Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected through the national competition Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, organised by the Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio. Softengine represented Finland with the song "Something Better", which qualified from the second semi-final to compete in the final. Finland placed 11th in the final, scoring 72 points. This was Finland's best placing in the contest since Lordi's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
Before Eurovision
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014 was the third edition of the Finnish national selection that selected Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.Format
Three introductory shows on 26 December 2013, 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 commenced the competition with the presentation of the jury selection process and the first live performances of the competing songs from the artists in front of the judges. Two heats with six competing songs in each took place on 11 and 18 January 2014 where the artist and song that placed first automatically advanced to the final, while the artist and song that placed last was eliminated from the competition. The remaining four songs in each heat that failed to advance to the final or be eliminated proceeded to the semi-final on 25 January 2014 where the top six songs qualified to the final. The final with the eight remaining finalists took place at the Barona Areena in Espoo on 1 February 2014. The entire competition series was hosted by Anne Lainto and Ile Uusivuori.Yle enlisted four judges in order to assist the 12 competing artists with developing their song and performance. On 4 November 2013, Yle announced that the judges from the previous year would return, consisting of:
- Tomi Saarinen – head of Yle youth radio channel YleX
- Aija Puurtinen – singer and music professor
- Toni Wirtanen – heavy metal singer and leader of the band Apulanta
- Redrama – rapper
Competing entries
| Artist | Song | Music / Lyrics |
| Clarissa feat. Josh Standing | "Top of the World" | Paul Oxley, David Neisser, Christian Rabb, Annette Lundell, Joshua Standing |
| Dennis Fagerström | "My Little Honey Bee" | Dennis Fagerström, Michael James Down, Niklas Hast, Andreas Anastasiou, Primož Poglajen |
| Hanna Sky | "Hope" | Hanna Sky |
| Hukka ja Mama | "Selja" | Lasse Hukka |
| Jasmin Michaela | "Kertakäyttösydän" | Mikko Kierikki, Jasmin Michaela, Jutta Annala, Johanna Viksten |
| Lauri Mikkola | "Going Down" | Lauri Mikkola |
| Lili Lambert | "Let Me Take You There" | Lili Lambert, Joonas Kaikko, Lasse Piirainen |
| MadCraft | "Shining Bright" | Tom Nuorivaara, Juho Rinne, Jesse Mäläskä, Otto Uotila |
| MAKEA | "Painovoima" | MAKEA |
| MIAU | "God/Drug" | Anu Kaukola, Henna Juvonen |
| Mikko Pohjola | "Sängyn reunalla" | Mikko Pohjola |
| Softengine | "Something Better" | Topi Latukka, Henri Oskár |
Shows
Introduction shows
Three introduction shows were aired on 26 December 2013, 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014. On 26 December 2013, the top twelve entries that were selected for the competition were presented through commentary from the judges and interviews with the selected contestants. On 28 December 2013 and 4 January 2014, in each show six competitors performed the demo version of their respective entry live in front of the judges for the first time. On 28 December 2013, MadCraft, Clarissa featuring Josh Standing, Lauri Mikkola, Jasmin Michaela, Hanna Sky and MAKEA presented their entries. On 4 January 2014, Mikko Pohjola, Hukka ja Mama, Dennis Fagerström, Softengine, Lili Lambert and MIAU presented their entries. The live performances were filmed in November 2013 allowing the competitors to take feedback and suggestions provided from the judges and apply changes to their entries prior to the release of the final versions of their songs. The final versions of entries were presented on 1 January 2014 during a special radio broadcast on Yle Radio Suomi, hosted by Harri Hakanen and Anssi Autio.Heat 1
The first live show took place on 11 January 2014, where the first half of the twelve competing artists presented their entries during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki. The 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting determined the one direct qualifier to the final, the four qualifiers to the semi-final and the artist and song that was eliminated from the competition. "Something Better" performed by Softengine qualified directly to the final, while "God/Drug" performed by MIAU, "My Little Honey Bee" performed by Dennis Fagerström, "Selja" performed by Hukka ja Mama and "Kertakäyttösydän" performed by Jasmin Michaela proceeded to the semi-final. "Let Me Take You There" performed by Lili Lambert was eliminated.Heat 2
The second live show took place on 18 January 2014 where the second half of the twelve competing artists presented their entries during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki. The 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting determined the one direct qualifier to the final, the four qualifiers to the semi-final and the artist and song that was eliminated from the competition. "Hope" performed by Hanna Sky qualified directly to the final, while "Going Down" performed by Lauri Mikkola, "Top of the World" performed by Clarissa featuring Josh Standing, "Sängyn reunalla" performed by Mikko Pohjola and "Shining Bright" performed by MadCraft proceeded to the semi-final. "Painovoima" performed by MAKEA was eliminated.Semi-final
The semi-final show took place on 25 January 2014 where four songs from each of the previous two heats had another opportunity to qualify to the final during a live performance at the Peacock Theatre in Helsinki. Two of the eight competing entries were eliminated from the competition based on the results of a public vote, while the remaining six songs qualified to the final. "Kertakäyttösydän" performed by Jasmin Michaela and "My Little Honey Bee" performed by Dennis Fagerström were eliminated.Final
The final took place on 1 February 2014 where the eight finalist songs were performed and "Something Better" performed by Softengine was selected as the winner based on a 50/50 combination of jury voting and televoting.In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured Krista Siegfrids, the winner of UMK 2013, performing her single "Cinderella".
At Eurovision
During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Finland was drawn to compete in the second half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014. In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Finland would perform 8th, following Lithuania and preceding Ireland. Finland qualified from the second semi-final, placing 3rd in a field of 15 songs with 97 points, and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Finland was allocated to compete in the second half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Finland would perform 18th, following Slovenia and preceding Spain. Finland placed 11th in the final, scoring 72 points, becoming the second best result of Finland since the introduction of semi-finals, and the best position for a non-winning song since 1989.The Finnish performance featured the members of Softengine performing with a band setup that includes three guitars, a piano and drum kit. The stage atmosphere transitioned between red and white lighting and includes strobe light and spotlight effects.
In Finland, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on Yle TV2, with dual language commentary provided by Jorma Hietamäki and Sanna Pirkkalainen in Finnish, and Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos in Swedish. In addition, all shows were also broadcast via radio on Yle Radio Suomi and Yle Radio Vega. The Finnish spokesperson revealing the result of the Finnish vote in the final was Redrama.
Points awarded to Finland
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Finland
Semi-final 2
Points awarded in second semi-final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Final
Points awarded in the final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Split voting results
The following five members comprise the Finnish jury:- Kaija Kärkinen – Chairperson – artist, composer, represented Finland in the 1991 Contest
- Saara Törmä – lyricist
- Rauli Eskolin – producer
- Jaako Hurme – radio DJ
- Annette Lundell – artist
Semi-final 2