All opinions expressed in this article are those of the editor quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the other team members or ESC United as a whole.

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Hello and welcome back to Eurovision This Decade! As a team we are going through all the entries country by country and showing you our lovely readers what we think of them. Today we’re looking at Finland! But before we get into all things Finnish, let’s take a look at the Estonia poll and see who your favourites were there!

With 31% of the voting, Elina Born and Stig Rästa from 2015 were our readers’ favourites for Estonia. Second place went to Elina Nechayeva’s impressive “La forza” from 2018, earning 23%, with Ott Lepland’s “Kuula” in 2012 on 15%. Now, on to Finland!

Finland have participated in every contest this decade and have given us some very memorable entries. Let’s take a look at their track record and then get into the rankings!

2010 – Kuunkuiskaajat – Tyolkii Ellaa

Performed fifth in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final, coming 11th on the night with 49 points.

2011 – Paradise Oskar – Da Da Dam

Performed tenth in the first semi final and qualified for the final in third place with 103 points. He then performed first in the grand final and finished in 21st place with 57 points.

2012 – Pernilla Karlsson – Nar Jag Blundar

Performed ninth in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final finishing 12th in the rankings with 41 points.

2013 – Krista Siegfrids – Marry Me

Performed fifth in the second semi final and qualified for the final in ninth place with 64 points. Krista then performed fourth in the grand final and finished in 24th place with 13 points overall.

2014 – Softengine – Something Better

Performed eighth in the second semi final and qualified for the final in third place with 97 points. The band then performed 18th in the grand final where they finished in 11th place with 72 points.

2015 – Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat – Aina Mun Pitaa

Performed fifth in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final, finishing last in the semi final with just 13 points.

2016 – Sandjha – Sing It Away

Performed first in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final coming 15th in the semi final with 51 points in total.

2017 – Norma John – Blackbird

Performed seventh in the first semi final but failed to qualify for the final after finishing 12th in the semi final with 92 points overall.

2018 – Saara Aalto – Monsters

Performed 15th in the first semi final and qualified for the final in tenth place with 108 points. Saara then performed 17th in the grand final where she finished in 25th place with 46 points overall.

2019 – Darude ft Sebastian Rejman – Look Away

Performed third in the first semi final and failed to qualify for the final after finishing last in the semi final with just 23 points in total.

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Our Winners:

Our team of editors have ranked Finland’s entries. Here are their favourites and why!

Connor – 2018 – Saara Aalto – Monsters

As a queer man, I might be ostracized if I didn’t pick Saara Aalto’s “Monsters” but that aside, this song has pop anthem written all over it. Now sure, Saara didn’t place as high as we all assumed she would, but she’s the first person to do a 360 vertical spin on stage AND this song has really pushed me through a lot of the monsters in my life like unemployment, losing my grandmother, and depression. So thank you Saara, I owe you.

James – 2010 – Kuunkuiskaajat – Tyolkii Ellaa

Oof. In hindsight, the 2010s was a bad decade for Finland. I didn’t care for Darude’s microwaved entry this year, but in comparison to the other Finnish entries, “Look Away” is one of the better ones! Kuunkuiskaajat’s accordion and fiddle driven folk pop “Tyolkii Ellaa” seemed like a false dawn in 2010. Finland has some of the best folk music in Europe, some of the best metal in Europe, some of the best folk-metal in Europe. Why did they abandon their strong suits for canned indie and pop dirge? I have no idea what Kuunkuiskaajat’s song was about, but I had a blast listening to it.

Jordan – 2014 – Softengine – Something Better

Something Better is a really great pop song with rock elements. I love the lead singer’s voice and I think the overall performance was great. It felt Nordic, it felt like it was from Finland, without being ethnic to the point of alienation. I really enjoy this song and I was pleased to see this qualify for the final in 2014, and it rightfully got their best result of the decade. And just for fun I’ll go and trigger a load of people and say Saara Aalto is extremely overrated, and how she qualified ahead of Sevak Khanagyan or Zibbz is utterly beyond me. But hey ho!

Roy – 2014 – Softengine – Something Better

Some nice swaying songs at the beginning of the decade. Some bad songs here and there, but then there is only one that really stands out to me as a quality entry. Finland has so many good rock or metal-bands yet they didn’t send much of this type of music. A learning disability metal group, allthough adorable, was definitely not good and then there is Softengine. The singer of the band is very charismatic and takes the song to a higher level. I definitely hope for some dope (folk) metal in the next 10 years from Finland.

Sean – 2014 – Softengine – Something Better

Softengine are simply one of the most accomplished alternative acts to have ever graced our humbled contest, and that’s no hyperbole. The album they released after the contest was one of the best I heard in 2014 and the anthemic “Something Better” is the cherry on the cake. Easy to sing along to, relentlessly uplifting and so unlike anything that normally enters Eurovision, it’s not surprise an indie lover like me fawns over Finland’s 2014 effort!

Zack – 2018 – Saara Aalto – Monsters

Surprising top ranking, but something about this song is so likable to me.

Overall Team Ranking:

As a team we have combined our rankings to see who our favourite from Finland is. Do you agree with our ranking?

In a narrow victory, Saara Aalto’s 2018 entry pips 2014’s Softengine to our team’s personal crown, but how will the readers’ views compare?

Readers Ranking:

In the poll below #YOU can vote for your favourite Finnish entry from this decade!

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We’d love to know what #YOU think of Finland’s entries and the series as a whole. Get in touch with us by commenting below, posting on our forum or visiting our social media pages!

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