For the second year in a row, YLE has selected Finland’s Eurovision artist via internal selection. Darude will represent Finland in Tel Aviv with one of three songs competing in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu this saturday: ‘Release Me’, ‘Superman’ or ‘Look Away’.
The announcement of Darude came after a series of speculations in the media and among fans with artists like Antti Tuisku and Robin among the rumored names. According to Yle.fi the tabloids were starting to suspect that no famous artists in Finland had shown interest in Eurovision this year.
However, on 29 january YLE announced Darude and vocalist Sebastian Rejman as Finland’s Eurovision act for Tel Aviv.
Darude and Sebastian previously worked together in 2015 when Sebastian was featured on the song ‘Moments’, which is also the name of Darude’s latest album.
Difficult to find a top level artist for UMK
YLE’s deal with Darude didn’t happen without difficulties. The 43 year old Finnish DJ and record producer actually said no, when the broadcaster approached him the first time. According to is.fi he was unsure if he could make a Eurovision-song and if his music would fit into Eurovision Song Contest.
Fortunately Darude changed his mind, when YLE told him that he could create songs in his own style, and during the autumn of 2018 he made 10-15 demos. From a total of around 30 songs the 3 UMK-songs were selected.
According to YLE producer Anssi Autio, it’s not easy to find an artist for UMK. Despite being given the chance to represent Finland in the world’s biggest live music event with more than 186 million viewers last year, top level artists in Finland mostly refuse.
Robin, Antti Tuisku and Haloo Helsinki are among the artists, that YLE approached, but who have refused this year.
One of the main reasons for the refusals is the pressure to get a good result, Anssi Autio concludes.
Another fact that affects the artists is the record companies’ focus on the domestic market. According to is.fi Finnish record companies operate in Finland and they are interested in how much their artists sell on the domestic marked, while their global success gets lower priority.
Compare this to the music business Sweden, which is much more export-orientated. This in turn makes it much easier to get top artists to compete in Melodifestivalen, is.fi concludes.
Mr. Lordi: “Darude is the best act Finland has chosen for Eurovision”
13 years ago Finland won their first Eurovision Victory. Lordi did what almost no-one expected: They won, and by a wide margin, breaking the record of most points in the history of Eurovision.
Lead singer Mr. Lordi recently commented on the Finnish artist. He is happy for Darude and says that “Darude is the best act Finland has chosen for Eurovision as he sounds very international and has an international fanbase “.
Is ‘Sandstorm’ an obstacle to Eurovision Succes?
Not all Finns agree with Mr. Lordi. In an analysis pulished on Yly.fi, YLE’s cultural editor Ville Vedenpää points to the fact that Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’ is still a dance music classic in 2019. But could the super success of ‘Sandstorm’ become an obstacle to Darude’s Eurovision success? Could the huge international 90’s hit potentially overshadow the new UMK songs, because people will compare the UMK songs (and eventually the Eurovision song) to ‘Sandstorm’.
Another question that has arisen concerns Darude’s role as a DJ. What will Darude actually do on the Eurovision stage. His vocalist Sebastian will sing and and live instruments are not allowed?
Poll: Vote for your favorite Darude UMK-song
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