Day 4: More Coverage from Malmö!

Malmö 2013 – It’s been another busy day today in the Malmö Arena and press centre. We managed to catch Latvia, San Marino, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Malta, Bulgaria, Iceland, Armenia, Hungary, Greece and Norway. We’ve had some fun performances in the press conferences including Krista from Finland’s portable wind machine! Check out our pictures now…

Interview: Finland’s Krista Siegfrids Talks to Eurovision Times

Interview – It’s time for another interview here on Eurovision Times. This time it’s with Finland’s Krista Siegfrids who will be singing ‘Mary Me‘ in Malmö. We caught up with her during her visit to the UK for the London Eurovision Party. We got to ask her about Team Ding Dong and also which Eurovision star she wants to marry. Read the interview now and find out which one!

Finland: Marry Me Parody Online!

Finland – Dekel Ben Avi and Bastien Venturi, the Swiss/Israeli partnership behind the annual Eurovision parody videos, have released this year’s, and it’s The Gay ‘Marry Me’ by Finland’s Krista Siegfrids! The previous year’s videos can be watched here if you’ve not seen them before. Last year’s was the Russian grannies, before that Sweden’s Eric Saade. Watch this year’s parody video now here…

Finland: Marry Me Europe!

Finland – The first episode of Krista Siegfrid’s TV series ‘Marry Me Europe!‘ has aired on Finnish TV. The Swedish speaking programme will also get Finnish subtitles. You can watch the programme on the YLE player here and see Krista having a celebratory party in her home town of Kaskinen in episode 1. Read more about it here.

Finland: Watch Acoustic Version of Marry Me

Finland – Krista Siegfrids has performed a live acoustic version of her Eurovision song ‘Marry Me’. She did so on the Swedish speaking TV show Strömsö. You can watch it here. A 6-part internet programme about her will be streamed on x3m.yle.fi & arenan.yle.fi from Thursday 11 April at 14.00 (CET).  She has also just taken part in a programme along with other finalists from this year’s UMK. Check them out singing Waterloo…

Finland: Chance to Star in Krista’s Video

Finland – This year’s Finnish representative, Krista Seigfrids, is inviting women aged 19-30 to be in her next video shoot. If you are in Helsinki on the 19th April 2013 and want to be in the fun video which will be all about Women Power, you can email your interest now.

New Videos Released from Albania, Croatia, Finland and Cyprus

Eurovision 2013 – It’s been a busy day on YouTube today for Eurovision fans as four countries released their official videos.  Albania’s video sees Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko singing ‘Identitet‘, Croatia have issued the video by Klapa s Mora performing ‘Mižerja‘ and Finland’s Krista Siegfrids goes down the aisle in her video for ‘Marry Me‘. Cyprus have just released theirs too. Watch them all online now:

Finland: It’s Krista Siegfrids for Malmö!

Finland – A few minutes ago Krista Siegfrids was chosen in Finland to represent her country in Malmö with her song ‘Marry Me’. After the jury voting she was joint first with Mikael Saari and Great Wide North. When the televoting was added it was Krista, Mikael Saari Diandra were in the top 3. Krista was then announced the winner. Check out the winning song here:

Finland: UMK Final Tonight!

Finland – After several weeks of heats, Finland will finally choose their representative for Malmö this evening as Uuden Muusiikin Kilpailu climaxes in Espoo, Helsinki. 8 finalists will battle it out to win a place in Malmö. The show starts at 20.00 (CET) and goes on until 22.00 (CET). There is a preview programme for 30 minutes earlier. You can watch the live show online here.

Finland: Second Chance Show Tonight

Finland – The second chance show for UMK in Finland will start tonight at 19.40 (CET). Six acts have been allowed to have another chance for a place in the final. The 4 winning acts will be chosen by a mix of jury and televote. You can watch online here.

Finland: Krista Siegfrids and Arion Qualify

Finland – In the second of three heats, held tonight in Helsinki, 2 acts qualified directly for the Finnish UMK Semi-final on 31st January 2013. These were Krista Siegfrids and Arion. Three songs went through to a second chance round. Check out who they were and which act was eliminated totally…

Finland: Live Heat Tonight!

Finland – You can follow tonight’s UMK heat online. Six more acts will battle it out to win a spot in the Finnish national final. Come and join us here at Eurovision Times and discuss the performances from Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu as they happen. The show starts at at 19.40 (CET). There will be a pre-show UMK+ at 19.25. You can watch online here.

Finland: Mikael Saari and Diandra Qualify

Finland – In the first of three heats, held tonight in Helsinki, 2 acts qualified directly for the Finnish UMK Semi-final on 31st January 2013. These were Mikael Saari and Diandra. Three songs went through to a second chance round. Check out who they were and which act was eliminated totally…

Finand: Second Semi-final Online

Finland – The next 6 performances of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu have been shown by Finnish broadcaster YLE. The videos show the acts performing for the Finnish jury, which includes Aija Puurtinen, Redrama, Toni Wirtanen and Tomi Saarinen. The two semi-finals will be shown live on Finnish TV and the internet from Helsinki on January 17th and 24th. 

Finland: First Semi-final Online!

Finland -  Finnish broadcaster YLE today revealed the 12 songs in full version and the first 6 entries live that will take part in the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. A series of programmes started on the 27th of December, starting with the presentation of all finalists. Now, two shows on the 3rd and 10th of January at 21:00 hours (20:00 CET) on YLE TV2 will show them singing their Eurovision songs. Discover them singing live for the jury!

Finland: 12 Finalists Revealed

Finland -  Finnish broadcaster YLE today revealed the 12 finalists that will take part in the national final UMK. A series of programmes will start on 27th of December, starting with the presentation of all finalists. Two shows on the 3rd and 10th of January at 21:00 hours (20:00 CET) on YLE TV2 will show them singing their Eurovision songs. See who the 12 finalists are…

Finland: UMK Jury Members Announced

Finland – The four jurors who will help to decide the Finnish winner of this year’s UMK national contest have today been announced. They are Tomi Saarinen who is Head Of Music at Finnish radio channel YleX, Toni Wirtanen from rock band Apulanta, rap artist Redrama, and Aija Puurtinen, a Finnish singer, bassist and music teacher. Read more about them here…

Finland: UMK Final Tickets On Sale

UMK – Finnish broadcaster YLE today put tickets on sale for their national final, UMK (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu). It will take place at Espoo’s Barona Areena (just outside Helsinki) on 9th February 2013, and ticket prices are €25 and €30 (including fees). You can buy them at Lippupalvelu.

Finland: YLE Calls for UMK Songs

  Finland – The Finnish national broadcaster YLE has called for songwriters and composers to submit songs for the Finnish national final UMK (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu). The new format was introduced this year and will once again be used to select the Finnish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Interested songwriters and composers can submit their songs to YLE until September 16.

Finnish Jury Results Show Points for Neighbours

Finnish broadcaster YLE was one of the first to announce their jury votes this year, with them giving their neighbours Sweden 12 points, Estonia 10 points and Denmark 8 points. The Finnish jury was made up of Anne Hautala (presenter, journalist), Christina Wheeler (musician), Freeman (musician), Maki Kolehhmainen (producer, musician) and Leri Leskinen (producer, musician).

Finland: 2013 Submission Rules Announced

Finland – While everyone is still analysing ESC 2012, Finland is looking forward to 2013. National broadcaster YLE has today already announced it’s selection process for next year’s contest. As announced yesterday, the UMK system will be used again this year for the second time. The submission dates and rules have been revealed today on YLE’s website.

Finland: 2013 Entry Will Be Chosen by UMK Again

The Finnish broadcaster YLE have announced that they will use the same system in 2013 to choose their entrant as they did in 2012. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu wasn’t particularly successful and it had poor viewing figures. Pernilla Karlsson, who the Finns eventually sent in 2012, failed to qualify for the final in Baku. But YLE are going to tweak UMK and try again.

Eurovision 2012: Today’s Rehearsals SF1

Eurovision 2012 – Today saw the resumption of rehearsals by acts in both semifinals. Russia kicked off this morning. They got a huge round of applause in the press conference where journalists were watching on the big screen. They’d also brought a large cut out of themselves where you could put your face in and be a granny!

Eurovision 2012: Day 1 Rehearsals Completed

Eurovision 2012 – The first day’s rehearsals have been completed. Despite a initial 2 hour delay, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland have now all made their debuts on the Crystal Hall Stage. Plasma screens for the press to watch them weren’t delivered until late afternoon though; another unprepared moment in Baku to embarrass officials. See the rehearsals here:

Finland: Pernilla Karlsson winner of UMK

Finland – Pernilla Karlsson will be the Finnish representative in Baku, singing ‘När jag blundar’. The song is sung in Swedish. Pernilla was crowned winner of tonight’s Finnish national final, UMK, in the Helsinki Ice Hall, beating Stig and Ville Eetvartti in the superfinal.

Finland: Finalists Decided for Tomorrow

Finland – The semi-final of Finland’s UMK competition has just concluded in Helsinki. Held in the ice hall, the venue for tomorrow’s final, another act, Freeman & Uusi Fantasia, was evicted. This leaves 6 in the final. During rehearsals, the acts were called onto the stage in two groups and the finalists announced.

Finland: Two More Acts Eliminated

Finland – Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu tonight saw Aili and  The Spyro eliminated by the jury in the ‘live club’ round. Seven acts remain: Pernilla Karlsson, Kaisa Vala, Freeman & New Fantasy, Stig, Iconcrash, Mica Ikonen and Ville Eetvartti. There is now a public vote which will see 5 go directly into the final on Saturday, and the bottom two facing a sing-off on Friday night in front of a jury in a bid to make up the 6th finalist.

Finland: Two More Acts Eliminated

Finland -Viewers in Finland saw the third show of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK)  tonight. Six artists performed, and Aura Pineda and Leola were evicted by the jury. A wildcard place was given to The Spyro. There are now nine acts performing on next week’s show, which will see all acts performing at a club gig.

Eurovision Recap (29)

  Recap – With the Eurovision season getting into full swing once more, we will use our well-tried “Eurovision recap” to keep you updated about all news from the Eurovision Song Contest world. This time we have submissions for Georgia, a date for the Bosnian song presentation, the name of Rambo Amadeus’ song and the Finnish finalists.