Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Finland was represented by Lordi in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The song, written and composed by band member Mr. Lordi, went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, placing first in both the semifinal and final. This gave Finland its first ever win in the competition.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Euroviisut 2006 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 13 January 2006 20 January 2006 27 January 2006 3 February 2006 Final: 10 March 2006 | |||
| Selected entrant | Lordi | |||
| Selected song | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (1st, 292 points) | |||
| Final result | 1st, 292 points | |||
| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Lordi is a melodic theatrical heavy-rock band, mostly known for their unusual monster costumes and lyrical themes. The members are Lordi, Amen, Ox, Awa, and Kita. Lordi have released four albums with many hit songs. The members have never shown themselves in public without their masks. Lordi itself says the band does not exist without the masks. Before the Athens competition there was some controversy in Finland protesting the selection of such an unusual musical style and stage theatrics. Several newspaper readers' letters called for a reconsideration of the representative in favour of more traditional pop music.
Before Eurovision
Euroviisut 2006
Euroviisut 2006 was the national final that selects Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition consisted of five shows that commenced with the first of four semi-finals on 13 January 2006 and concluded with a final on 10 March 2006. The semi-final shows were held at the Tohloppi Studios in Tampere, while the final was held at the Caribia Hall in Turku. The five shows were hosted by Heikki Paasonen and Jaana Pelkonen.
Format
The format of the competition consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Three acts with two songs each competed in each semi-final and one song by one act from each semi-final qualified to complete the twelve-song lineup in the final. The results for the semi-finals and final were determined exclusively by a public vote.[1] Public voting included the options of telephone and SMS voting.
Competing entries
A submission period was opened by Yle which lasted between 12 August 2005 and 1 December 2005. At least one of the writers had to hold Finnish citizenship or live in Finland permanently in order for the entry to qualify to compete and songs performed in Finnish and Swedish were given priority. A panel of experts appointed by Yle selected twenty entries for the competition from the received submissions and performers of the selected songs were chosen by Yle in consultation with record companies.[2] The competing artists were presented on 7 November 2005 and the competing songs were presented on 5 January 2006.[3][4]
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Annika Eklund | "Shanghain valot" | Kerkko Koskinen, Kyösti Salokorpi |
| "Sinussa on jotain" | Esa Nieminen, Sinikka Svärd | |
| Jane | "Sivuoireita" | Niclas Bergwall, Niclas Kings, Curtis A. Richardson, Pekka Eronen |
| "V.I.P." | Kyösti Salokorpi, Lee Jyrkkä | |
| Jennie | "Look At Your Love" | Janne Hyöty, Jens Smedman, Sofie Björkgren-Näse |
| "Take Me Higher" | Janne Hyöty, Thomas Karlsson, Jimmy Westerlund | |
| Johanna Pakonen | "Kerta viimeinen" | Pertti Haverinen, Ilkka Vainio |
| "Liian monta yötä" | Pertti Haverinen, Ilkka Vainio | |
| Katariina Hänninen | "Liian aikaisin" | Antti Vuorenmaa, Ilkka Vainio |
| "Pala taivasta" | Risto Asikainen, Ilkka Vainio | |
| Kilpi | "Katharsis" | Pete Kilpi, Taage Laiho |
| "Toinen minä" | Pete Kilpi, Taage Laiho | |
| Lordi | "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock" | Mr. Lordi |
| "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | Mr. Lordi | |
| Marita Taavitsainen | "Antaudun" | Antero Laakso |
| "Enkeli itkee" | Ile Kallio, Kaija Kärkinen | |
| Nina & Hanna-Riikka | "This Is What We Came For" | Niklas Rosström, Geir Rönning |
| "Who I Am" | Miqael Persson, Eric Mårtensson | |
| Safe Six | "I Can't Wait" | Gary Revel Jr., Jukka Heikkilä |
| "Livin' It Up" | Gary Revel Jr., Jukka Heikkilä | |
| Tomi Metsäketo | "Eternamente Maria" | Kisu Jernström, Petri Kaivanto |
| "Un posto fra le nuvole" | Francesco Morettini, Luca Angelosanti, Tomi Metsäketo | |
| Ville Pusa & Christa Renwall | "Eternally" | Ville Pusa, Patric Sarin |
| Ville Pusa | "Over You" | Ville Pusa, Patric Sarin |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final show took place on 13 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Eternamente Maria" performed by Tomi Metsäketo, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi and "Take Me Higher" performed by Jennie qualified to the final.
| Semi-final 1 – 13 January 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Result |
| 1 | Tomi Metsäketo | "Eternamente Maria" | 60% | Advanced |
| 2 | Jennie | "Look At Your Love" | 23% | Eliminated |
| 3 | Lordi | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | 58% | Advanced |
| 4 | Tomi Metsäketo | "Un posto fra le nuvole" | 40% | Eliminated |
| 5 | Jennie | "Take Me Higher" | 77% | Advanced |
| 6 | Lordi | "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock" | 42% | Eliminated |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final show took place on 20 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Kerta viimeinen" performed by Johanna Pakonen, "Eternally" performed by Ville Pusa & Christa Renwall and "Who I Am" performed by Nina & Hanna-Riikka qualified to the final.
| Semi-final 2 – 20 January 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Result |
| 1 | Johanna Pakonen | "Liian monta yötä" | 35% | Eliminated |
| 2 | Ville Pusa | "Over You" | 16% | Eliminated |
| 3 | Nina & Hanna-Riikka | "This Is What We Came For" | 33% | Eliminated |
| 4 | Johanna Pakonen | "Kerta viimeinen" | 65% | Advanced |
| 5 | Ville Pusa & Christa Renwall | "Eternally" | 84% | Advanced |
| 6 | Nina & Hanna-Riikka | "Who I Am" | 67% | Advanced |
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final show took place on 27 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Shanghain valot" performed by Annika Eklund, "V.I.P." performed by Jane and "Katharsis" performed by Kilpi qualified to the final.
| Semi-final 3 – 27 January 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Result |
| 1 | Annika Eklund | "Shanghain valot" | 87% | Advanced |
| 2 | Jane | "V.I.P." | 71% | Advanced |
| 3 | Kilpi | "Toinen minä" | 38% | Eliminated |
| 4 | Annika Eklund | "Sinussa on jotain" | 13% | Eliminated |
| 5 | Jane | "Sivuoireita" | 29% | Eliminated |
| 6 | Kilpi | "Katharsis" | 62% | Advanced |
Semi-final 4
The fourth semi-final show took place on 3 February 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Enkeli itkee" performed by Marita Taavitsainen, "Pala taivasta" performed by Katariina Hänninen and "I Can't Wait" performed by Safe Six qualified to the final.
| Semi-final 4 – 3 February 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Result |
| 1 | Marita Taavitsainen | "Enkeli itkee" | 54% | Advanced |
| 2 | Katariina Hänninen | "Pala taivasta" | 55% | Advanced |
| 3 | Safe Six | "Livin' It Up" | 45% | Eliminated |
| 4 | Marita Taavitsainen | "Antaudun" | 46% | Eliminated |
| 5 | Katariina Hänninen | "Liian aikaisin" | 45% | Eliminated |
| 6 | Safe Six | "I Can't Wait" | 45% | Advanced |
Final
The final took place on 10 March 2006 at the Caribia Hall in Turku where the twelve entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed. The winner was selected over two rounds of public voting. In the first round, the top six entries were selected to proceed to the second round: "Eternamente Maria" performed by Tomi Metsäketo, "Take Me Higher" performed by Jennie, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi, "Shanghain valot" performed by Annika Eklund, "V.I.P." performed by Jane and "Katharsis" performed by Kilpi. In the second round, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi was selected as the winner.[5]
| First Round – 10 March 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Tomi Metsäketo | "Eternamente Maria" | 4,835 | 2 |
| 2 | Jennie | "Take Me Higher" | 4,311 | 3 |
| 3 | Lordi | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | 29,150 | 1 |
| 4 | Johanna Pakonen | "Kerta Viimeinen" | 1,456 | 9 |
| 5 | Ville Pusa & Christa Renwall | "Eternally" | 1,308 | 10 |
| 6 | Nina & Hanna-Riikka | "Who I Am" | 1,793 | 7 |
| 7 | Annika Eklund | "Shanghain valot" | 4,145 | 4 |
| 8 | Jane | "V.I.P." | 2,774 | 5 |
| 9 | Kilpi | "Katharsis" | 1,816 | 6 |
| 10 | Marita Taavitsainen | "Enkeli itkee" | 516 | 12 |
| 11 | Katariina Hänninen | "Liian Aikaisin" | 970 | 11 |
| 12 | Safe Six | "I Can't Wait" | 1,480 | 8 |
| Second Round – 10 March 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Annika Eklund | "Shanghain valot" | 19,565 | 3 |
| 2 | Kilpi | "Katharsis" | 4,685 | 6 |
| 3 | Jane | "V.I.P." | 6,308 | 5 |
| 4 | Lordi | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | 67,369 | 1 |
| 5 | Jennie | "Take Me Higher" | 15,138 | 4 |
| 6 | Tomi Metsäketo | "Eternamente Maria" | 45,431 | 2 |
At Eurovision
Because Finland failed to qualify in 2005 Lordi was forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final, Finland performed 16th following Ukraine and preceding Netherlands qualified to the final, placing 1st in the semi-final and scoring 292 points. In the final, Finland performed 17th, following Greece and preceding Ukraine. Lordi received 292 points, winning the contest for Finland. It is the best result for this country to date. Finland pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the 2007 Contest.
Points awarded to Finland
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
.svg.png){kind=small}
%3B_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%E2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small}
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Finland
Semi-final
|
Final
|
References
- "FINNISH SEMI-FINALS 2006".
- Bakker, Sietse (12 August 2005). "Finnish selection details 2006 revealed". Esctoday.
- Bakker, Sietse (7 November 2005). "YLE named 12 performers for 2006 selection". Esctoday.
- Bakker, Sietse (5 January 2006). "Finnish list complete!". Esctoday.
- "FINNISH NATIONAL FINAL 2006".