| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2009 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Yleisradio (Yle) | |||
| Country |  Finland | |||
| Selection process | Euroviisut 2009 | |||
| Selection date | 31 January 2009 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Lose Control" | |||
| Artist | Waldo's People | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (12th, 42 points) | |||
| Final result | 25th, 22 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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Finland was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Lose Control" written byWaldo, Karima, Ari Lehtonen, and Annie Kratz-Gutå, and performed by the bandWaldo's People. The Finnish participating broadcaster,Yleisradio (Yle), organised the national finalEuroviisut 2008 in order to select its entry for the contest. 12 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of three semi-finals, a Second Chance round and a final, taking place in January 2009. Eight entries ultimately competed in the final on 30 January where votes from the public selected "Lose Control" performed by Waldo's People as the winner.
Finland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2009. Performing during the show in position 15, "Lose Control" was announced among the ten qualifying entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May. It was later revealed that Finland had been selected by back-up juries to qualify after placing twelfth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 42 points. In the final, Finland performed in position 24 and placed twenty-fifth (last) out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 22 points.
Prior to the 2009 contest,Yleisradio (Yle) had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing Finland forty-two times since its first entry in1961.[1] It has won the contest once in2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed byLordi. In2008, "Missä miehet ratsastaa" performed byTeräsbetoni managed to qualify to the final and placed twenty-second.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, Yle organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2009 contest on 20 June 2008.[2] Yle had selected its entries for the contest through national final competitions that have varied in format over the years. Since 1961, a selection show that was often titledEuroviisukarsinta highlighted that the purpose of the program was to select a song for Eurovision. Along with its participation confirmation, the broadcaster also announced that its entry for the 2009 contest would be selected through theEuroviisut selection show.[2]
Euroviisut 2009 was the national final that selected Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The competition consisted of three stages that commenced with the first of three semi-finals on 9 January 2009, followed by a Second Chance round on 31 January 2009 and concluded with a final also on 31 January 2009. The three stages were hosted byEurovision Song Contest 2007 hostJaana Pelkonen andYleX DJ Mikko Peltola. All shows were broadcast onYle TV2 and online atyle.fi.[3] Both the Second Chance round and the final were also broadcast via radio onYle Radio Suomi.[4]
The format of the competition consisted of three stages: three semi-finals, a Second Chance round and a final. Four songs competed in each semi-final and the top two entries from each semi-final directly qualified to the final. The remaining two entries of each semi-final competed in the Second Chance round where an additional two entries qualified to complete the eight-song lineup in the final. The results for all three stages were determined exclusively by a public vote. Public voting included the options of telephone and SMS voting.[2][5]
Twelve artists were directly invited by Yle to compete in the national final following consultation with record companies and presented during a press conference on 25 September 2008. Among the competing artists was former Finnish Eurovision entrantJari Sillanpää who representedFinland in 2004.[6][7] The competing entries were released on 3 December 2008.[8][9]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Janita | "Martian" | Janita Maria, Tomi Sachary |
| Jari Sillanpää | "Kirkas kipinä" | Petri Laaksonen [fi] |
| Kwan | "10,000 Light Years" | Harry Sommerdahl,Pauli Rantasalmi [fi],Jaani Peuhu,Mari Pajalahti |
| Passionworks [fi] feat.Tony Turunen [fi] | "Surrender" | Kristian Pihlajaharju [fi],Harriet Hägglund [fi] |
| Remu | "Planeetta" | Remu Aaltonen,Ilkka Vainio [fi],Risto Asikainen |
| Riikka [fi] | "Meren" | Ville Laaksonen, Riikka Timonen, Saara Honkanen, Suvi Nurmi |
| Sani [fi] | "Doctor, Doctor" | Maki Kolehmainen [fi], Mats Tärnfors, Steven Stewart |
| Signmark feat.Osmo Ikonen [fi] | "Speakerbox" | Brandon Bauer, Heikki Soini, Kim Eiroma, Marko Vuoriheimo, Osmo Ikonen |
| Tapani Kansa | "Rakkautta on, rauhaa ei" | Mika Toivanen [fi], Tapani Kansa |
| Tiara | "Manala" | Tiia Marjanen |
| Vink | "The Greatest Plan" | Anders Alanen, Mats Kindstedt, Tomi Aremaa |
| Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | Ari Lehtonen, Karima,Waldo, Annie Kratz-Gutå |
The three semi-final shows took place on 9, 16 and 23 January 2009 at the Tohloppi Studios inTampere. The top two from the four competing entries in each semi-final qualified directly to the final based on the results from the public vote, while the remaining two entries advanced to the Second Chance round. In addition to the competing entries, Step Up Dancers performed as the interval act in all three semi-finals.[10][11][12]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kwan | "10,000 Light Years" | 31.9% | 2 | Final |
| 2 | Riikka | "Meren" | — | — | Second Chance |
| 3 | Tapani Kansa | "Rakkautta on, rauhaa ei" | 37.4% | 1 | Final |
| 4 | Tiara | "Manala" | — | — | Second Chance |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sani | "Doctor, Doctor" | — | — | Second Chance |
| 2 | Passionworks feat. Tony Turunen | "Surrender" | — | — | Second Chance |
| 3 | Remu | "Planeetta" | 28.6% | 2 | Final |
| 4 | Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | 44.3% | 1 | Final |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signmark feat. Osmo Ikonen | "Speakerbox" | 46.5% | 1 | Final |
| 2 | Janita | "Martian" | — | — | Second Chance |
| 3 | Vink | "The Greatest Plan" | — | — | Second Chance |
| 4 | Jari Sillanpää | "Kirkas kipinä" | 34.0% | 2 | Final |
The Second Chance round took place before the final on 31 January 2009 at the Leonardo Hall inTampere where the entries placed third and fourth in the preceding three semi-finals competed. The top two from the six competing entries qualified to the final based on the results of a public vote.[19]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Passionworks feat. Tony Turunen | "Surrender" | Final |
| 2 | Tiara | "Manala" | Out |
| 3 | Riikka | "Meren" | Out |
| 4 | Vink | "The Greatest Plan" | Final |
| 5 | Janita | "Martian" | Out |
| 6 | Sani | "Doctor, Doctor" | Out |
The final took place on 31 January 2009 at the Leonardo Hall inTampere where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and the Second Chance round competed.[19] The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top three from the eight competing entries qualified to the second round, the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Lose Control" performed byWaldo's People was selected as the winner.[20] A three-member judging panel also providing feedback to the competing artists during the show. The panel consisted of Thomas Lundin (Finnish Eurovision commentator onYle FST), Hanna-Riikka Siitonen (singer and vocal coach) and Merituuli Lindström (television presenter).[21] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featuredNorthern Kings and Scandinavian Hunks.[8]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kwan | "10,000 Light Years" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Jari Sillanpää | "Kirkas kipinä" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Signmark feat. Osmo Ikonen | "Speakerbox" | Advanced |
| 4 | Tapani Kansa | "Rakkautta on, rauhaa ei" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | Advanced |
| 6 | Remu | "Planeetta" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Passionworks feat. Tony Turunen | "Surrender" | Advanced |
| 8 | Vink | "The Greatest Plan" | Eliminated |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signmark feat. Osmo Ikonen | "Speakerbox" | 42.2% | 2 |
| 2 | Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | 45.1% | 1 |
| 3 | Passionworks feat. Tony Turunen | "Surrender" | 13.7% | 3 |
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. TheEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 30 January 2009, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Finland was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2009.[24][25][26] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 16 March 2009 and Finland was set to perform in position 15, following the entry fromRomania and before the entry fromPortugal.[27]
The two semi-finals and the final were televised in Finland onYle TV2 with commentary in Finnish with asecond audio program providing commentary in Finnish byJaana Pelkonen, Mikko Peltola and Asko Murtomäki, and in Swedish by Tobias Larsson.[28] The three shows were also broadcast via radio with Finnish commentary by Sanna Pirkkalainen and Jorma Hietamäki onYle Radio Suomi.[29] The Finnish spokesperson, who announced the Finnish votes during the final, was2004 Finnish Eurovision entrantJari Sillanpää.
Waldo's People took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[30][31] The Finnish performance featured the members of Waldo's People performing in black and silver outfits joined by two backing vocalists and two fire artists. The LED screens displayed blue urban scenes with an illuminated train running from one side to the other and the stage also featured two metal boxes with fire coming out. The performance also featured pyrotechnic effects.[32][33] The two backing vocalists that joined Waldo's People on stage were Manna Borg andPäivi Virkkunen, while the two fire artists were Niko Virtanen and Kasmir Jolma.[34]
At the end of the show, Finland was announced as having qualified for the grand final. It was later revealed that Finland was selected as the back-up jury qualifier after placing twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 42 points.[35]
Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order for the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Finland was drawn to perform in position 24, following the entry from theUnited Kingdom and before the entry fromSpain.[36]
Waldo's People once again took part in dress rehearsals on 15 and 16 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. The band performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 16 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Finland finished in twenty-fifth (last) place with 22 points.[37]
The voting system for 2009 involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12, with the points in the final being decided by a combination of 50% nationaljury and 50%televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Finland had placed twenty-second with the public televote and twenty-fourth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Finland scored 30 points, while with the jury vote, Finland scored 12 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Finland and awarded by Finland in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Iceland in the semi-final and to Estonia in the final of the contest.
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The following members comprised the Finnish jury:[40]
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