Neea River: “Nightmares is a very powerful and personal song about surviving a traumatic life experience”

This year’s Finnish national selection for Eurovision, Uuden musiikin kilpailu 2025 (UMK25) is just around the corner. One of the finalists is singer-songwriter Neea River, whose UMK entry ”Nightmares” has been streamed over million times already, and the song has made it to the international playlists. Neea River has co-written songs for many successful artists both in Finland and abroad, including UMK23 runner-up Portion Boys and Polish Eurovision 2023 representative Blanka. During the last couple of years this talented artist has focused on her own singing career, and now she wants to carry the Finnish flag in Eurovision.

We got a chance to ask a few questions from Neea River right before she conquers the stage of Nokia Arena in UMK25 final. This is what the artist told us about her relationship to Eurovision, her song ”Nightmares”, her musical background and some other things too:

Hello Neea River and thank you for giving me this interview! At first I’d like to ask what is your relationship to Eurovision? Do you usually watch the contest and what are your favorite Eurovision songs?

I’m a huge Eurovision fan! I’ve been watching the show since I was a little girl and been dreaming about singing on Eurovision stage. Now I’m one step closer! One of my favourites is Ani Lorak – “Shady Lady”. She’s such a powerful and gorgeous woman and I’ve been inspired by her stage presence and vocals. Other favs are “Tornero” ja “Fuego”!

Could you tell us a little bit something about your musical background? How long have you been singing and do you play any instruments?

I always knew I wanted to be a singer. I’ve been singing since the age of 2. Before I became a songwriter, I wrote a lot of poems and novels and I think that developed my storytelling later on in my songwriting career. I’m a self-taught singer-songwriter and producer, never went to school for music. I hear melodies in my head all the time and I just put them in a song form! I play the piano and guitar.

Your UMK entry “Nightmares” is an amazing pop song, which has gotten a lot of praise among the international Eurovision fans. How was the song born and how would you describe the message of it?

I’m so happy people love the song! “Nightmares” is a very powerful and personal song about surviving a traumatic life experience. It’s sending a message that healing takes time but that in the end everything is gonna get better. We wrote the song first with a piano – but we wanted to make a banger up-tempo song so we decided to go all in with the production!

What kind of stage show can we expect from you in UMK?

Can’t say too much, but there’s gonna be some similar elements from the music video!

You’ve written a lot of music to other artists in addition to yourself. In what way is songwriting to other artists different than songwriting to yourself and do you have some favorite song amongst the songs you’ve written to other artists?

It’s easier to write songs for other artists, especially if it’s not a personal story from my life. When I write songs to myself, it can be a very emotional journey pouring my emotions and hurt into lyrics. I cried when I wrote “Nightmares” cause while I was writing it, I realised how much I’ve healed from a trauma. My favourite song I’ve co-written is Blanka – “Rodeo”!

What is the biggest achievement in your career so far and what would you like to achieve in the future?

Breaking into international playlists as a 100% independent artist without any label or distribution deals all the way from Finland. It’s groundbreaking! And now of course UMK is the next amazing chapter in my career. Next stop: singing on Eurovision stage!

What do you do when you don’t do music?

I really love the outdoors. I love to do woodworking and hiking in the nature! I also go to the gym and in the summer time I love to golf (if I have time)!

What would it mean to you to win UMK and represent Finland in Eurovision 2025?

I have a mission to show the whole world what kind of banger pop music this Finnish girl and our country has to offer! It would be a dream come true to show it on Eurovision stage.

What would you like to say to our readers and to your fans from all over the world?

I’m so happy to see that Eurovision fans loved “Nightmares”! I gave everything I had in me to that song and it feels amazing to see that its resonating with people. Thank you so much for listening and supporting, it means the world to me! I’m honoured to be part of UMK 2025 and I love the Eurovision community. Let’s enjoy and celebrate music cause it’s the best thing in the world! 

Thank You very much for the interview and the best of luck to UMK! 

You can watch the music video of Neea River’s UMK25 entry “Nightmares” here:

If Neea River is your favorite to win UMK25 and represent Finland in Eurovision 2025, don’t forget to vote for her in our poll:

Vote for YOUR favorite in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2025
Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Support ESCBubble!

Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter, to get all the Eurovision news as they happen!