Kuumaa - Blog Posts

UMK 2023 Song Review - Kuumaa

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Liverpool continues with another nostalgic retro banger! 

Kuumaa - Ylivoimainen

Kuumaa had their breakthrough back in 2016 and their debut album came out three years later. They’ve also released several radio hit singles regurarly over the years and today they’re described as “most interesting pop group in Finland” Quite recently they also won Emma Award (Finnish Grammy) for being the best group so they’re surely becoming hot in the Finnish music scene (their name actually means hot!) Again another entry that has a full package and vision ready even before entering to UMK. 

Ylivoimainen is another retro entry in UMK this year and it’s being seen competing directly with Benjamin’s Hoida Mut. However, this perhaps gives more indie pop vibes and it reminds me a bit of A-ha’s Take on me actually. This sounds very Kuumaa and this kind of contemporary nostalgic tunes are what they do the best. I cannot praise the chorus enough - it’s catchy, it’s warm, irresistable, probably the strongest chorus in UMK23, 

Ylivoimainen is super easy to listen, easy to sing and dance along and it actually invites you to do so. It’s an embrace that will instantly make you feel safe. Ylivoimainen is a crowd pleaser and well produced radio hit (reached number one in Finnish Spotify already!) but it still has authentic sound without being too slick (Robin - Girls like you). BUT as we saw last year’s with Bess’s entry Ram Pam Pam, becoming a hit is not enough to get you a ticket to Liverpool - you need to get the Finns to vote also. However, they do have a solid fan base in Finland who might be showing their loyalty on February 25th. 

As a package - this might be the best UMK23 entry. The song ticks all the right boxes and we have a band that we know can deliver energetic live performance. However, if this did advance to ESC - we already have several more or less nostalgic boy band entries (Slovenia, Latvia, Ireland) which Kuumaa would go against and to be honest I’d worry if we’d stand out enough as we could do perhaps with another artist (let’s say Käärijä?) 

What do you think of the sixth UMK23 track and would you vote for Kuumaa’s Ylivoimainen to go all the way to Liverpool? UMK final takes place on February 25th!