Yle has released the fourth entry of UMK26 on Monday evening (CET), the dark cinematic ballad “Ready to Leave” by Sinikka Monte.
James Bond theme vibes
Recently, Yle confirmed the names of the seven artists that will participate in UMK26. After revealing the first two entries on late Wednesday and Thursday last week, (at 23:00 CET, so midnight on the day after in Finland), the releases took a break for the week-end. The releases started back on Monday at midnight, and will continue this week until we reach the seventh entry.
Sinnika is a 23-year-old artist with multinational roots: born in Scotland, growing up in Austria, she is half Finnish and half South African. Her song “Ready to Leave” has lyrics in both English and Finnish. The song was composed by Sinikka along with Viennese composer Florian Spies.
I’m incredibly proud of being able to speak Finnish. Mastering such a difficult language feels like a superpower!
Sinikka Monte
The UMK jury praised the musicality and production of the track, considering it worthy of being the theme song of a big-budget film, while fans from Finland and abroad have compared it to James Bond-like music.
This is a truly international-sounding entry! A beautiful voice, a highly musical composition, powerful lyrics, and a distinctively growing production make this song a strong addition to UMK26’s musical lineup. Together with the producer, the artist has created a unique sound world that reflects influences from major international artists while remaining entirely her own. This could easily be the theme song of a big-budget film.
UMK jury on “Ready to Leave”
Final set for February 28
UMK will once again be held over a single show, on the last day of February, on what will be a very packed Super Saturday of five finals (for Norway, Germany, Bulgaria and Italy, alongside Finland) as well as two qualification shows (the last heat of Melodifestivalen in Sweden, and the second semi-final of Portugal’s Festival da Canção).
The show will be held in Nokia Arena in Tampere, and will be used to select the Finnish representative to Eurovision 2026, with a mix of jury (25%) and public (75%) voting.
🇫🇮 Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Making their Eurovision debut in 1961 with the entry ‘Valoa Ikkunassa’ by Laila Kinnunen, Finland has not always found life in the contest easy. Finland didn’t have a smooth start at Eurovision, placing last three times in the 1960s. Marion Rung was Finland’s first success, placing 6th in 1973 with ‘Tom Tom Tom’ – this remained as Finland’s best result until 2006.
Before the turn of the millennium, Finland placed last a further five times while they placed in the top ten on only three occasions. Finally, their fortunes changed in 2006 when Lordi won the contest in Athens with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’ – their only victory to this date. Since the revamp to the UMK format the Nordic nation are on a five-year qualification streak and have achieved two top ten results, including runner-up in Liverpool 2023 for Käärijä with, ‘Cha Cha Cha’.
This year it was the turn of Erika Vikman to represent Finland. During the Basel contest, Erika placed 11th and achieved 196 points with, ‘Ich Komme’.
Do you enjoy “Ready to Leave”? Can this Bond-like song not only please the jury, but also the UMK televote? Could it do well on the Eurovision stage? Tell us more in the comments below or on socials media!
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