of all these musical influences she’s absorbed and incorporated in her own discography over the years are now perfectly condensed in this absolute pop banger. Coupled with an elaborately fluffy video with a coy Sini decked-out in a tight velvet turquoise onesie riding a giant metal swam, playing on and critiquing the sexy hip hop girl tropes. This is truly entertaining but there is a thought process and its an ear-worm. Sini brings it! Lyrics such as ‘peel me…. open my onion’ can be interpreted on some many registers from the dirtiest to the profound, take your pick! I wish Sini the best of luck.”
David – 6 – “Sexy and catchy. The song starts very promising and seems like it’s going to take you somewhere, and eventually we hit a point where it slowly feels like everything gets slower and slower, while I’m just waiting for that beat to drop big time. No problem with it being Finnish, works really well, but I did slowly drop off.”
Tyler – 8.5 – “Love this song! I love the rapping throughout “Kuori mua” that if Sini can pull off live would be very impressive to watch. The song may feel a little bit like a song from Drag Race Suomi, but it’s still entertaining to listen to. I don’t get “Toy” or Netta vibes from this, as it feels more original to me. The live performance for this can be huge and fun or it could be a clunker would bad vocals, there is no in-between with this. This song has layers like an onion and it needs to be unwrapped! Wouldn’t be mad at all if this represented Finland and it’s an easy qualifier.”
William – 8 – “This could go 17 kinds of sideways, but if any national final can handle a Eurodance-y, hip hop, piano-techno banger, it’s UMK. Sini seems like an artist with a lot of vision and a targeted point of view, which makes me very optimistic about what we’re going to see her deliver.”
Yehonatan – 9.5 – “Pilled, cooked, served, ate, left no crumbs. ‘Kouri Mua’ grabs you from the first second it starts and never let go. The way too dramatic piano on the edm beat is so cleverly done, and Sini has by far the most charisma out of the participants in this year’s UMK. It’s a shame she doesn’t have a single chance at winning because Finland will never pick anything with sexual lyrics.
Statistics
Total Points: 47/60
Highest Score: 9.5 (Yehonatan)
Lowest Score: 6 (David)
Final Mark: A+ (78%)
Listen to “Kuori mua” below:
Boris – 6 – “On paper I should approve of this new Cyan Kicks attempt far more than of their previous one. Where “Hurricane” was immature and flippant, “Dancing with demons” exhudes confidence and self-acceptance, a mature take on Working On Oneself disguised as Nordic-style Schlager Metal. Not bad, but (1) every song in this UMK is some form of Mental Health Anthem if you squint hard enough (2) purely as a song, “Dancing the demons” is fairly tame for Finnish Metal. It almost passes as Swedish? (You need to work on that.). It’s competent and well-made and flows through the motions. Yet it’s difficult to be excited by it. “Dancing with demons” is not a big kicker. It needs a showstopping act pronto if it is to leave any lasting impact beyond Hi We Are A Nordic Entry.”
Daniel – 7.5 – “As you would expect with UMK off the bat, with the first song released in the line-up, upon first listen the production level with Demons In My Mind is on another level compared to some, if not most, other national finals this year. I appreciate everything about Cyan Kick’s song: its executed flawlessly, excruciatingly polished to perfection where electronic verses give way for a heavy metal pop chorus. Competent vocals, a captivating front woman and the attention to the styling and performance in this video is truly something else. But there is nagging sensation, that maybe its lacking a little soul for me, or maybe it’s not my genre, or maybe it’s just too darn accomplished. But despite my own reservations, there is no doubt that this would be credit-worthy song for Finland to send to Eurovision.”
David – 4 – “I remember Cyan Kicks last attempt, and this song is exactly the same style, as that. Sadly, I’m still not impressed, because pop-rock really doesn’t sound good. The song tries to have the catchiness of pop, while pulling in some hard instruments for the rock. The constant mixture of the genres ends up sounding more exhausting and uninteresting. This time however, nothing sticks either when it comes to lyrics. I’m only left with the constant genre switching.”
Tyler – 6 – “Dancing with Demons” is a good song, I quite like the rock and the bridge. I find the lyrics a little meaningless, but the presentation for the song by Cyan Kicks is quite good and interesting. If Finland wants to go rock again, well, I guess this is acceptable, but a bit boring as it’s expected from them. I think this song would qualify unless we get a deluge of electric guitars from other countries, but it’s the weakest out of the Finnish songs for the 2020s (and yes, that includes Aksel, don’t @ me!). The song is fun to listen to, but doesn’t go beyond that to make me fully love it.”
William – 6 – ” If you ask me, Cyan Kicks absolutely should have won UMK in 2022. That song was dope, and the staging was NEXT LEVEL. This song? I don’t know … It doesn’t hit as hard as I’d like. The chorus especially leaves me wanting. Cyan Kicks know how to put on a SHOW, so there’s a very real chance I’m rooting for them to win after the live performance. As of now, though, this is a quality song I’m just not that drawn to”
Yehonatan – 9 – Cyan Kicks are back with another edm rock banger, and I think it’s safe to say that with Finland’s history of picking the rock song everytime there is a rock option, this should be a landslide win by them. It is very accessible for non rock fans, and highly energetic. Now all we need to wait for is amazing visuals by them and the deal will be sealed.
Statistics
Total Points: 38.5/60
Highest Score: 9 (Yehonatan)
Lowest Score: 4 (David)
Final Mark: B (64%)
Listen to “Dancing with demons” below:
Favourite entry of Boris.
Boris – 8.5 – “I’m not too fond of rap songs. My personal comfort zone lies within uptempo songs that are immersive, melodically cohesive to and ideally sung by women. And yet, although I definitely should not be liking Jesse Markin according to my usual tastes, I do. “Glow” is very good. Out of all the Mental Health Anthems in UMK (which is all of them), it’s the one that succeeds the most at being inspirational: Clever and clear Yes-You-Can lyrics tucked into a downbeat but celebratory chorus establish a vibe of One Overcoming Odds, which is… well, exactly, what the song is about? Melody and intent align, which makes it that Jesse isn’t just delivering a message – he IS the message. Genuine empathy is a wonderful vibe to carry, and even if the song itself may not fully be your thing, Jesse’s ability to inspire is something to be respected and cherished as its a craft only a few Eurovision artists possess.”
Daniel – 7 – “This is straight out of a radio playlist. Interesting sounds truncated and compacted into an impeccably produced song, featuring 90s piano riffs, heavy electronic bases, accompanied by competent rap vocal. This very cool, Jess is cool, his video is cool… but I am unsure if it stands out for me in this line-up”.”
David – 7 – “The sound and style is quite sick! Catchy and very dance happy! My biggest issue is the lyrical style, it doesn’t quite sounds like rapping, despite it tries to hit that, and then it slows very much down for the chorus, with a lack of words to use. It’s a shame, cause the song is fire! It just misses out on having that hook.”
Tyler – 9 – Another banger, UMK proving yet again it is one of the strongest national finals you should actually pay attention to. Do I think “Glow” has a shot at winning UMK? I don’t think so, but it really should! I love the rap and hip-hop that’s in this song, and it’s something I could hear on American radio. It’s unusual to hear it at an Eurovision selection, and I’m glad there are different genres being represented this year. I find the lyrics inspirational and this song could be a real anthem that gets people out and wanting to do the things they want to do. I’m excited to see this song performed live and I hope we see more from Jesse Markin!
William – 7 – It’s a little repetitive and energetically playing at the same level for the entire run time, but I like this a lot. Feels maybe a little long? I worry about the song’s ability to sustain three minutes of performance time. Is it gonna run out of steam on the night? Maybe. But I’m digging on the modern hip hop elements and the island sounds. This isn’t gonna win, but it’s gonna be bumping in my car.
Yehonatan -9 – ‘Glow’ is probably the most underrated song in the national final season thus far. If you want to do English rap, this is exactly how you do it. Jesse’s flow is incredible, and his rap functions almost as a percussion to the beat of the song, which is exactly what I like, very fast and rhythmic rap. The production on the track is also insane and adds a lot of fun little touches to enjoy during the full song that makes it not boring like I usually get by rap songs.
Statistics
Total Points: 47.5/60
Highest Score: 9 (Tyler, Yehonatan)
Lowest Score: 7 (Daniel, David, William)
Final Mark: A+ (79%)
Listen to “Glow” below:
Favourite entry of David.
Boris – 7.5 – “Against my better judgement, I’m charmed by these two ferrety weirdoes. They are so, SO endearingly strange. ♥ Their song “Vox Populi” is bottled chaos and fits them perfectly. Out of all the UMK finalists, “Vox Populi” emulates Käärijä the best. They’re both a clever fusion of metal, dance and hiphop and as in “Cha Cha Cha”, the negative impact of foreign language (which here are Finnish and ESTONIAN) is completely negated by the universally understandable title that is chanted throughout the song and a strong beat that creates a enticing party vibe. The only true downside to picking this as your entrant is that Estonia and Croatia are likely choosing “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi” and “Rim Dim Tagi Tim” respectively, and both of those would eat a “Vox Populi” alive. I doubt a high placement is in the cards should Finland go for it, but picking Vox would allow Finland to carve itself a niche in Eurovision beyond schlager metal and prove that “Cha Cha Cha” wasn’t a one-time fluke.”
Daniel – 5.5 – “Another Eurobeat novelty act who’s cheesiness doesn’t reach the deprave depths of Windows95man, but it’s not far off. In a similar vein, its two guys fronting a I’m-crazy-me-one-hit-wonder pop song. With Mikael Gabriel x nublu however, the appearance is less 90s dork, but more contemporary pseudo-suave Sopranos. Outfitted in shiny suits, sport sunglasses, tattoos, and spiky hair. A Finnish rap-singing style complemented by a fast-paced euro-trance beat, featuring intermittent heavy-metal guitar riffs. If you have been following the other national finals of this year, you will have discovered that this particular sound has become a commonplace. So for all its gimmicky efforts to stands, Vox Populi fails to convince me its anything different. And like with Windows95man there is an air of intentionality, which makes matters feel a tad inauthentic”.
David – 8 – “Perfect for the dance floor and just to hype anyone or anything up! Brilliant use even of the Latin phrase, cause I could see a crowd get behind it. The song just starts upbeat and stays up there for the majority of the song. Sure, towards the end, the tempo might drop a bit too much, but picks it all up. Easy to sing a long with as well, it’s hip, but my only grip is probably how it’s a bit overdone.”
Tyler – 4 – “Mikael Gabriel and Nublu – “Vox populi” – With a song that seems to be touting the voice of the people, I don’t think the messages given by Mikael and Nublu are very good, sorry! The lyrics mention that all opinions are equally wrong (not true! Some opinions are more harmful than others!) and then referring to self-proclaimed individuals as sheeple. I guess the commonality between people is that no one is actually all that better than anybody else? It feels very bothsidesism and by trying to claim to be The Rational Ones, it ends up alienating listeners. But regardless of the increasing annoyance I have with the lyrics, the song feels like old Eurodance with a blend of bland punk and I don’t think this has a shot of representing Finland (good!).”
William – 6 – “When I say this is my least favorite of this year’s UMK, I am in no way calling it bad. UMK is, once again, just a treasure trove of great options. The song is a little over stuffed with ideas, but I enjoy the sense that this is a track written by two buddies who wanted to see how much song they could fit into three minutes. ‘Wanna add a medieval choir?’ ‘I don’t see why not”
Yehonatan – 4 – My main problem with this song is that it’s just not hooking enough. It is very weak melodically and their vocals are not enough to make up for that fact. I find it hard remembering anything else but the title. I’m not sure if there should be a comedy aspect to this song that I’m missing, but if there is, the fact that it is not clearly transmitted in the song should be a problem.
Statistics
Total Points: 35/60
Highest Score: 8 (David)
Lowest Score: 4 (Yehonatan)
Final Mark: C+ (58%)
Listen to “Vox Populi” below:
Favourite entry of Daniel, Tyler and William.
Boris – 6 – “Imagine my confusion when picking UMK back up after a few weeks and finding out THIS is the favourite? Hm, Okay. The lack of competitiveness in this UMK is showing itself. I dont’ know, the narrative presented here is strong and painfully realistic (which I, person with a history of depression, can empathize with) but I’m always sceptical of foreign-language ballads whose only true strength is storytelling. You need a hook, girl and I don’t fit in, don’t fit in, don’t fit in perfectly in your hook 🐟🎣 — Andrius Pojavis. The instrumentation in the chorus is too muted to really whip up any drama by itself. The live needs to be nothing less than an emotional rollercoaster to convince fun-seeking Europeans into spending money for what is essentially an unresolved ballad about depression in a language they can’t understand.”
Daniel – 9 – “Paskana is gay Eurovision fodder: a diva female lead so extraordinarily emotive, singing her heart out about how crap she feels. Give it to me! An uncomplicated ballad at its heart, featuring simple if sonically spacious production which borrows musical motifs heavily reminiscent of Tatu’s All the Things She Said. This isn’t ground-breaking by any means, but it’s incredibly immediate and heartfelt. Sara’s vocal and performance (from the video) convey such impassioned gusto, where these gut-wrenching crappy feelings of being abandoned come across so eloquently and so visceral to create one of the best songs that have come out this year, regardless whether it goes to Eurovision or not”
David – 6 – “I’m actually happily surprised here. A song fully in Finnish and it’s actually pleasant to listen. A great beat and rhythm, which works very well. It does get slightly dragging, since it’s quite similar throughout the song. If anything, I do wish it had some more power and attitude to pull my interest further in, so I’m not missing words when describing it, cause it is missing something distinctive.”
Tyler – 9.5 – “Love “Paskana”. Maybe I’m overrating the song with its message that I can totally sympathize with (depression and withdrawing from social situations), but Sara’s voice is so powerful. If Sara can match the power of her vocals in the live performance to the studio cut, she can be a real contender for a top 10 finish for Finland in the final, especially with proper staging. There’s a rhythm and cadence to the lyrics that are especially pleasant to listen to, and I hope this doesn’t flop live. I love this song, it’s my top song of the season so far, can’t stop listening to it. Please win for Finland!”
William – 8.5 – “I’m already having visions of an arena full of Eurovision fans in Malmo scream singing, ‘Internet!’ in unison. It just feels correct. If she can sing this live, I’m all in. Maybe I just have Italy on the brain this week, but this sounds like a song you’d hear at Sanremo. It’s got that kind of intrinsic polish and sincerity.”
Yehonatan – 6.5 – “Tell me, why is it that almost every UMK my favorite is a Finnish ballad that is less featured by Eurofans or Finnish fans, and the one year where I’m not strongly pushing the Finnish ballad, it is the favorite in the odds to win? I’m the problem probably. ‘Paskana’ is a good enough ballad, it checks all the boxes technically, but I’m lacking a stronger melody and emotional track. Maybe I just shouldn’t compare it to ‘Kelle Mä Soiten’ and ‘Sun Numero’ too much, but I’m really struggling to see why those two were not the favorites to win, and this is. Anyway, Finland will always be Finland and my money is still on the rock song.”
Statistics
Total Points: 45.5
Highest Score: 9.5 (Tyler)
Lowest Score: 6 (Boris, David)
Final Mark: A / B / C / F (%)
Listen to “Paskana” below:
Boris – 8 – “For about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, “Mania” delivers the best experience in this UMK. It wastes no time establishing its narrative and pulls you into the action from the first second. There’s no language barrier as the message can be discerned by listening to the song: Max is going cray-cray and overwhelmed the darker thoughts in his mind after a sudden spike in success. The synthrock riffs create a sense of urgency, dread, tension. Those 2.5 minutes are fantastic! And then it abruptly ends with no resolution. 🙃 It’s a stylistic choice that underlines the mental strain Max is still under. It’s very clever and that is why it won’t win – A sudden ending after all that build-up undercuts the tension you’ve created and blueballs your audience. A shame, because for most of its runtime “Mania” felt like it was leading somewhere, but turns out that “somewhere” is not Malmö. Get an understanding therapist who tells you want you need to hear, young Maxmillian, and be safe. ”
Daniel – 7 – “A popular Eurovision Youtuber described this track as soundcloud rap – a characterisation of the current underground crop of low-fi RnB and Hip Hop that appears to be popular amongst Gen Z musos. Yet as a geriatric millennial myself not clued up on what teenagers are listening to, I can safely say I still appreciate Sexmane and what he has to offer. There is an intensity to Mania which I personally favour, its perhaps owed the shouty vocals as well as a clever amalgamation of punchy genre sounds. Maybe a touch on the repetitive side in the chorus, yet saying that it feels I am nit-picking here, just because the level of all the UMK songs this year is pretty high. This could be standalone entry for any county, which could qualify and make any country proud.”
David – 4 – “Beat and sound is nice, but does eventually get’s slightly boring over time. I honestly think this song should’ve been in English, cause it sounds like Sexmane wants to deliver “something” to the listener. Me who doesn’t speak Finnish… then I’m not the target then, and I’m not there where I’m even bothered looking it up.”
Tyler – 6.5 – “I’m not usually a fan of “started from the bottom, now I’m here” songs, especially with the connections Sexmane may have had with previous UMK entrant Isaac Sene. However, I like the message in the lyrics a lot talking about mental health struggles. It makes Sexmane relatable, but I’m a little worried on what the execution of this song will be like on stage. I have a feeling the studio won’t translate live, similar to Isaac’s issues in 2022, but I’d love to be surprised otherwise. I would also like “Mania” better if it was longer. The song feels much too short, and just 10 more seconds would have done the song better as the ending feels abrupt.”
William – 8 – “He seems young, which always makes me nervous. And I’m having unpleasant flashbacks to how let down I was by his brother’s performance of a similarly excellent studio track at UMK 22. But this is really hitting for me. It’s anthemic, and it’s got tons of staging potential. (They better have something good planned for that guitar solo.) I’m choosing to be cautiously optimistic”
Yehonatan – 3 – “‘Mania‘ is a very niche song and I’m sure it will be successful in its niche. Unfortunately I’m not in that niche. I find the heavy autotune distracting, and also hard to really replicate in live, and in general it just bores me too quickly.”
Statistics
Total Points: 36.5/60
Highest Score: 8 (Boris, William)
Lowest Score: 3 (Yehonatan)
Final Mark: B- (61%)
Listen to “Mania” below:
Boris – 5 – “I have difficulty buying into this hyperactive ball of bad taste. “Fuck The System” always feels like the go-to message of individuals that fail to fit into social structures that aren’t fully of their own shaping. For an entry that’s all “live as you like, there’s no rules!” in its messaging, these two look like they conform to just about every styling and behavioural rule associated with Zoomer culture: A total disregard for general aesthetics over a dumbed-down drone of a beat because everything is ironic and nothing is to be taken seriously. It is a depressing take on life. Yeah sure, a bit of camp levity is welcome in this loathesome world, but any happy song that weaponizes irony like this one trends towards encouraging irresponsibility, cynicism and nihilism. Some things DO matter in life, you know? You need to afford your bills and groceries, charge your social batteries, cultivate your friendships, or else you’ll wind up living alone in a van, down by the river. But if the latter life appeals to you, then this is the entry for you, I guess. For me though; this contest is already has one Joost Klein. Let’s not add a second one from Finland.”
Daniel – 3 – “Every single thing about No Rules! feels very intentional and contrived, deterring from the songs merits, if there are any. A fundamentally cheesy Eurotrash song alternating between two male vocals, one smarmy baritone and one high-pitched, accompanied by a zany video of exposed hairy legs in super short denim cut off, handlebar moustaches, mullets and of course the 90s Windows logo. What grates most about Windows95man is that he or they want you to know it’s all done with a wink, cause you know beneath it all he’s a cool guy, this is fun, this is what people want and of course there is deep social commentary below the novelty fluff duh! Not deep enough in my books! This is so on-the-nose and try-hard that what is in offer here is devoid of any soul and authenticity. ”
David – 1 – “Bruh is out of date and only half-updated, to make it worse, the update only included the worst bits. Fine, song is catchy, but becomes annoying very fast. Lyrics are BEYOND dreadful and a pure disaster. I’m not even sure what to say vocally… and overall, it’s just annoying pretty much. I mean, hey… no rules, then don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
Tyler – 6 – “We’re finally hitting the trend in music for 90s throwbacks and that makes my old heart break 😦 But in regards to “No Rules!”, I really like the beat and without vocals, this would be a banger and on my playlist in constant rotation. It’s frenetic and composed well at the same time, and I enjoy it! I don’t care for the lyrics though and wish they were smarter. I’m particularly turned off by the opening verse, it doesn’t work for me. The song has potential and I hope we get an old PC onstage a la Gina G, but I’m not as excited for the live.”
William – 6.5 – “From literally any other country, this song would be an immediate no. But, give or take Ukraine, there’s no delegation but Finland that I would trust with this. The balance of camp, irreverence, classic Eurodance … it could all go very wrong. But it’s so damn catchy. I don’t expect this will win, but it’s the perfect brand of delightful local energy that every good national final needs. Could chop off the last 30 seconds, though?”
Yehonatan – 5 – “I want to dislike this entry so much, but I can’t, it’s so darn catchy and campy. It’s like an AI was fed with the iconic late 2000s Eurovision songs and came up with this, and I have to give it some credit for the nostalgia. I’m actually surprised this song isn’t a bigger favorite to win, as I thought after last year Finland will want more funny entries. However I’m happy it isn’t, as Finland has a truly great music scene, and I wouldn’t want them to rely only on troll entries going forward.”
Statistics
Total Points: 26.5/50
Highest Score: 6.5 (William)
Lowest Score: 1 (David)
Final Mark: F (44%)
Listen to “No rules!” below:
And that concludes our reviews for Finland! Overall, it’s safe to state that we enjoyed this year’s UMK, although not as much as last year’s. But what does our overall ranking look like? Fear not, for we’ve made a graphic:
Jesse Markin is the surprising winner of our editor poll, with a solid average of 79%, with the better received Sini Sabotage and Sara Siipola finishing with strong averages. Cyan Kicks, Sexmane and Mikael Gabriel & Nublu had mixed receptions, stranding in positions 4, 5 and 6. Bringing up the rear is windows95man which most of our reviewers did not enjoy very much.
Of course, since we haved rated based of the music videos and songs alone, our individual opinions can change based on what happens tonight. Staging, presentation and performance skill can enhance a song, or ruin it, It’ll be up to the songs near the bottom of our list to prove themselves worthy, and up to the songs near the top to prove they deserve to be up there.
For a breakdown of how each individual editor voted, kindly consult the excel chart below:
Tyler and William were the most positive jurors for Finland, clocking at a solid 71% average. Boris also enjoyed the selection, with an average close to 7/10. Daniel and Yehonatan gave out more mixed scores, putting them in the mid 60s. As usual, David was the most severe of our panel, but even he managed to squeeze out a positive average. Overall, it’s safe to say that we enjoyed this selection, and believe it has the potential to produce a great entry. Fingers crossed for Suomi.
Look out for more reviews next week, as we’ll publish our thoughts on Germany, Denmark and Lithuania’s finalists.
We have been ESCUnited, you have been #YOU. Until next week!
Do #YOU agree with our editors? Who is #YOUR favoruite in Finland’s national selection? Let us know in the comments, on social media, on our Forum or in our Discord!
