Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu is reverting back from an internal selection of the artist, to an open selection where all artists could submit their songs to the national selection, and compete to represent Finland in Rotterdam. The Finnish national broadcaster YLE confirmed that the interest was big for next year’s selection, as they have received a total of 426 songs, and selected the best six to proceed to the televised final.
Tapio Hakanen, Head of Music at YleX was appointed as the Head Juror for UMK, and he stated:
The music industry’s response to the return to open competition was really positive. In the participating songs some of Finland’s best songwriters, composers and producers are being featured. The final songs were selected by a jury of ten, featuring music experts from inside and outside of YLE. The level is really high and the songs are versatile in terms of both style and artist. I hope that as many Finns as possible will find an artist and the song that is perfect for representing Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The six acts are going to be presented in a special press conference on the 21st of January 2020, whilst the Grand Final is going to take place in the Mediapoliksen TV studio in Tampere on the 7th of March.
Darude and Sebastian Rejman have been internally selected to represent Finland earlier this year in Tel Aviv. Their entry “Look Away” finished last in the semi final, and thus didn’t proceed to the Grand Final.
Who would you like to see representing Finland next year in Rotterdam? Let us know in the comments below, or on our social media pages.
