Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected through the national competition Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), organised by the Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle). Softengine represented Finland with the song "Something Better", which qualified from the second semi-final to compete in the final. Finland placed 11th in the final, scoring 72 points. This was Finland's best placing in the contest since Lordi's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.

Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country Finland
National selection
Selection processUuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014
Selection date(s)Introduction shows:
26 December 2013
28 December 2013
4 January 2014
Heats:
11 January 2014
18 January 2014
Semi-final:
25 January 2014
Final:
1 February 2014
Selected entrantSoftengine
Selected song"Something Better"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Topi Latukka
  • Henri Oskár
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (3rd, 97 points)
Final result11th, 72 points
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

Before Eurovision

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014 was the third edition of the Finnish national selection that selected Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

Format

Three introductory shows on 26 December 2013, 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 commenced the competition with the presentation of the jury selection process and the first live performances of the competing songs from the artists in front of the judges. Two heats with six competing songs in each took place on 11 and 18 January 2014 where the artist and song that placed first automatically advanced to the final, while the artist and song that placed last was eliminated from the competition. The remaining four songs in each heat that failed to advance to the final or be eliminated proceeded to the semi-final on 25 January 2014 where the top six songs qualified to the final. The final with the eight remaining finalists took place at the Barona Areena in Espoo on 1 February 2014. The entire competition series was hosted by Anne Lainto and Ile Uusivuori.[1][2]

Yle enlisted four judges in order to assist the 12 competing artists with developing their song and performance. On 4 November 2013, Yle announced that the judges from the previous year would return, consisting of:[2]

  • Tomi Saarinen – head of Yle youth radio channel YleX
  • Aija Puurtinen – singer and music professor
  • Toni Wirtanen – heavy metal singer and leader of the band Apulanta
  • Redrama – rapper

Competing entries

A submission period was opened by Yle which lasted between 10 July 2013 and 16 September 2013.[3] A panel of experts appointed by Yle selected twelve entries for the competition from the 420 received submissions.[4] The competing entries were presented during a special introduction press event webcast by Yle on 10 January 2013.[5]

Artist Song (English translation) Music (m) / Lyrics (l)
Clarissa feat. Josh Standing "Top of the World" Paul Oxley (m & l), David Neisser (m), Christian Rabb (m), Annette Lundell (m), Joshua Standing (m)
Dennis Fagerström "My Little Honey Bee" Dennis Fagerström (m & l), Michael James Down (m & l), Niklas Hast (m), Andreas Anastasiou (m), Primož Poglajen (m)
Hanna Sky "Hope" Hanna Sky (m & l)
Hukka ja Mama "Selja"1 Lasse Hukka (m & l)
Jasmin Michaela "Kertakäyttösydän" (Throwaway heart) Mikko Kierikki (m), Jasmin Michaela (m), Jutta Annala (m), Johanna Viksten (l)
Lauri Mikkola "Going Down" Lauri Mikkola (m & l)
Lili Lambert "Let Me Take You There" Lili Lambert (m & l), Joonas Kaikko (m), Lasse Piirainen (m)
MadCraft "Shining Bright" Tom Nuorivaara (m & l), Juho Rinne (m), Jesse Mäläskä (m), Otto Uotila (m)
MAKEA "Painovoima" (Gravity) MAKEA (m & l)
MIAU "God/Drug" Anu Kaukola (m & l), Henna Juvonen (l)
Mikko Pohjola "Sängyn reunalla" (On the edge of the bed) Mikko Pohjola (m & l)
Softengine "Something Better" Topi Latukka (m & l), Henri Oskár (l)
1.^ Selja is a proper noun in the context of the lyrics; otherwise it translates as Elder.

Shows

Introduction shows

Three introduction shows were aired on 26 December 2013, 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014. On 26 December 2013, the top twelve entries that were selected for the competition were presented through commentary from the judges and interviews with the selected contestants. On 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014, in each show six competitors performed the demo version of their respective entry live in front of the judges for the first time. On 28 December 2013, MadCraft, Clarissa featuring Josh Standing, Lauri Mikkola, Jasmin Michaela, Hanna Sky and MAKEA presented their entries.[6] On 4 January 2014, Mikko Pohjola, Hukka ja Mama, Dennis Fagerström, Softengine, Lili Lambert and MIAU presented their entries.[7] The live performances were filmed in November 2013 allowing the competitors to take feedback and suggestions provided from the judges and apply changes to their entries prior to the release of the final versions of their songs.[8] The final versions of entries were presented on 1 January 2014 during a special radio broadcast on Yle Radio Suomi, hosted by Harri Hakanen and Anssi Autio.[9]

Heat 1

The first live show took place on 11 January 2014, where the first half of the twelve competing artists presented their entries during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki.[9] The 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting determined the one direct qualifier to the final, the four qualifiers to the semi-final and the artist and song that was eliminated from the competition. "Something Better" performed by Softengine qualified directly to the final, while "God/Drug" performed by MIAU, "My Little Honey Bee" performed by Dennis Fagerström, "Selja" performed by Hukka ja Mama and "Kertakäyttösydän" performed by Jasmin Michaela proceeded to the semi-final. "Let Me Take You There" performed by Lili Lambert was eliminated.[10]

Heat 1 – 11 January 2014
DrawArtistSongT. WirtanenA. PuurtinenT. SaarinenRedramaJury totalResult
1 MIAU "God/Drug" 6 7 6 4 23 Semi-final
2 Dennis Fagerström "My Little Honey Bee" 4 5 5 5 19 Semi-final
3 Lili Lambert "Let Me Take You There" 3 6 3 6 18 Eliminated
4 Hukka ja Mama "Selja" 10 9 8 8 35 Semi-final
5 Softengine "Something Better" 8 10 9 9 36 Final
6 Jasmin Michaela "Kertakäyttösydän" 7 8 7 7 29 Semi-final

Heat 2

The second live show took place on 18 January 2014 where the second half of the twelve competing artists presented their entries during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki.[9] The 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting determined the one direct qualifier to the final, the four qualifiers to the semi-final and the artist and song that was eliminated from the competition. "Hope" performed by Hanna Sky qualified directly to the final, while "Going Down" performed by Lauri Mikkola, "Top of the World" performed by Clarissa featuring Josh Standing, "Sängyn reunalla" performed by Mikko Pohjola and "Shining Bright" performed by MadCraft proceeded to the semi-final. "Painovoima" performed by MAKEA was eliminated.[11]

Heat 2 – 18 January 2014
DrawArtistSongT. WirtanenA. PuurtinenT. SaarinenRedramaJury totalResult
1 MAKEA "Painovoima" 4 7 4 5 20 Eliminated
2 Lauri Mikkola "Going Down" 5 8 7 6 26 Semi-final
3 Clarissa feat. Josh Standing "Top of the World" 6 6 6 7 25 Semi-final
4 Mikko Pohjola "Sängyn reunalla" 8 9 8 9 34 Semi-final
5 MadCraft "Shining Bright" 7 5 5 4 21 Semi-final
6 Hanna Sky "Hope" 9 10 9 10 38 Final

Semi-final

The semi-final show took place on 25 January 2014 where four songs from each of the previous two heats had another opportunity to qualify to the final during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki. Two of the eight competing entries were eliminated from the competition based on the results of a public vote, while the remaining six songs qualified to the final. "Kertakäyttösydän" performed by Jasmin Michaela and "My Little Honey Bee" performed by Dennis Fagerström were eliminated.[12]

Semi-final – 25 January 2014
DrawArtistSongResult
1 MadCraft "Shining Bright" Advanced
2 Hukka ja Mama "Selja" Advanced
3 Lauri Mikkola "Going Down" Advanced
4 Jasmin Michaela "Kertakäyttösydän" Eliminated
5 Dennis Fagerström "My Little Honey Bee" Eliminated
6 MIAU "God/Drug" Advanced
7 Mikko Pohjola "Sängyn reunalla" Advanced
8 Clarissa feat. Josh Standing "Top of the World" Advanced

Final

The final took place on 1 February 2014 where the eight finalist songs were performed and "Something Better" performed by Softengine was selected as the winner based on a 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting.[13][14]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured Krista Siegfrids, the winner of UMK 2013, performing her single "Cinderella".

Final – 1 February 2014
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
1 Softengine "Something Better" 18.27% 28.28% 23.28% 1
2 Hanna Sky "Hope" 9.13% — — —
3 MIAU "God/Drug" 15.38% 13.94% 14.66% 3
4 Lauri Mikkola "Going Down" 11.06% — — —
5 MadCraft "Shining Bright" 6.25% — — —
6 Mikko Pohjola "Sängyn reunalla" 16.83% 19.48% 18.16% 2
7 Clarissa feat. Josh Standing "Top of the World" 9.62% — — —
8 Hukka ja Mama "Selja" 13.46% — — —

At Eurovision
Softengine at the second semi-final dress rehearsal

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Finland was drawn to compete in the second half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014.[15] In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Finland would perform 8th, following Lithuania and preceding Ireland.[16] Finland qualified from the second semi-final, placing 3rd in a field of 15 songs with 97 points, and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Finland was allocated to compete in the second half of the final.[17] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Finland would perform 18th, following Slovenia and preceding Spain.[18] Finland placed 11th in the final, scoring 72 points,[19] becoming the second best result of Finland since the introduction of semi-finals (after the victory of Lordi in 2006), and the best position for a non-winning song since 1989.

The Finnish performance featured the members of Softengine performing with a band setup that includes three guitars, a piano and drum kit. The stage atmosphere transitioned between red and white lighting and includes strobe light and spotlight effects.[20][21]

In Finland, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on Yle TV2, with dual language commentary provided by Jorma Hietamäki and Sanna Pirkkalainen in Finnish, and Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos in Swedish. In addition, all shows were also broadcast via radio on Yle Radio Suomi and Yle Radio Vega.[22] The Finnish spokesperson revealing the result of the Finnish vote in the final was Redrama.[23]

Points awarded to Finland
Points awarded to Finland (semi-final 2)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Finland (final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Finland

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Finnish jury:[24]

  • Kaija Kärkinen – Chairperson – artist, composer, represented Finland in the 1991 Contest
  • Saara Törmä – lyricist
  • Rauli Eskolin – producer
  • Jaako Hurme – radio DJ
  • Annette Lundell (Clarissa) – artist

Semi-final 2

The Finnish votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[25]

Semi-final 2 – Finnish Results
Draw Country K. Kärkinen S. Törmä R. Eskolin J. Hurme A. Lundell Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Malta 3 3 6 3 5 3 11 6 5
02  Israel 12 13 4 11 6 10 5 8 3
03  Norway 2 2 7 4 3 2 2 2 10
04  Georgia 8 7 2 14 14 8 12 11
05  Poland 14 14 11 9 10 14 7 12
06  Austria 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 12
07  Lithuania 11 11 14 5 4 9 13 14
08  Finland
09  Ireland 9 12 13 13 7 13 9 13
10  Belarus 6 8 8 7 13 7 6 4 7
11  Macedonia 7 6 5 2 12 5 14 10 1
12   Switzerland 5 4 9 8 9 6 4 3 8
13  Greece 13 9 12 6 11 12 3 7 4
14  Slovenia 10 10 10 12 8 11 8 9 2
15  Romania 4 5 3 10 1 4 10 5 6

Final

The Finnish votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[26]

Final – Finnish Results
Draw Country K. Kärkinen S. Törmä R. Eskolin J. Hurme A. Lundell Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Ukraine 20 12 20 22 14 18 7 9 2
02  Belarus 12 18 23 16 19 19 15 19
03  Azerbaijan 10 2 11 11 13 8 24 16
04  Iceland 19 10 7 6 18 14 12 12
05  Norway 2 6 12 12 10 6 4 4 7
06  Romania 13 14 19 23 7 16 21 21
07  Armenia 9 20 16 5 5 12 6 7 4
08  Montenegro 21 21 21 25 25 25 25 25
09  Poland 25 25 24 17 20 24 11 20
10  Greece 23 17 25 15 17 21 13 18
11  Austria 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
12  Germany 8 11 9 19 23 15 23 22
13  Sweden 4 9 3 7 3 2 2 2 10
14  France 7 7 13 13 12 11 14 10 1
15  Russia 24 24 15 20 22 22 8 15
16  Italy 6 3 10 21 16 13 20 17
17  Slovenia 18 22 22 18 15 20 19 23
18  Finland
19  Spain 17 19 2 9 2 9 16 11
20   Switzerland 15 15 14 14 21 17 10 13
21  Hungary 14 13 4 10 8 10 5 6 5
22  Malta 3 5 6 8 9 3 17 8 3
23  Denmark 11 4 18 2 6 5 9 5 6
24  Netherlands 5 8 8 3 11 4 3 3 8
25  San Marino 22 23 17 24 24 23 18 24
26  United Kingdom 16 16 5 4 4 7 22 14

See also

References
  1. Jiandani, Sanjay (24 September 2013). "Finland: National final on February 1st - UMK 2014 dates released". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  2. Escudero, Victor M. (4 November 2013). "Finland brings UMK back". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. Noone, Alex (10 July 2013). "Finland: 2014 Finnish Eurovision selection process has kicked off!". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  4. Jiandani, Sanjay (24 September 2013). "Finland: 420 songs received- UMK 2014 kicks off 28 December". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  5. Escudero, Victor M. (10 December 2013). "Finland: Meet the UMK participants". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  6. "UMK-kisaajat esiintyvät tuomaristolle – katso jakso ennakkoon Yle Areenasta" (in Finnish). Yle. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  7. "Seuraavat kuusi UMK-kisaajaa esiintyy tuomaristolle – katso ennakkoon" (in Finnish). Yle. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  8. "UMK paljastaa tulevan kauden kilpailijat avoimessa tiedotustilaisuudessa 10.12" (in Finnish). Yle. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. Luukela, Sami (1 January 2014). "UMK 2014: LISTEN FINAL VERSIONS OF THE SONGS". Wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. Omelyanchuk, Olena (11 January 2014). "Finland: Softengine is one of the finalists!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  11. Escudero, Victor M. (18 January 2014). "Second UMK show completed in Finland". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. Escudero, Victor M. (25 January 2014). "All finalists chosen in Finland". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  13. Escudero, Victor M. (1 February 2014). "Softengine win Finland's UMK!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  14. "Lähes kolmasosa UMK-finaalin yleisöäänistä Softenginelle" (in Finnish). Yle. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  15. Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  16. Siim, Jarmo (24 March 2014). "Running order for Eurovision Semi-Finals decided". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  17. Brey, Marco (8 May 2014). "Second Semi-Final: The Winners' Press Conference". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  18. Storvik-Green, Simon (9 May 2014). "Running order for the Grand Final revealed!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  19. "Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  20. Storvik-Green, Simon (30 April 2014). "Finland: Something great for Softengine". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  21. Roxburgh, Gordon (3 May 2014). "Softengine with the hardest sound". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  22. "Euroviisut lähestyvät - Suomen edustajalla näytön paikka / Nedräkning till Eurovision Song Contest - alla tiders chans för Finlands Softengine" (in Finnish). NRK. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  23. "Redrama antaa Suomen pisteet Euroviisuissa – koko tuomaristo julkistettiin". Yle (in Finnish). 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  24. Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  25. "Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Second Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  26. "Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
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