After a week of slow-dripping the entries, all seven tracks have been unveiled for Finland's Eurovision national selection contest, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK). Listen to them, watch the videos and vote in our poll below.
Broadcaster YLE released one track from each artist and interview videos daily from January 11, beginning with Cyan Kicks followed by Sexmane, Sara Siipola, Jesse Markin, Windows95man, Sini Sabotage and finally Mikael Gabriel & Nublu.
They'll all battle it out for the chance to represent Finland at Eurovision 2024 when UMK is held on February 10 (the morning of February 11 in Australia) at Nokia Arena in Tampere. The winner will be decided by a mixed vote from the public and international juries.
Here's what you need to know about each act and their songs:
Cyan Kicks - 'Dancing With Demons'
Cyan Kicks are a four-piece hard-edged rock act who also like to experiment with plenty of different sounds, and are led by front woman Susanna Alexandra. They competed in UMK 2022 with their song 'Hurricane' and finished second behind fellow rockers The Rasmus. Now they're back, and aiming to go one better and book their ticket to Malmo in May.
'Dancing With Demons' was co-written by British songwriter Dan Lancaster and is about dealing with your inner demons and turning them into a strength.
Sexmane – 'MANIA'
Sexmane has become a hugely popular rapper in Finland. His debut album in 2019 sat on the Finnish album charts for more than 100 weeks, while his follow-up, released last year, had 18 of its 20 songs make it into the Top 50 of the singles charts.
His song 'Mania' is deeply personal and deals with the highs and lows of depression and mental health struggles. He told Eurovision.tv: "The words in the chorus crystallise my thoughts: it’s quite all right to be a bit ‘crazy’. I know that a lot of young people are struggling with mental health challenges. I want to give them the strength and courage to hang in there.”
Sara Siipola – 'Paskana'
"I'm a f**king wreck."
Yep, that's the big line in this chorus (just check the English subtitles). Infact, 'Paskana' translates to another rude word if you hit up Google Translate.
Expletives aside, Sara Siipola's track is a super-personal power ballad about the feelings of loss and dealing with them. Siipola wrote it about her friend who lost her father, and how she battled to be present at a dinner party they were at as she dealt with her grief. She's been on the music scene in Finland for the last five years and this is her first shot at UMK.
Jesse Markin – 'Glow'
Jesse Markin was born in Liberia before growing up in the small Finnish town of Viljakkala, which had a population of only 2500 people. He was part of hip-hop group The Megaphone State for 12 years before going solo, and he won a Finnish Grammy back in 2019.
'Glow' has an underlying key message of 'not giving up', and Makrin told Eurovision.tv that the song contains "afro-vibes, cosmic soundscapes and so much more".
Windows95man – 'No Rules!'
Windows95man, aka Teemu Keisteri, is competing with his debut single in UMK after becoming a bit of a viral sensation with his YouTube videos in recent years. He even opened for last year's UMK winner, Käärijä, at his huge homecoming gig after Eurovision at the Helsinki Ice Hall last year.
'No Rules' features vocalist Henri Piispanen and is described on the UMK Youtube page as "a party banger that opposes unnecessarily restrictive rules".
Sini Sabotage – 'Kuori Mua'
Sini Sabotage is another well-known name in Finland, she was a judge for a season of their version of Idol in 2013, and has previously had a number one hit single. We're not sure what she's been up to for the past decade or so, but in 2024, she's doing UMK!
This takes the cake as the most lyrically X-rated song of UMK for 2024 - and probably any national final so far this year. After declaring "Unbox me right here right now," the chorus translates in English to: "Uuh ahh undress me, dive into my core, peel me like an onion, I've got layers."
Mikael Gabriel & Nublu – 'Vox Populi'
Rounding out our contenders for UMK this year is a Finnish and Estonian rap duo, Mikael Gabriel and Nublu, with their anthemic and stick-it-to-man themed track Vox Populi - which means 'The Voice Of The People'.
Gabriel told Eurovision.tv that the song "deals with political and cultural divides, saying that even though we’re all entitled to our own opinions, it doesn’t necessarily make them true. Everyone should use their voice, but at the same time you should also keep in mind that you will be judged no matter what."
The duo have had huge success in their respective countries with their solo work, and first collabed back in 2020 with their song 'Universum'.
Who's your favourite UMK 2024 act?
Cyan Kicks
Sexmane
Sara Siipola
Jesse Markin
So there's the full list! Who's your favourite? Cast your vote in our poll above, and look out for the Aussievision team's rankings of this year's UMK entries in the lead-up to the February 11 contest.
Finland made their Eurovision debut in 1961 and have made 56 appearances at the competition. They won the contest in 2006 with Lordi's 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' and were runners-up last year (2023) with the hugely popular Käärijä and his entry 'Cha Cha Cha', which was the overwhelming winner of the public vote in the grand final.
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