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Record breaking 540 songs for Finland

04 October 2011 at 14:32 CEST

All demos submitted by the deadline of 16:00 on the 1st of October were accepted, with around 80% being submitted via the UMK website.

Anssi Autio the producer from YLE Cultural said "A wide variety of music genres are represented in the UMK including traditional Finnish rock, schlager and pop. There are a lot of female singer-songwriters, but surprisingly few metal acts involved in the competition."

What happens next?

A jury of 11 music professionals will select the best demos; the exact number will be determined at a later date, and these will be made available to listen to via the UMK website from the beginning of November.

The finalists will be chosen by a jury, and final versions will be produced. The finalists will be announced on the 27th of January, 2012, and will receive extensive radio play.

The important dates

There will be five shows broadcast on YLE TV2 leading up to the Grand Final. These will be broadcast on the 27th January, 3rd of February, 10th of February, 17th of February and 24th of February. The Grand Final will take place in Helsinki on Saturday 25th of February, where the winner will be chosen by televoting and SMS voting during the live show, and will go forward to represent Finland in Europe's favourite TV Show in Baku, Azerbaijan in May, 2012.

Finland finished in 21st place in the 2011 contest, with Paradise Oskar and the song Da Da Dum.