Finland will select its Eurovision representative tonight. Ten acts will fight for the right of representing the Northern European country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

The show

Jaana Pelkonen together with Tom Nylund will host this year's Finnish national final to be held in Turku, this year's European capital of culture. Former member of theLordiband, Sampsa Astala will try to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time in his career by participating with his new projectStala & So.

How to watch

• Live on YLE TV2 at 19:00 CET (20:00 local time)
• Webcast

Participants

1. Eveliina Määttä –Dancing in the dark
2. Sami Hintsanen –Täältä maailmaan
3. Milana Misic –Sydämeni kaksi maata
4. Paradise Oskar –Da da dam
5. Cardiant –Rapture in time
6. Johanna Iivanainen –Luojani mun
7. Father McKenzie –Good enough
8. Marko Maunuksela –Synkän maan tango
9. Saara Aalto –Blessed with love
10. Stala & So –Pamela

Have your say

Vote for your favourite act in the Finnish final in our poll here.

Live

The show starts with the introduction of tonight's show hosts : Tom Nylund and Jaana Pelkonen. The participants walk on the stage being introduced to the viewers.

01. Eveliina Määttä –Dancing in the dark

Eveliina Määttä is the first artist on stage. She performs a contemporany pop song titles Dancing in the dark. The song was written by Axel Johansson, Mats Tärnforsand Tracy Lipp. The stage background is using purple as a main colour. An effective light show highlights this mid-tempo pop number. Eveliina is dressed up in a rap style outfit following the pattern of the American entertainers. The vocal performance is at a decent level. Overall this is a good start for tonight's show. This is surely a radio friendly track to enjoy while driving your car.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 7th (7,5%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEjtCBrz2lU

02. Sami Hintsanen –Täältä maailmaan

Sami Hintsanen is next on stage and he performs his entry Täältä maailmaan. The song was written by Antti Kleemola and Mikko Karjalainen. Sami seems to be a very experienced performer . He is wearing a nice black outfit that looks very classy. The stage turns all in blue for this performance. The singer is joined on stage by a piano player and a group of backing vocalists. Sami delivers a very good vocal performance and the audience seems to appreciate the high level of this act.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 10th (1,6%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qb43SuCMM

03. Milana Misic –Sydämeni kaksi maata

Milana Misic is the third act of tonight's final. She performs her entry Sydämeni kaksi maata which was written by Juha Tikkaand Susanna Haavisto. This song sounds like a Greek traditional song. The stage background is purple and the artists are wearing light blue outfits. For the first time tonight, fire is being used on stage as a pyro. This acts really sounds and looks interesting reminding of last year's Finnish folk entry. A nice guitar orchestration is being used. Milana is joined on stage by a pair of dancers and a group of backing singers. A nice number!

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 8th (7,2%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVTjU-yrg7Y

04. Paradise Oskar –Da da dam

Paradise Oskar is next on stage performinghis song Da da dam. This is a country-pop mid-tempo song reminding of a typical American song. Oskar appears alone on stage holding his guitar. This act reminds us of the Belgian entry at last year's Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo. The stage backdrop features an epic image showing a bunch of stars.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 3rd (13,7%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmEa6rkItGY

05. Cardiant –Rapture in time

Next on stage is one of the favourites of tonight's show : Cardiant! The rock band performs their song Rapture in time which was written by Antti Hänninenand Lauri Hänninen. Rapture in time is a hard rock number reminding us why Finland is nicknamed the country of the rock music. The stage background is all light blue featuring ice as a main element. The light show is very effective and it gives this performance a big lift. The vocal performance is at a high level.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 5th (8,7%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oMNd9w_Ars

06. Johanna Iivanainen –Luojani mun

Another female soloist is next on stage. Johanna Iivanainen performs her pop ballad Luojani mun which was written by herself and Edu Kettunen. This number is contrasting with the previous one and it should help Johanna to get noticed by the voting audience. Johanna is wearing a fabulous white dress. She is joined on stage by a piano player and some backing vocalists. The stage background is blue just like the performer's eyes. The audience seems to enjoy this chill out number and Yohanna receives a warm applause.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 9th (4,7%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oty1UNzadzk

07. Father McKenzie –Good enough

Father McKenzie is next on stage performing Good enough, a song written by Tobias Granbacka. The stage turns in yellow for this routine. Good enough is a very well constructed contemporany pop song featuring a nice piano orchestration. The vocal performance is at the highest possible level for the leading soloist as well as for the backing choir. The main colours of the performer's outfits are white, black and red. Overall this is one of the best performances of tonight's show.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 4th (13,1%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z76YLOyXhnQ

08. Marko Maunuksela –Synkän maan tango

Marko Manunskela takes the stage performing his tango number Synkän maan tango. The song was written by Mika Toivanen. Marko is wearing a contemporany casual outfit although he seems to sing about tango. He delivers a pretty good vocal performance being joined by a female soloist and a backing choir. Synkän maan tango is a tango-pop song which benefits of a interesting chorus. Overall this is a interesting performance at this level, but would it appeal to the European audience?

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 6th (7,8%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEbPEMPdZyk

09. Saara Aalto –Blessed with love

Saara Aalto is the main favourite of this year's Finnish national final. She performs her self-composed song Blessed with love. She is joined on stage by a guitar player and a backing vocalist. The vocal performance is a very high level and Saara surprises the audience with one of the best routines of tonight's show. The stage features a nice light show that help the song grow. This is the best performance of the Finnish selection till now.

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 1st (21,2%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTNWqr8U3Fg

10. Stala & So –Pamela

The final act of tonight's national final is now on stage. Stala & So perform the second rock number of the show, Pamela. Stala is a former member of the 2006 Eurovision winning band Lordi. The stage background features pink as the main colour. Pamela is a nicely performed rock song reminding us of Lordi. Stala & So benefits of the best possible draw and with seems to have the public on their side. Will they follow the steps of Lordi and represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest?

Current standings in the esctoday.com poll : 2nd (14,6%)

Tonight's performance :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpnvoojtK2U

This concludes the performances of tonight's show. A recapitulation of the ten acts is being aired by YLE.

The voting lines are now closed.

A 'funny' act is now performing on stage. while the votes are being counted by the officials of YLE.

The first super finalist is Paradise Oskar.

The second super finalist is Father McKenzie.

The third super finalist is Saara Aalto.

The super final kicks-off.

01. Paradise Oskar –Da da dam

Oskar performs the English version of his song Da da dam. Same vocals, same stage effects.

02. Father McKenzie –Good enough

Father McKenzie is next on stage and receives positive feed-back from the audience.

03. Saara Aalto – Blessed with love

The third and last act of the super final is now on stage. Saara Aalto performs her pop number Blessed with love.

The voting lines are now closed.

3rd place – Father McKenzie (3,3%)

2nd place – Saara Aalto (40,7%)

1st place – Paradise Oskar (46,7%)