Leave Finland Alone

The Finnish national final took place in Turku on Saturday night and it was dominated by heavy rock (see previous posts). The winner, beating the very famous Lovex and the gorgeous Johana Kurkela, was Hanna Pakarinen with her rock inthused pop track Leave Me Alone.

The more I listen to this, the more I like it actually and I think the Finns have probably got this one right. Her facial expressions are fantastic, but she does need to work on her vocal a bit before May if she wants to keep the Finns near the top of the scoreboard. The music is this is great, I love all the dirty guitars and the heavy drum beat. The song reminds me of a cross between Shakira and Alannis Morrisette, which ultimately is no bad thing, but the end isn't that strong and I think it needs to be rearranged slightly to be more powerful. At the minute it just seems to peter out and ends on a squib rather than a bang!

The lyrics in the chorus also leave a lot to be desired, but whilst they sound a bit naff in the live version, on the studio version it doesn't sound as noticeable for some reason...

Watch her performance below and download the mp3 further down.


Hanna Pakarinen - Leave Me Alone





The mp3 is here:- http://www.box.net/public/q1gfg66ome

Finland:- Semi-final 4

The last of the 4 Finnish semi-finals took place in Tampere on Saturday night and the 3 entries that have qualified for the national final are below.

Laura Voutilainen - Take A Chance

Laura's back from her 2002 attempt at Eurovision and still has a bizarre dress sense! The song's ok and one of the better ones in the Finnish selection, but it's lacking something for me. I don't really know what, but it just all seems a little flat.

Beats & Styles - See The Signs

What a complete and utter mess!

Jan Wilde & Rose Avenue - Rock 'n' Roll Dreams

And you thought New Romanticism had died in the 80's! Again another rubbish song in the Finnish selection.

Finland:- Semi-final 3

The third of Finland's semi-finals was held on Saturday night in Tampere. Watch the three songs that qualified to the final below.

Johanna Kurkela - Olet Uneni Kaunein

Finally a decent song in the Finnish selection! Her voice is flawless and haunting. The stage show is a little overblown, but it's interesting at least. Pretty good.

Lovex - Anyone, Anymore

Another good song, from another Finnish hard rock band. This band are big not only in Finland, but also in much of Central Europe, so they could bring a lot of votes Finland's way in May.

Kentala - Left My Heart Behind

Some Bon Jovi inspired soft rock. It's ok if you like that kind of thing, but this ain't doing it for me.