The round of four semi-finals in Finland is now over and the stage is set for the national final in Turku on Saturday 17 February. The final will take place in the spa hotel Caribia just like last year. Some fans were disappointed that he relatively small venue was chosen to host the selection for the home entry for the first ever Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki in May. The around 1500 tickets were sold out quite quickly, whereas in previous years seats have been available even on the day of the final.
The semi-final rounds got an unprecedented amount of publicity in the Finnish media and especially the tabloid media were relishing in the few scandals that marred the shows.
Firstly, in the first semi-final the onscreen voting graphics broke down and some incorrect results were shown on the screen before the mistake was discovered. Hanna Pakarinen was seen to be visibly shocked when the unexpected result of her two songs was first announced.
One of the artists of the fourth semi-final, Jann Wilde and Rose Avenue also had both their songs disqualified as it was discovered they had been available widely on the internet before the contest, which is in clear breach of the competition rules. The broadcaster YLE believed it to be a genuine mistake, even if the band first declared they had told the songs were not new. Some criticism was pointed at the broadcaster for not doing a simple Google search on the song titles which would have revealed how widely the songs were available.
Another scandal arose as one of the songs that went through to the final from the second semi-final, Tietäjä by Katra, was accused to be a plagiarism of the song Jillian by the Dutch band Within Temptation. It was later cleared of plagiarism by five musicians that YLE consulted independently. Another scandal arose when it was discovered that one of the musicians consulted had actually played on Katra's recordings as a session musician.
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Although the semi-finals got all this publicity it failed to increase the viewing ratings, which were considerable down from last year and were in steep decline week after week. From the first week's 527 000 viewers the ratings rose to 550 000 but the in third week only 362 000 viewers tuned in. The last and fourth semi-final was scheduled against the Miss Finland pageant on MTV3, which regularly is one of the most popular shows of the year, so no high ratings are expected there either. The most watched program each week has been the Finnish version of talent show Idols, which last week had 1 319 000 viewers on MTV3, and 1 437 000 viewers the week before. The potential target group of all viewers of 10+ years is 4 653 000.
The lack of enthusiasm might be partly because the artists taking part were not seen to be as big and famous as was the audience was led to believe after Lordi's victory in Athens. Most of the artists could hardly be called household names by any standard and some of them were totally unknown to the great public. Also the songs were seen as disappointing by many, lacking in the instant impact that is needed for a good Eurovision song, which has only 3 minutes to impress the viewers.
Also the selection method has become rather unexciting with the performers clearly stating in advance which one of the two songs they wish to go further. This has raised the question how sensible it is to have each artist to have two songs at all, when they clearly have only put any effort into one song, with the other one being an obvious filler.
For the first time since 2002 the shows were also broadcast on the internet, and even the radio shows previewing the songs were available online in advance. Also a compilation CD will be released this year for the first time, the release date has now been set to 21 February.
The final in Turku 17 February 2007
Details of the final were released right after the last semi was transmitted. The voting lines are already open and unlike previous years only three songs will make it to the superfinal in Caribia Hall. The vote counters will be reset after the three artists with the most televotes are announced and the viewers then are voting again for who will represent Finland in Hartwall Arena in Helsinki in May.
Finnish national finals veteran Danny will be the special guest of the final and some comedy will be provided by "kanttori Piiparinen" (Tom Lindholm). So YLE has decided not to have any already selected foreign candidates as part of the show.
The show will be once again hosted by Jaana Pelkonen, who also was selected as one of the hosts of the international events in May and Heikki Paasonen. Finnish media have been very critical that his popular presenter couple was split up, as Heikki Paasonen lost out to actor Mikko Lempilampi. At first blame was directed at EBU, but these claims were later denied by YLE.
The main sponsor of the Eurovision Song Contest, TeliaSonera is running an advertising campaign encouraging people to vote in the national final under their Finnish telecoms brand Sonera.
The Finnish national final will be directed by Antti Lappi /YLE Entertainment and produced by Timo Suomi / YLE Entertainment. Mr. Suomi is also the multi-camera director of the ESC semi-final and final in May.
The final is on YLE TV2, YLE Radio Suomi and YLE Radio Vega at 19.00-20.50 EET. An internet webcast is also expected but not yet confirmed. It will also be on cable and satellite on TV Finland at a later time of 21.10 CET.
The running order of the final has been confirmed as:
1. Hanna Pakarinen: Leave Me Alone
The first Finnish Idols winner started off as the clear favourite. Her song is maybe a little bit disappointing and lacking the impact of her other hits, but should still reach the superfinal supported by her very loyal fanbase.
2. Beats and Styles: See the signs
This duo has had several dance hits and popular collaborations with known artists, but this song is sung by one of the band members. It leaves a lot to wish vocally and the performance is quite chaotic so has little chance of winning.
3. Jani & Jetsetters: Musta sulhanen
These performers of surf pop are relative newcomers to the scene and this moody song of death will please fans of traditional Finnish pop but has little chance of reaching the top three.The band is nominated as newcomers of the year in the Emma Awards, the Finnish Grammy's.
4. Lovex: Anyone anymore
Lovex has recently charted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with their earlier Finnish hit Guardian Angel. They are now clearly in a favourite position to reach top three in Turku and their fanbase might well secure them a victory.
5. Jukka Kuoppamäki: Levitä siivet
The veteran performer has taken part in the Finnish selections since 1971. His country inspired schlager stands out amongst the more contemporary songs, but is unlikely to get enough votes to make the superfinal in Turku.
6. Jann Wilde & Rose Avenue: Rock'n roll dreams
This band has seriously raised their profile during the selection process partly owing to the disqualification scandal, which some cynics even said was a deliberate publicity stunt. It is hard to say how wide their fanbase is now, as the band was previously virtually unknown. The flamboyant lead singer might divide voters and the sing is also competing for the same voters as Lovex.
7. Katra: Tietäjä
This classically trained singer was also embroiled in a scandal and got a lot of extra publicity on the back of it. Her live performance left a lot to desire vocally and it remains to be seen if her flu in the semi-final was the reason and whether she will improve her performance in Turku.
8. Laura: Take a chance
The Finnish representant from 2002 returns with a follow-up to her song Addicted To You. She had brought elements from her current club show to her performance with elements of Cabaret and Madonna. It is clearly the best thought of performance of the lot, but the song might not be catchy enough to get to top three.
9. Humane: Plane Away
This has been the surprise favourite of many fans, but the lead singer Kim Herold has been criticised for an uninspiring performance. There was little interaction between the co-singers Johanna Sandell and Tom Nyman and Mr. Herold. An improved performance, as has been promised by the band, might secure a place in the superfinal.
10. Thunderstone: Face in the Mirror
This was one of the surprise selections, as it was widely expected that their other song Forevermore would be selected. The other song has also been getting loads of airplay on YLE radio channels (the only ones allowed to play the songs until this Monday). Might still be the token choice for heavy metal fans and a top 3 position is not impossible.
11. Johanna Kurkela: Olet uneni kaunein
Another surprise fan favourite. Johanna was not widely known before the contest, and the strength of both her songs surprised many. Olet uneni kaunein had a very controversial performance with Johanna in a nightgown and with a bed on stage. The lyrics of the song are about her dreaming of her ideal man and this was symbolised by her straddling the male dancer on the bed. Might be too daring for the conservative viewer, even if the song otherwise would also get the more mature votes.
12. Kentala: Left my heart behind
The late replacement to the line-up after a cancellation of a chart-topping band is pleasing to the female viewers' eye but the song is probably too difficult to reach the top.
Watch the semi-final performances of the finalists on YLE website
Photos: YLE