Antti Paalanen has released “Takatukka” (Mullet), his entry for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2026.
Antti Paalanen is originally from Alavus in Southern Ostrobothnia but currently lives in Kokkola in entral Ostrobothnia. He is a singer, accordion player and throat singer. After completing his military service, he studied folk music at the Sibelius Academy.
Paalanen’s debut album “Äärelä” was released in 2007. Other milestones in Paalanen’s career include the album “Breathbox” (2010), and the album “Meluta” (2014), which was nominated for both the Teosto Award and the Nordic Council Music Award.
Paalanen’s international breakthrough was at the WOMEX showcase concert in Copenhagen in 2011. The release of the album “Rujo” (2019) raised his international profile to a new level, and since then he has performed throughout Europe, France in particular, as well as in the USA and Japan.
The release order for the remaining songs is as follows:
- January 22 – CHACHI
- January 23 – KIKI
The entries released so far are:
UMK 2026 will take place on February 28 in Nokia Arena in Tampere. The winner will represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
Erika Vikman represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with “Ich komme”. Finland finished 11th in the final scoring 196 points. Finland received 12 points from the Austrian jury and received 10 points from the public in Sweden, Australia and Estonia.
Finland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. They debuted alongside Spain and Yugoslavia. Finland has finished last in the contest on 10 occasions and has received ‘nul points’ three times. It wasn’t until 2006 that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi represented the country in Athens with the song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” scoring 292 points, a record total at the time.