FINLAND (PRESS RELEASE) – The song submission round of the Contest for New Music (UMK) begins today. Submissions will be accepted during 1 – 6 September. On Friday, Blind Channel’s recent concert will be published in the Yle Areena streaming service.
The search for Finland’s next Eurovision representative has begun, as the song submission round for the Contest for New Music (UMK) is now open. Artists can now submit their applications during the period between 1 Sept and 6 Sept. The application form and rules are available in Finnish, Swedish, and English at yle.fi/umk. All applicants will be contacted at the latest by the end of October.
Contestants are selected by a jury consisting of music industry professionals and led by Tapio Hakanen, YleX’s Head of Music.
“UMK21 was a tremendous success for the artists who took part. Blind Channel made Finland’s biggest hit song of 2021 and Ilta, Teflon Brothers, and Pandora all had some of the biggest hits of their careers. The finale broadcast was viewed by 1.9 million people, and its media visibility, radio play, and streaming success were unprecedented. The standard of the songs and performances was exceptionally high. We hope that this will encourage as many artists as possible to take part in UMK. We can promise that the experience is unforgettable and will advance every artist’s career,” Hakanen enthusiastically explains.
UMK is Finland’s largest music show and a unique opportunity for artists. It first presents the artists to millions of domestic viewers in Finland and then takes the winner in front of an international audience of hundreds of millions at Eurovision, the world’s largest music entertainment program. UMK21 songs have been streamed on Spotify over 47 million times, and UMK’s YouTube videos have been viewed more than 13 million times this year. Many contestants’ songs reached Finland’s most trending videos list on YouTube.
The exact time and place of the UMK finale will be revealed later. In spring 2022, the winner will represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy.
We remind you submissions are open today also in Switzerland and already opened in Sweden…
