Earlier today the Finnish national broadcaster Yle released the names of the finalists of UMK22. Now the first of the seven songs has been released. The song “Hurricane” by Cyan Kicks was released together with a lyric video.
Listen to “Hurricane”
The song is written by band members Susanna Alexandra, Niila Perkkiö, Leevi Erkkilä and Pietari Reijonen together with Elize Ryd, Chris Walla and Zakk Cervini.
Elize Ryd is known as the vocalist of the heavy metal band Amaranthe. She has also taken part in Sweden’s Melodifestivalen before. In 2015 she sang the duet “One by One” with Rickard Söderberg, but failed to qualify from the semifinal. She is also behind Theoz’s entry “Som du vill” in Melodifestivalen 2022.
Chris Walla is known as former guitarist and songwriter of American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, while Zakk Cervini has worked with bands such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Good Charlotte and Blink-182. He also has a Grammy Nomination for Best Rock Album with Blink-182.
Who are Cyan Kicks?
Cyan Kicks was formed in 2016 in Helsinki. Shortly after they landed a record deal with Ranka Kustannus, the record label behind Finland’s Eurovision 2021 representative Blind Channel. Their first single “Feathers” was released in 2017. It was followed by “Gasoline”, that became their first big hit and currently has over 1.5 million streams on Spotify. So far, the group has released two albums. They also got nominated as the Best Rock Act at the Finnish music gala Emma Gaala in 2020.
Next to their original songs, the group is known from their covers. In 2018 they released their own version of Clean Bandit’s “Rockabye” and the next year they covered Alec Benjamin‘s “Let Me Down Slowly”. Just a month ago they released a cover of Blind Channel’s song “Died Enough For You”.
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022
The eleventh edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu is taking place on February 26th at 20:00 CET. Seven acts will compete and the Finnish public together with international juries will choose Finland’s representative for Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin.
The seven contestants who are taking part are Cyan Kicks, BESS, The Rasmus, Younghearted, Olivera, Tommi Läntinen and Isaac Sene. The next song will be released tomorrow at 23:00 CET.
You can also listen to all the competing entries at this year’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu by following our Spotify playlist.
What do you think about the song “Hurricane” by Cyan Kicks? Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts. As well as YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 contest in Turin!