01 March 2026
Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen will represent Finland at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, after they won UMK 2026 in comprehensive style. Performing Liekinheitin, they set a metaphorical flamethrower on their opposition by almost tripling the score of the second placed entry, Antti Paalanenm, who performend Takatukka. The rest were ostensibly left in ashes.
Liekinheitin, which means “flamethrower”, was always the favourite song heading into UMK 2026, and the only question was how big the win. Even the English commentator seemed aghast when Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen scored 470 points from the public after Antti Paalanenm previously scored 152 to put him into the lead. Of course, the jury is only worth 25% of the total score, so not only are they essentially meaningless these days, the 75% weight to the public score will always see high numbers. Amplify that for an overwhelming favourite!
Results
01 Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin – 570 (78/492)
02 Antti Paalanen – Takatukka – 210 (58/152)
03 Komiat – Lululai – 116 (40/76)
04 Chachi – Cherry Cake – 99 (32/67)
05 Sinikka Monte – Ready To Leave – 97 (46/51)
06 Etta – Millon Dollar Smile – 42 (12/30)
07 Kiki – Rakkaudenkipee – 42 (28/12)
Review & Score
01 Komiat – Lululai (5)
Nice to see something different. Otherwise, fairly nondescript. Finishing third will encourage more uniquely Finnish entries, which is always good!
02 Etta – Millon Dollar Smile (8)
My favourite song heading into UMK, I was disappointed with the lack of vocal presence, and Etta was smiling too much. I would have preferred a more serious expression throughout and save the “million dollar smile” until the very end. Other than that, the staging was evocative and distinct, and I still love the song.
03 Kiki – Rakkaudenkipee (9)
Kiki is half Greek. Interesting! Super dramatic song and performance, and superb vocals. Somewhat surprised Kiki finished last, and was the only entry not to score more with the public despite their vote worth 75% overall.
04 Antti Paalanen – Takatukka (6)
The song about mullets (the hairstyle) and using throat vocals (the sound when clearing your throat), this was fun and novel for its 3 minutes of duration. That’s enough. Second place can be attributed to it quite distinctive.
05 Chachi – Cherry Cake (8)
Born in Houston, Chachi is half Mexican, grew up in an abusive home as the youngest of 5 children, and moved to Finland for love. She already had a compelling story before she hit the UMK stage and producing the biggest surprise of the night. Known more for her dancing, UMK 2026 was her first big public appearance as a singer and she nailed both sides of her artistry really well. While the song is on the generic song, much of that was forgotten with the fun performance and the epic finale.
06 Sinikka Monte – Ready To Leave (7)
Another “half” artist as Sinikka has a South African father! She was born in Scotland, and now lives in Vienna. While beautifully sung and presented, the song itself didn’t live up to the standard that she wove into it.
07 Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin (9)
The staging with the fiery window frame made no sense, and probably referenced something in the lyrics. Anyway, can someone die of lust? That’s the essence of the song and the staging. Vocals from Pete were top notch, while Linda’s violin sections succeeded as defining the second solo artist on the stage that she was meant to be. The big finale from the duo was the exclamation point to a presentation that was already the most memorable.
At 7.4, this is another UMK that averaged over 7. The highest ever was the 7.6 in 2021, which was the start of the new era of UMK. The only score below 7 was the 6.9 in 2024. As we keep saying, quality over as quantity!
My Top 7
01 Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin (9)
02 Kiki – Rakkaudenkipee (9)
03 Chachi – Cherry Cake (8)
04 Etta – Millon Dollar Smile (8)
05 Sinikka Monte – Ready To Leave (7)
06 Antti Paalanen – Takatukka (6)
07 Komiat – Lululai (5)
While I was initially thinking Kiki was my favourite, upon reflection, it must be Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen. It’s so much more memorable, and it’s stuck in my head right now. The pair were second ranked in my preview behind Etta. Etta drops to fourth, which bumps Kiki and Chachi a spot higher along with Linda x Pete. The bottom three remain. The decision for fourth was close with Chachi nudging ahead of Etta due to her excellent performance.
The question now for Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen is can they similarly light up the Eurovision stage and finally bring Finland only their second ever victory! As of right now, with 20 of the 35 songs released, they are the top chance to win.
Mr Eurovision Australia 