With the Finnish national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) fast approaching, broadcaster YLE revealed yesterday the familiar faces that will be performing in both the opening and interval acts during the show.
On Instagram, UMK announced that 2023 UMK participants, KUUMAA and Benjamin would be opening the grand final in Tampere on the 10th February. Finns and Eurofans alike will undoubtedly remember KUUMAA’s song “Ylvoimainen” which, despite only placing fifth at UMK last year, went on to gain nearly 20 million streams on Spotify at time of writing. KUUMAA will be joined on stage by Eurofan favourite Benjamin who placed seventh in UMK 2023 with his song “Hoida Mut”.
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As if this wasn’t already enough excitement, UMK also revealed that Finnish superstar and Eurovision 2023 televote winner Käärijä will perform a duet with fellow UMK alumni Erika Vikman during the interval of Saturday’s final. Käärijä of course won UMK 2023 in a landslide victory with his song “Cha Cha Cha” which went on to finish second at Eurovision. Erika Vikman is also a name that will be very familiar to Eurofans as she achieved cult icon status thanks to her song “Cicciolina” which was the runner up in UMK 2020.
When interviewed about their upcoming performance, Erika Vikman was quoted as saying, “I promise that our performance will be iconic.” Käärijä also explained that “when two very unique personalities are on the stage, an unforgettable show is guaranteed”. (Quotes translated from Finnish into English.)
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We certainly hope that the 2024 UMK final show will be ‘unforgettable’, and with seven talented acts competing for the opportunity to represent Finland in Malmö this May, it definitely looks like a date for the diary.
UMK 2024 takes place on February 10th at 20:00 CET and is available to watch here.
Are #YOU excited for UMK 2024? Share your thoughts with us in the comments, on our forum HERE or on social media!
