Country Finland Selected song "När jag blundar" | Selected entrant Pernilla Karlsson | |
Selection process Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) Selection date(s) Introduction show:
27 January 2012
Performance shows:
3 February 2012
10 February 2012
17 February 2012
24 February 2012
Final:
25 February 2012 Semi-final result Failed to qualify (12th, 41 points) | ||
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Finnish entry was selected through Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), a national selection that consisted of an introduction show, four performance shows and a final, organised by the Finnish broadcaster Yle. Pernilla Karlsson represented Finland with the song "När jag blundar", which failed to qualify from the first semi-final, achieving 12th place with 41 points.
Contents
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2012
On 16 May 2011, Yle confirmed participation in the 2012 contest by announcing that the national selection format from previous years would undergo changes. On 15 August 2011, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (Contest for New Music) was announced as the new format for the Finnish selection. A submission period was opened on the same until 1 October for singers and songwriters to submit their entries with a requirement that at least one of the songwriters and the leading vocalist must be a Finnish citizen or have a permanent residence in Finland. On 3 October 2011, Yle announced that 540 songs were submitted. A selection panel composed of 11 music professionals evaluated the submissions and on 2 November 2011, 40 entries were shortlisted and premiered online.
Format
Six shows were aired over a four-week period which included a finalist presentation show and wildcard voting round on 27 January 2012, two performance shows held at M1 Studios in Helsinki where four artists were eliminated on 3 and 10 February, a live gig performance show at Club Dom in Helsinki where two artists were eliminated on 17 February, and a preliminary elimination and a final held at the Helsinki Ice Hall on 24 and 25 February. The hosts were Anne Lainto and Joona Kortesmäki.
Judges
The judges were announced on 14 September 2012 by Yle. They selected the finalist entries and were responsible for eliminating entries during the shows preceding the final. The panel was composed of:
Show 1
The presentation of the finalists took place on 27 January 2012. Anne Lainto and Joona Kortesmäki announced the twelve songs that the juries selected from the 40 that were shortlisted previously. In addition to the announcement, an wildcard televote was announced among three demos which were not among the twelve finalists. The voting for the wildcard was open until 2 February 2012 and on 10 February, The Spyro and the song "Teleport My Heart" received the wildcard.
Show 2
The second show took place on 3 February 2012 at M1 Studios in Helsinki. Six of the twelve finalists presented their songs in front of the jury panel, which selected four to qualify to the fourth performance show.
Show 3
The third show took place on 10 February 2012 at M1 Studios in Helsinki. The remaining finalists presented their songs in front of the jury panel, which selected four to qualify to the fourth performance show. The wildcard voting results from the first show were announced with the public awarding The Spyro and the song "Teleport My Heart" with a wildcard for the fourth performance show.
Show 4
The fourth show was a live gig performance show held at Club Dom in Helsinki, which was pre-recorded on 10 February and aired on 17 February 2012. The eight qualifying songs from the previous two shows and the wildcard performed their songs in front of jury, which eliminated two songs: "Mun taivas" performed by Aili and "Teleport My Heart" performed by The Spyro. The qualifying songs proceeded to final preliminary.
Show 5
The fifth show was held on 24 February 2012 during the rehearsals for the final at the Helsinki Ice Hall. Public televoting was open from 17 February during the airing of the fourth show with the top five qualifying to the final and the bottom two facing elimination by jury vote. Joona Kortesmäki revealed the qualifiers in two groups. In the first group, "Antaa mennä" performed by Mica Ikonen, "När jag blundar" performed by Pernilla Karlsson and "Lasikaupunki" performed by Ville Eetvartti were the qualifiers while "Habits Of Human Beings" performed by Kaisa Vala faced elimination. In the second group "We Are The Night" performed by Iconcrash and "Laululeija" performed by Stig were the qualifiers while "Noitanainen" performed by Freeman and Uusi Fantasia faced elimination. The bottom two songs were performed in front of a jury which selected "Habits Of Human Beings" performed by Kaisa Vala as the final qualifier.
Final
The final took place on 25 February 2012 at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki where the six finalist songs were performed and the viewers selected a winner. The show featured interval performances by The Rasmus, Anna Abreu, and 2011 Finnish entrant Paradise Oskar. The first of two rounds of televoting selected "När jag blundar" performed by Pernilla Karlsson, "Laululeija" performed by Stig and "Lasikaupunki" performed by Ville Eetvartti as the three super finalists. In the second round of televoting, Pernilla Karlsson and the song "När jag blundar" was the winner.
At Eurovision
Finland competed in the first half of the first semi-final (9th on stage), on 22 May 2012, following Belgium and preceding the Israel. Finland received 41 points and placed 12th, thus failing to qualify for the final on 26 May.