Benjamin has released “Hoida mut” (Take care of me), his entry for Uuden Musikiin Kilpailu 2023.
Niclas Benjamin Peltonen, better known as Benjamin, comes from Kaarina in southern Finland. He first became famous as an Instagram influencer. In 2014, he released his debut single “Underdogs”. He then released his debut album “Fingerprints” in 2016.
In 2018, Benjamin began releasing music in Finnish. His first Finnish single “Naarmuja” (Scratches) was released in August that year. His 2022 single “Gay” was chosen as the official anthem of Helsinki Pride 2022.
The competing entries will be released on the official UMK Youtube channel every weekday at midnight Finnish time from January 11.
The release order for the remaining songs is as follows:
- January 16 – Robin Packalen
- January 17 – Lxandra
- January 18 – Käärijä
- January 19 – KUUMAA
- January 20 – Portion Boys
The following entries have already been released:
- Keira – “No Business on the Dancefloor“
The final of UMK 2023 will take place on February 25 in Logomo in Turku. The show will be hosted by Samu Haber. Logomo will play host to UMK for the second year in a row and the third time overall. As with the last two contests, the Finnish entry for Eurovision 2023 will be chosen by international juries (25%) and public voting (75%).
Image Source: Yle/ Nelli Kenttä | Source: UMK
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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 ‘nul points’ three times. It wasn’t until 2006 that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi represented the country in Athens with the song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” scoring 292 points, a record total at the time.