Good news for Finland’s Aksel Kankaanranta! The 22 year old singer has announced that he has signed a deal with Warner Music Finland. Aksel broke the news on Instagram and promised new music soon…
Aksel going two ways
When Aksel won UMK this year, he did so with Looking Back, a haunting midtempo ballad. If you’re expecting more of the same from him, you… could be right. In his Instagram post, Aksel announced that his English language music will be released through Capitol Records in Finland.
At the same time however, he has also made a promise to release more Finnish material. Those songs will not be released by Capitol, but by Etenee Records. Warner Music is the owner of Etenee Records, which is known for releasing Finnish language pop and rap music. Artists like Vesta and Paula Vesala release music through Etenee Records.
Eurovision or not?
Whether Aksel Kankaanranta will actually make it to the Eurovision Song Contest, isn’t quite sure yet. YLE have announced that UMK 2021 will once again be an open contest. That means that, unlike many internal selections of the 2020 contest, the singer from Turku won’t automatically be given a ticket to Eurovision.
However, not all hope is lost. Aksel has confirmed his interest in the Eurovision Song Contest is as vivid as ever. He will therefore submit a new song to Finnish broadcaster YLE in the hope of making it through their selection once more. Perhaps he can then once again upset the odds and take the crown? As the sole male competitor in this year’s UMK, he left fan favourite Erika Vikman and her Cicciolina behind to conquer the ticket to Rotterdam.
Are you looking forward to Aksel’s new releases? Let us know!
