Now that the country we have the second longest border with has passed us on the odds, it’s time to see what they got in their national final, it had 7 songs and many fans had boasted this final to the skies, I will be as high-flying?

 

Melody 1 – Robin Packalen 

The finale started with a lightweight of a danceable tune on what looks like a mega-sized sofa with an embedded trampoline. Unfortunately, the vocals here are a bit shaky at times and the song is very repetitive and as time goes on the song simply becomes boring. The bounce starts in the final, but not enough for me to take off unfortunately.

 

Melody 2 – HOT 

It is followed up with a song in Finnish and that with a type of energetic intense electro-pop that rarely does it for me. I almost get a manic feeling from this kind of music and it rarely gives me good vibes. Perfectly good vocals here and I understand that the song is about to run for me when the visuals that are happening on the screen feel more interesting. And our Finnish friends also beat NRK in the boots on the viewing experience of their national final.

 

Melody 3 – Wrapper 

So to the song that had a full 75% chance of winning and this somewhat unusual song performed on a stage with construction pallets as decorations, those who played on this one did not disappoint. To me, this seems like an ordinary dance party that takes off completely, and this seems like a cool party. Decent vocals and intense song notwithstanding, I guess I feel that the song is a bit too bland for my taste and doesn’t really hit me.

 

Melodi 4 – Keira 

Then we’re going to the disco drive and that with an artist who has a very distinctive voice that makes the difference for me and this holds up just fine vocally despite the intense dancing. This is cool to listen to and cool to look at and I really like when some exotic elements are thrown into the song as well. Those who choose songs in Finland should arrange courses for some other Nordic countries, if you ask me.

 

Melodies 5 – Benjamin 

A bit of gay disco is thrown in here and it’s always welcome at my place. But, then the singing needs to be a little better, here the vocals are a little so there at times. Kind of cool that he switches between Finnish and English in the song, which may not be the most exciting I’ve ever heard. I also think that the stage show has borrowed a little too much from things we have seen before, but on the other hand, many others do, too.

 

Melodi 6 – Alexandra 

Finally it calmed down a bit and we get a ballad. The song is just as melancholic and at times depressive as one would probably think one could expect from a Finnish song. That’s exactly what I don’t like and I also think that the stage show manages to tell the song’s content in a cool and rather innovative way. Vocally, it’s fragile at times, but it fits the sounds perfectly, I think.

 

Melodi 7 – Portion Boys 

This country never lets rock fans down, and this time with a rock band that mostly doesn’t bother to take their instruments on stage and instead just does a pretty good choreography instead. This is bouncy music and vocally I can clearly hear that the singers have a lot of rock tones in them. However, I have a feeling that this is a bit more of a joke song than a real rock song, but this time I’m just kidding, this was a festive ending to this finale.

 

Well, I guess I can’t say that those expectations after seeing many positive comments about this particular national final were met, but they probably sent the song that had the potential to create the most uproar in Liverpool.

However, our Finnish friends must have the courage to bet on songs that do not always fit into the traditional ESC form that most countries send off.

And that’s when Finland usually does the best as much as possible, a smart move.