UMK 2023 Song Review - Käärijä

Vote for Finland! 

UMK 2023 Song review - Robin

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Liverpool continues with another solid performance!

Robin - Girls Like You

Robin is one of the best known pop artists in Finland who’s been making hits one after another since he was 10 years old (he’s 24 now). Slowly he’s been making steps towards more international music scene and releasing more and more material in English instead of his native Finnish. 

For years the Finnish audience saw him as the dream artist to represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is our Benjamin Ingrosso! Each year we hoped and were disappointed. So this is definitely a moment just having him participating UMK! 

Obviously this entry and artist probably had more expectations than anyone else from the line up of UMK23 and he’s being seen as a direct competitor for Benjamin (Hoida Mut). Stakes were high. He says the song is the best one he’s ever made and what really describes him the best musically. He wants the whole world to listen to it so participating to UMK (and perhaps ESC) makes perfectly sense. 

The song was made partly in L.A and you can hear the sunny, positive, easy breezy vibe here. This is easy listen pop funk, well produced, BTS, Maroon 5 -kind of sounding music. It’s slick and smooth, reminds me something that Melfest (Sweden) would probably have in their song selection. There’s a comfort, familiarity here which fits to Robin’s comment how this is so him at the moment. 

However, there’s a danger of all of that being too generetic too mainstream and forgettable and to me unfortunately that’s the case. The song fails to reach the hights as the other UMK23 entries, the chorus is non-existing - I listened the song 3-4 times and I missed it every time. At best this is a filler song for me and being taken from the selection with this high quality, based on the studio cut, this wouldn’t be my choice for Liverpool. And I am disappointed because the guy has better songs, or at least more memorable ones. 

Anyhow, Robin is skilled and experienced, charismatic as hell live performer. A well executed live performance might add that extra value to the song that it desperately needs. Also I cannot ignore his popularity and big fanbase in Finland who might vote him to advance to ESC (like The Rasmus last year). 

What do you think of the third UMK23 track and would you vote for Robin’s Girls Like You to go all the way to Liverpool? UMK final takes place on February 25th!

I had a vision of taking a photo of Rua Augusta in Lisbon like in the touristic brochure when NOBODY’S THERE. And this is the busiest street of the city! Preferably in the sunrise. So when I had my holidays in February I woke up 5:30am to catch the first metro at 6:30am to take me to downtown to catch this moment. Such an disappointment when there were people there and morning was foggy and missing the sharp light I was looking for. Anyhow this is the closest I got. 

Found these random shots on my laptop... When it was still summer but cloudy.

These are the last photos of my Berlengas trip two months ago. Will be going through new photos :) 

Part Deux: Another round of shots taken by me all over Helsinki. Obsessed with the waterfront, blackandwhite (they always look better, don’t they?) and flowers or any kind of hay. Got caught up by the storm, sunshine, following the duck and the lovely colours of autumn. And yes, filters used. One of these days I’ll get better at this and have courage to post my pics without them.

Differences

Small talk and friendliness

In general Finns don’t do it, mainly because we suck at it. The small talk québecois isn’t as aggressive as in English speaking Canada but still I find it weird how people, totally strangers to me, ask me how I am…what is it to you? And especially when the automatic answer is always “good” and in the end people don’t give a damn how you’re really doing. It just feels waste of time and energy for me.

Small talk creates the image of people being friendlier but like I said I feel it’s very shallow. It’s not that Finns cannot be friendly or helpful too but people consider one’s “personal space” physically and emotionally bigger I guess.  That’s why we keep it on general level until we’re actually some sort acquaintances at least.

(Pic from montrealinpictures.com)

Drugs

I’m one of those rare people who’ve never used them. Call me boring but that’s my decision and I don’t judge those who do them but I have absolutely no desire to use drugs myself. In Finland the closest I’ve got to them is hearing an old class mate dying for an overdose. No one’s even offered or tried to sell me anything.

In here, on the other hand, they’re everywhere. Especially marijuana. You could even smell it in the air while attending events or just by walking in the streets. Or I could anyway. And people are so open about it. Super weird, I say.

Winter life

Finns seem to be like bears who go to sleep for the winter time and wake up when the spring arrives. Apart from the holidays like Christmas season and New Year's. Here, on the other hand, people don’t let the cold stop them for going out or arranging events. Super cool, I say.

(Igloofest, one of the coolest events in the city)

Restaurant culture

They say that Mtl has more restaurants than any other city in North America. I could even add to that the industry is blooming over here. All the famous cuisines of the world are represented and there are lots of small, cozy, special pubs, cafes and restaurants all over the city. For the staff, tipping seems to make the working in the industry worthwhile.

In Finland, thanks to our laws and regulations even having your own restaurant is quite difficult and expensive. Especially when the majority of Finns don’t wanna pay for a good service or diversity of products. Tipping isn’t mandatory even though you might bump into some rare Finnish customers who actually recognize a good service when they see it and reward the staff for it. Surprisingly self service is quite in common.

(Almost legendary Café Olimpico in Mile End)

Homeless people

Thanks to the Finnish social security system we don’t’ have much homeless people. Not where I come from anyway. In Helsinki there are some. But even still they aren’t as aggressive or visible part of the scenery.

Here they’re natural part of the cityscape. It took some time to get used to them. Haven’t given any money to any of them so far cause I still feel like I’d be supporting their choice not to work and to beg for their living. Even though I understand that things don’t work the same way here as they do back home and that some people probably haven’t ended up there by a choice.  

Garbage system

Found this incredibly weird in the beginning. You just dump all the stuff on the streets which can include anything from furniture to..anything really. In Finland we use those big garbage bins (each house, building has its own) and it’s not okay to leave your old couch or a dishwasher next to it. That’s what landfills have been made for. But being quite expensive in Finland, has made the dumping in the woods –option, very popular. Unfortunately.

I would be willing to pay more taxes if we’d have the similar system in Finland too. At least people wouldn’t feel the need to dump their carbage in the nature.

Alcohol

People can drink and party hard here too. Apart from a few drunks at the subway, the number of people vomiting or passing out in the streets because they’ve had one too many is still zero so far. Unlike in Finland where the consumption of alcohol and the problems caused by it are present everywhere you go.

Sauna

Most of the spas seem to have a sauna and even some gyms but it doesn’t have the status of being part of almost every day life like in Finland. Haven’t dared to try one yet here. 

EUROVISION!!! THIS SATURDAY! 

UMK 22 : My top

If pandemic has had any positive effects during the last two years – it is on Eurovision. The contest is now being seen differently as an oppurtunity to promote your music and gain fame than ever before. Television in general I guess since performing live has been pretty challenging now for the passed two years.

Last year’s Eurovision results showed how people are craving for live music, self made songs about real emotions and not pre-choreographed dance moves. All top 3 of winning songs were not sang in English and represented each of them a different genre. Blind Channel brought Finland the best result since Lordi’s victory 15 years prior and have ever since been embraced by charts all over the world. This is the professional spirit I’ve been longing in Finland for years.

UMK 2021 Winners Blind Channel

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) offers perhaps the best national ESC selection of the season! All the seven acts are already published artsits with their own characters, style and paths. These are all very well produced products already on its own merits and it’s only matter of one’s personal taste whether or not the song is your cup of tea. 

This year’s black horse The Rasmus could be easily thought to be the automatic winner being the most famous band among the seven entries but these six other entries do give a fare and balanced battle and the best one will win!

Music videos have also been upgraded what they were from previous years matching to each performance and atmosphere. Check each one by clicking the title of the song below! 

Cyan Kicks : Hurricane

Cyan Kicks

This was such an explosive start for this year’s UMK! Cyan Kicks comes from the same record label as last year’s Blind Channel and to be honest they do share some of the same elements. They call their style as modern rock. In genres Hurricane succesfully blands electronic as rockier sounds together. The energy here is undenyable. I cannot think of anything to add to this one. Only live performance will define where they will stand in the race to Torino..

Pros : self made song

Cons : generetic lyrics

BESS : Ram Pam Pam

Bess

The most surprising UMK entry so far and my ultimate favourite! People tend to compare this to Erika Vikman’s Cicciolina a couple years back but I personally I find this 10 x times better. The chorus is catchy and you find yourself singing along Ram Pam Pam instantly! The song is ultimately about freedom and breaking up from a bad relationship. For me this is the best pop-music can offer and I’m so in love with Bess’ raspy voice. I seriously wouldn’t mind if this won the ticket to Italy!

Pros : bold perfomance on the video and hopefully on the stage

Cons : The title of the song + swear words in the lyrics which would have to be changed for ESC

The Rasmus : Jezebel

The Rasmus

The big name among this year UMK entries. Frankly I’m surprised they weren’t just internally selected as for Darude and Saara Aalto. However having them competing this way brings much needed spice to the show. First sight and hear promises well (Desmond Child was one of the songwriters btw!) – I loved the black and yellow look and the quitar (new quitarist Emppu getting much deserved attention through entire song). The song follows safe pattern in its rock genre and moves smoothly from one part to the next one. Tiger roaring is a nice add. However I was slightly disappointed in the chorus – it didn’t explode, reach the hights as I would have wanted. But then the song does improve the more you listen to it and at this point it does sound quite natural as the song goes on. This is hit and stage ready and very familiar from The Rasmus with or without Eurovision.

Pros : Solid, high quality performance

Cons : Too safe? Can The Rasmus answer to these crazy high expectations?

Younghearted : Sun numero

For me less known band but Younghearted has established a reputation of singing beautiful, acoustic songs. Sun Numero makes no exception. This is a heartfelt break-up ballad. The song builds up nicely but a bit too slowly to my taste, the singing is amazing though. This is a great add to this years UMK. I don’t have much to say about this and it bothers me.

Pros : Emotional, gentle – easy to listen

Cons : Too forgettable?

Olivera : Thank God I’m an Atheist

Oliveira was completely new artist for me so no expectations but the song title promised bold, ironic attitude. The first thinfg you hear after pressing play is the VOICE! So unique, strong… I hear so much soul and character. The second thing that blows me away here is the lyrics, they’re so deep which makes me think again that is ESC able to appreciate this talent and art enough? She’s not super well known in Finland but I hope her participation in UMK gets her much deserved attention. I’m loooking forward to see how her R’n’B ballad is staged. Despite of the memorable beat, atmosphere her voice and lyrics are definitely the hook in this one! 

Pros : Self produced without a big label behind her

Cons : Just another ballad? Will her voice deliver live? 

Tommi Läntinen : Elämä kantaa mua

Every year UMK has a ”senior artist” entry. Last year it was Danny, this year it’s Tommi Läntinen. I prefer Tommi, his songs have always had more flavour even though I cannot call myself a fan by all means. His 1994 hit ”Syvälle Sydämeen Sattuu” about school bullying is a timeless Finnish classic among others. ”Elämä Kantaa Mua” however carries a more uplifting, positive message than Danny’s song last year or Tommi’s previously mentioned hit. The song is written by Finnish rock band Haloo Helsinki, who are one of the best loved rock bands in the country and if they were performing this song, this would be all over the charts. Even sung by Tommi it does have a radio play appeal and the tune does suit for him. He interprets the lyrics in his personal way and has a strong presence. This has grown on me significantly. Would I want him to represent Finland in Turin? Perhaps not but I do hope all the best and success for him with this song.

Pros : well written and performed pop hi

Cons : age group tends to separate this further from the other entries and voters

Isaac Sene : Kuuma jäbä

Another surprise in UMK 22! And probably the hottest one which has promised to make you blush! This is a genre, style and artist I wouldn’t normally listen. However one has to give credit a song well composed and played and charismactic performer. I don’t know if he reminds me of Young Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake or Justin Bieber - or perhaps a mix of all them? This lingers somewhere between pop-R’n’B but includes also electronical sounds. There was a small fuzz around this song if it had been relesed before UMK release – however since no actual recording of this release has emerged, it remains only as a rumour. There’s nothing I would add or remove but as mentioned before not my cup of tea.  

Pros : daring, not a traditional ”Finnish” song

Cons : Is he only a teenage idol? Will this sexy performance appeal to voters?  

What do you think of this year’s UMK entries? UMK takes place on February 26th at 9pm (FI timezone) on YLE. 

Lisboa in one year - the best of:

After 12 months living in Lisboa I opened my Lonely Planet guide for Portugal and looked back what has been done and should be done before once I leave Lisbon. Yes, I have decided I’m gonna stick around for another year for professional and financial reasons but after that I’m gonna start looking for something else. Even thinking of returning to Montréal. But here are the wisdom of the first year living in the portuguese capital. I know I have learned some. 

MOMENTS / EXPERIENCES:

After a photo shoot gone wrong because the sun rose in a wrong way I realized that the old trams which I have been wanting to take since I came here were EMPTY! So ended up taking one, actually severals on this random winter, sunny morning and just enjoying the ride while people rush to work, kids to school, shops open and the city awakens. The beauty of everyday life and that evident only for me. 

Numerous Couchsurfing nights that went on forever untill the morning without plans and with random people you had never met before nor meet again. Good times and definitely fun times!

Tinder dates that last for 7h while learning new areas of the city, stories, tips etc! Nothing major romantic but time well spent definitely!

Sunrises seen almost as many as the pasteis de natas eaten thanks to my early schedule at work. No matter how cold or hot it is - and how badly which ever of those suits you I love how the amount of light changes according to the seasons. Even in here. 

My hair looks so much better here than in Finland! No idea if it’s the vitamin D + zinc pills, the sun, the new SYOSS hair products or the combination of all of this - it is working! 

My previous experiences abroad have been intense but none of them has lasted as long as my time in Lisbon. I don’t feel like this is my final destination but I’m feeling the time in here will play a significant role in my life however. 

Obviously, Portugal gave me Eurovision. Despite of mixed feelings of how I look back at those weeks - obrigada! 

1 museum, 3 palaces, 2 fortress + multiple churches visited and about 1000 left to visit more.

 LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:

Hundreds and hundreds of Pasteis de Nata eaten. I know the best spots! Dare to say that I’m probably more expert than some locals.

After the negative first impressions I opened my eyes to my neighborhood and how great it is to live right here. Just local people without the tourists but still nice cafes, restaurants and shops. Whatever I need I know I can find it here! Can’t imagine living in anywhere else than in Alvalade-Roma-Areeiro area!

Seeing the beauty, the charm and history of the city and this country and why people come here and more importantly why they stay. 

How unique is this city compared to anything else I’ve ever been and my experiences in the moment of time. Lisbon grows and changes rapidly and how I see it today will be already gone by tomorrow. Thanks to this it is innovative, international, personalized and different but also fragile, dying what it is old and local. I think of my touristic choices more from now on and their affect after I’ve done whatever I came to do and left the destination.  

Knowing Lisboa spirit and understanding it a bit better every day. Embracing the details and colors around me – everything that makes Lisboa wrong and right but what makes it real. This city is a book to be read slowly and pages that continue forever.  

 LIFESTYLE:

Used to do Yoga before I came to Portugal but it was more random and not regular. Here however I can do it in my room as often as I can – just put some yoga music on from Youtube and tadaa! Another new hobby is bouldering/climbing which I don’t know how to do but I am still enjoying it!

Wherever you are and which ever turn you take on the streets of Lisbon – there will be a coffee shop! And not one of those international chains but an actual local portuguese cafeteria.

Never leaving empty handed from the markets where the hand made products are being sold (jewellery, clothes, souvenirs, etc). Especially the ones that you bump into randomly and unexpectedly.

Thousands of photos taken. I think I took better photos while living in Finland but I do have more material to go on here.

Exploring the country outside of Lisbon but not too far away not to be able to do day trips to visit the coast, amazing beaches, forests and mountains.

I ain’t a big fan of Portuguese food since I don’t eat seafood but instead I’ve had my eye on on the pastries and sweets since the beginning.

 PEOPLE:

Knowing all the right people when your computer crashes, or you need a photographing buddy who knows all the best places or you need a new portuguese teacher etc. Lisbon is not that big and the international crowd with the locals is easy to navigate if only you make an effort!

Portuguese are a proud nation realizing its faults and are always happy to show you around and share their expertise.

 When you break the ice with your neighbors, staff at your local store with people from here in general cause they are shy and somewhat distant in the beginning. But in the end you’ll get help, a friendly advice or whatever it was what you needed. They will go great lenghts for you. 

LANGUAGE:

I’m still a far cry from a fluent Portuguese speaking but when you notice you understand quite a bit of what’s being said around you – in Portuguese.

Finding music in Portuguese which I love – and it’s not Fado.

Diogo Picarra - Paraiso (2018) 

OVERALL:

When looking back the list I made before I left Finland - I've accomlished more or less everything I wanted. Only the language learning is the thing I'm a bit behind. So I’m on the right path here :)