Tonight was the second semi-final of the Finnish show Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2016. Six acts wishing to represent the country in Stockholm competed, but only three could progress to the national final on 27th February. How were the artists’ performances? Who qualified ? Let’s find out.
Last week, there were six acts competing in the first semi-final. At the end of the show, only three managed to qualify for the final – these were : Saara Aalto, Stella Christine and Eini. Now it’s time to turn to tonight’s show.
The Songs :
Attention 2 – Ready For The Show
These two girls performed a catchy song with a lot of colours and flags. This was an atmosphere like the 80’s. The staging was good and the song reminded me of something we might see in Junior Eurovision. There were a few imperfections but the act was quite nice.
Cristal Snow – Love Is Blind
This man sang an emotional song about love. The staging was weird at first, a weird atmosphere on the stage was felt. The backing singers,wearing demon suits, were hidden behind red curtains. The vocal performance was great live. It’s a song that makes you forget its predecessor because of its message.
Annican Milan & Kimmo Blom – Good Enough
The setting was interesting because the two artists began to sing in front of a mirror, one for each artist. They didn’t sing looking into each other’s eyes except at the end of the song. The live vocals were good and emotive. The lyrics tell a good story in this emotional ballad.
Rafaela Truda – Rise Up
This act is really interesting because the first note of it is reminiscent of Problems by Ariana Grande. The performance was a great dance act and also a great vocal performance. It was a festive act with dancers and the artist also did a bit of a dancing performance. But the song was not as powerful as those of the previous acts.
Ylona – Blazing Fire
The setting was unexcpected as we saw Ylona in a bird-cage. There were fireworks and then the cage opened to let the artist escape. It was one of the beautiful settings in tonight’s show. The song has a good message and Ylona expressed it very well on stage.
Mikael Saari – On It Goes
At first, a dark stage with just the artist and a dancer who was interpreting the lyrics of the song. A simple performance with only a dancer, a white spotlight and the powerful voice of the artist. This act is even better live because its setting is captivating.
The show :
The show began with the presentation of Attention 2. They talked about their song, etc. All performances were presented by their singers and then the show began with the numbers to call for voting showing on screen.
After each two acts, the only host (since Krista Siegfried was at Melodifestivalen in Sweden) asked the participants how they felt. The interview with Rafaela Truda was carried out in English, and not Finnish, because she comes from Sweden.
After all participants sang their songs, there were two short clips about the history of Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest similar to the one of the first semi-final.
Then, a short interval act with the participation of the artist Robin. This started in the Green Room, then backstage and finally on the main stage. After this little break, the results were announced.
Results :
| Artists | Song | Result |
| Attention 2 | Ready For The Show | Eliminated |
| Cristal Snow | Love Is Blind | Qualified |
| Annica Milan & Kimmo Blom | Good Enough | Qualified |
| Rafaela Truda | Rise Up | Eliminated |
| Ylona | Blazing Fire | Eliminated |
| Mikael Saari | On It Goes | Qualified |
There is only one semi final left for the Finnish selection. The final will be on 27th of February. Finland will compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, to take place on 10th May in Stockholm, Sweden.
