#nublu

Jogo Duro - s/t LP - Ilhan Ersahin in Brazil

- Cyan Kicks: I always appreciate some heavy music!

- Sexmane: If he becomes even more popular because of UMK I kind of regret I skipped his gig last November when Käärijä was performing first, then Isac Elliot and then Sexmane. (But it was so late and it took forever to get home...)

- Sara Siipola: I've never heard of her but her emotional reaction about being part of UMK was genuinely heartwarming and I can't wait to hear her song.

- Jesse Markin: I've never heard of him too, but the description about his song seems interesting, something I could really like!

- Windows95Man: I'm super excited! He is so cringe it's amazing! He was the opening number at Käärijä's Black Box Homecoming concert and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

- Sini Sabotage: I'M FUCKING EXCITED!!! I've loved Sini's work so much! She's one of the first Finnish rappers I liked.

Ranked starting from the songs I vibed with the LEAST to most:

Jesse Markin - Glow: This one just doesn't do it for me, I'm sorry.

Sini Sarbotage - Kuori Mua: A tiny bit more of a bop yet to me personally it reminds me of lots of popular songs a la 2020s not unlike Unicorn from last year (which is a horrible comparison to have in your head given it's Israel)

Sara Siipola - Paskana: Hear me out! It's not a bad song! I love the emotions in it. I am just so over ballads ... and the introdution reminds me too much of Tattoo and I am still scarred from last year.

Sexmane - MANIA: I can definitely vibe to this! There's just a tiny bit missing for me to elevate it to fave status and the worst part I cannot even tell you what I feel is missing :'3

(Okay the next three keeps changing in my mind constantly so the live performance will definitely be helpful to really set in stone which one I dig the most so take what I say with a grain of salt)

Cyan Kicks - Dancing with the Demons: I had a huge smile on my face when I first heard this!! I love the metal vibes. Although I have nickpicks here and there (for instance I am not the biggest fan of the bridge).

Windows95Man - No Rules!: This is such a silly fun song that goes HARD on the chorus. I love to see it. However a part of me are not a fan of the 'american freedom eagle' scream that is used way too frequently if you ask me. On the other hand I can see this be a banger of a live show so I'll stay optimistic

Mikael Gabriel & nublu - Vox Populi: This one had my attention from the very first chord. Love the chorus so much. So singable. The vibes are vibing hard!! Love the production down. The only thing is that I am a bit unnsure if the live performance will be memorable especially next to Windows95man and I've had it a bit less stuck in my head than No Rules!

Bonus: My thoughts about Slovenia's entry (under the line)

UMK24 was boradcasted on TV last night. I had listened the songs through weekly and formed my opinions on them. But how they would work live?

I saw some pictures on news outlets, but didn't know much. My friend who was there didn't say anything, other than sending a little clip of Käärijä's and Erika Vikman's performance after the contestants (more on them later).

So how was the show overall?

Kuumaa & Benjamin - Ylivoimainen & Hoida mut

Gay ship of the year?

I thought this was nice. "Ylivoimainen" works well as a ballad. Benjamin's and Kuumaa's singer's voices work well together. Throwback to last year, which was when UMK really got attention in Finnish press and abroad. Like a send off from last year's artists.

On other note, Benjamin, Pilvi and Viivi were good hosts. Nice to have three people doing the work. Better than Samu Haber last year for sure.

Sini Sabotage - Kuori mua

I warmed up to Sini's song after not so flattering first impressions. She has the charisma.

She sings well live, kind of prefer it over the recorded versions. But the peformance didn't quite work here. It has the peeling off clothing for sure. But I don't know.

Good start at least.

Cyan Kicks - Dancing with Demons

I wasn't a huge fan of this song's recorded version. Toothless? Weird thing happened. I thought live version of "Hurricane" was weak, but "Dancing with Demons" works better live. Susanna Alexandra sounds better live at least now.

If the song sounded like this on recording , I would like it more. Performance wasn't that special. I feel that bands are in disadvantage, when they can't have dancers and such on stage.

Jesse Markin - Glow

After some time, "Glow" became my top song out of this year's contenders. Studio version is solid as hell. I was bit worried how this would work live.

It worked well! Live it sounds different. He has more energy at the end when he repeats "You're gonna make it!", which is nice. Good studio and live version.

I voted Jesse.

Mikael Gabriel x nublu - Vox Populi

I didn't care about this song and it had some discourse going on before this.

Live version works better than studio. Mikael Gabriel had more energy in his voice and could actually make what nublu was rapping.

I don't want to hear this song ever again...

Sara Siipola - Paskana

When I heard this song for the first time, I thought instantly "This will win!" It's a good song, with a powerful message.

Vocal effects on studio version made me worried how Sara would fare live. No worries. She sings well love. "PASKANA!" shout could have more power. Performance was nice looking on the television, I wonder how it looked from the live audience.

Maybe the best vocal performance of the evening?

Sexmane - Mania

Sexmane had a solid song. The amount of vocal effects on the studio version made me worried how he would do certain parts live.

I was bit disappointed. The amount of background vocals bother me. Why he couldn't shout Mania with the background vocals? I was waiting the screech at the end. He did his own screech and background tape did it right after. He sounds better here than on studio version though.

Also why he was connected to those wries and didn't do much with them.

Underwhelming.

I love this song.

I was bit worried how Henri Piispanen would pull off those vocals live, but he did well. At points he sounded like he was running out of breath.

Performance was the craziest this year. Sure was stimulating. Quite an advantage for one person to do the entertaining, while other does most of the vocals.

Bonus performances

After the contestants performed, it was time for other artists to take the stage.

"Disqualified performance". "Eight contestant."

It was obviously playback. Singer was Päivi Hämäläinen, one of the hosts of the evening. She is an actress.

Song is a spoof of common elements in Eurovision. Despite it being a parody, it was absolute banger! I hope it arrives to streaming services, this will be the Pride hit of 2024! XD

Then it was Katri Helena's turn. She performed her classic song "Katso sineen taivaan", which she represented Finland with on 1979 Eurovision in Jerusalem.

Classic for sure, with epic sound.

Then it was time for Käärijä's and Erika Vikman's song, "Ruoska". Käärijä was last year's UMK winner and Vikman was a contestant who didn't win, but got huge boost to her career, inventing her image.

I was honestly disappointed that Käärijä didn't get hit by the whip on the stage. Song is itself is okay.

And of course we get "Cha Cha Cha", the smash of hit 2023. It's still a banger.

International jury points

Jury points were kind of what I expected. Sara Siipola on top. I was surprised that Mikael Gabriel and nublu were third, but I don't like that song... I would've thought Jesse Markin would've scored higher. Nothing super controversial here, I guess jury people don't like eurodance XD

End results after public voting

Windows95man got his points first and sprung to the top spot. At that point it was game over, unless Sara Siipola got more points. It was actually quite nerve wrecking, when Sara Siipola got her points last.

I was sad that Sini Sabotage was last. She was solid and certainly better than Sexmane on vocal performance. But maybe the stage performance didn't impress people. Or the fact she was first.

Sexmane lost to Jesse Markin by a small margin. Apparently Sexmane is popular with devout fanbase. But I guess stage presence of Windows95man was too powerful.

Overall thoughts

I think this year was more even and better than last year. I liked 5/7 songs, compared to 2-3/7 songs last year. Also the move to Nokia Arena in Tampere from Logomo in Turku did wonders to stage peformances. Everything looked bigger. More lights, background videos.

I think Sini Sabotage was robbed, but oh well. I knew Jesse Markin couldn't win after he said he wouldn't go to Malmö if he won. But at least I get to know him. I'm sure to follow him from now on and buy his albums.

If I had to criticize the contestant selection, many of them were established artists before this. Sini Sabotage and Mikael Gabreil came back from hiatus. Sexmane is popular. Jesse Markin is an indie darling. Cyan Kicks competed two years ago, why so soon again? But for Siipola and Markin this is sure to give boost to their careers. I hope so at least.