The rules for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2022 have been released today by the Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Yle has released the rules for UMK 2022, which is being used to select Finland’s Eurovision act once again.ย The key rules are as followed:
- Contestants material must be unpublished
- Songs must be submitted between the 1st and 6th of September 2021
- Up to three entries can be submitted per lead singer or group however only one is eligible to make it to the live show
- Songwriters may participate across multiple entries
- The singer on the submitted demo track must also perform the song in the final of UMK
- Submitted songs cannot be entered into other Eurovision preselections
- At least one lead singer or songwriter must have Finnish citizenship or be a permanent resident of Finland.
- All performers must be older than 16 by May 1, 2022, and any song must not exceed three minutes in length.
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) will be used for the 11th time to select both a singer and a song for Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.ย UMK has been used to pick Finland’s Eurovision entry every year since 2012.
Yle has high expectations for the event in 2022 to the success of Blind channel at Eurovision along with the record-breaking viewing numbers for both UMK and Eurovision. UMK 2021 saw Blind Channel selected and resulted in Finland’s second-best result in the contest and both high viewing figures for UMK and Eurovision.
Artist will be able to submit songs for UMK in September. As with normal EBU rules, songs must not have been released previously before September 1st. It is also hoped a live studio audience can be present in UMK 2022, this year this was not possible due to the current pandemic.
The full rules of UMK 2022 in English can be found here.
Who are Blind Channel?
Blind Channel was formed in 2013 in Oulu in northwestern Finland. The band consists of Joel Hokka (vocals and guitar), Niko Vilhelm (vocals), Joonas Porko (guitar and backing vocals), Olli Matela (bass), Tommi Lalli (drums) and Aleksi Kaunisvesi (sampler and percussion). All of the members have been in the band since its inception except for Aleksi, who joined last autumn. The group came 6th in the final of Eurovision 2021, making them the nations most successful act since Lordi won in 2006,
Image source: EBU / Andres Putting | Source: YLE
Finland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, they debuted alongside Spain and Yugoslavia. Finland has finished last in the contest on 10 occasions and has received โnul pointsโ three times. It wasnโt until 2006 that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi represented the country in Athens with the song โHard Rock Hallelujahโ scoring 292 points, a record total at the time.