The domestic qualifier for Eurovision Song Contest 2026, UMK26, announced its contestants on Wednesday evening, 14th January. This year's seven UMK contestants include accordion wizard Antti Paalanen and classical violinist Linda Lampenius.

The successor to our 2025 contestant Erika Vikman will be chosen to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, 28 February at Nokia Arena in Tampere. The annual music competition UMK, organized by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle, has surged in popularity in recent years both in Finland and abroad, evolving into a major cultural event. Today, UMK is far more than a national selection: it is a high-profile spectacle that not only determines Finland’s Eurovision representative but also delivers a substantial career-defining boost in visibility for its participants.

The artists debuting their latest songs on the UMK stage will be: Etta, Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen, Komiat, Sinikka Monte, Antti Paalanen, Chachi, and Kiki, released in that order. One of these acts will go on to represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May. The entries will be rolled out one at a time on weekdays at midnight, beginning shortly after the official announcement on Wednesday evening. Listen to all the tracks via the constantly updated playlist embedded below.

Last year's UMK competition featured Eurovision representative Erika Vikman, along with Goldielocks, Neea River, Nelli Matula, Costee, and Viivi. In 2023, the acts were Käärijä, Keira, Benjamin, Robin Packalen, Lxandra, Kuumaa, and Portion Boys.

From humppa to classical – meet the contestants!

Etta (Emmalotta Kanth) is a Vantaa-raised singer and rapper who made her debut in 2018 with the single Ballerina. Since then, she has released three albums and made history as the first female rap artist to top the Finnish album chart. Her UMK entry, Million Dollar Smile, was released on Thursday, 15 January.

Pop singer Pete Parkkonen and classical violinist Linda Lampenius, who are competing as a duo in UMK this year, represent two very different musical paths. Lampenius became a major star in the 1990s, performing internationally, collaborating with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and releasing a solo album that made her the best-selling Finnish classical artist of her era. Parkkonen gained national recognition in 2008 after placing third on the Finnish adaptation of the Idol TV franchise and has since released several albums. Their UMK entry, Liekinheitin, will be released on Friday, 16 January.

Komiat is a four-piece band formed in the mid-2010s whose music blends traditional humppa music with a modern, upbeat edge. Characterised by fast polka and foxtrot rhythms, humppa is a distinctly Finnish partner dance style. The band rose to prominence in 2018 after winning the Tangomarkkinat tango festival’s best dance orchestra title and has since attracted a younger and growing audience to Finnish dance music. Komiat's UMK entry Lululai will be released on Monday, 19 January.

Sinikka Monte is a 23-year-old independent artist of Finnish and South African heritage, born in Scotland and raised in Austria. She has expressed pride in speaking Finnish, a language she describes as particularly challenging. Still relatively unknown compared with other UMK26 acts, Monte describes herself as an emotional artist who finds music therapeutic. Her UMK entry, Ready To Leave, will be released on Tuesday, 20 January.

Antti Paalanen forges a sound unlike any other, merging the folk traditions of Southern Ostrobothnia with Mongolian throat singing. Determined to take this unconventional musical hybrid to broader audiences, Paalanen’s journey began with a fascination for heavy metal and hard rock, inspired in part by the electrifying stage antics of AC/DC’s Angus Young. Later on, Paalanen turned his focus to the diatonic accordion, composing new material and refining a style that blends raw, growling vocals with traditional folk instrumentation. He has spent years championing this distinctive approach. Paalanen’s track Takatukka will be released on Wednesday, 21 January. Read more about Antti Paalanen here and here.

Texas-born Chachi Hildén, known professionally as CHACHI, grew up in a Mexican-American family and found solace in music and dance at an early age. Drawn to hip hop and r&b by the age of nine, she spent years searching for her artistic identity. After moving to Finland for love, she says she felt at home and now considers herself Finnish. Her appearance on Masked Singer Finland in 2020 was followed by a record deal. Her UMK entry, Cherry Cake, will be released on Thursday, 22 January.

KIKI (Petra Gavalas) has a Finnish mother and a Greek father, giving her an international background. She says music has helped her express and process her emotions, drawing early inspiration from pop music and from her brother, rapper Lukas Leon. KIKI describes her sound as a blend of Finnish melancholy and Greek darkness and cites Rosalía, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna as influences. Her UMK entry, Rakkaudenkipee, will be released on Friday, 23 January.