The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and largely dried up by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands that once dotted its waters. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002).
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli, known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish.
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band. Formed in 1992 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume maker Mr Lordi, Lordi are known for wearing monster masks and using horror elements with pyrotechnics during concerts and music videos. The band rose to fame in 2002 with their hit single "Would You Love a Monsterman?", and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
Arrival is the fourth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in Sweden on 11 October 1976 by Polar Records. It became one of ABBA's most successful albums to date, producing three of their biggest hits: "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The track "Fernando", which had been recently released as a single in March 1976, was included on the Australian and New Zealand versions of the album. Arrival was the best-selling album of 1977 in the United Kingdom and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Swallow the Sun is a Finnish death-doom band founded in 2000 by Juha Raivio. Their death-doom style emphasizes melody and atmosphere, and occasionally steps into gothic and black metal territory. They have released eight full-length albums, one triple album, one EP, one demo, and seven singles.
Millennium is the third studio album by American vocal group Backstreet Boys, released by Jive Records on May 18, 1999. It was a highly anticipated follow-up to both their U.S. self-titled debut album and their second internationally released album, Backstreet's Back (1997). It was their first album to be released in the United States and internationally in the same form simultaneously.
"Sandstorm" is an instrumental by Finnish DJ and record producer Darude. It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album, Before the Storm. It was initially released in Finland on 26 October 1999 by 16 Inch Records and was later re-released in many other countries in 2000. The track was uploaded to MP3.com where it gained global recognition. It has also gained recognition for its usage in sports and popularity in internet meme culture.
"Hard Rock Hallelujah" is a song by Finnish hard rock band Lordi. It represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, resulting in the country's only ever victory in the contest. It reached the No. 1 spot in Finland and reached the top 10 in eight other European countries. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at No. 25.
Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, held at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Sakis Rouvas with the song "Shake It", written by Nikos Terzis and Nektarios Tyrakis, to represent the nation. Prior to Rouvas' selection, the broadcaster had organised a public selection process entitled Eurostar, consisting of live semi-final heats, leading to a three-participant national final to select their entrant. While the event did take place and Apostolos Psichramis was selected as the Greek entrant, the song selection portion did not materialize after the Rouvas announcement and Psichramis instead joined Rouvas as a backing vocalist.
Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, keyboardist Janne Wirman and rhythm guitarist Daniel Freyberg. The band released ten studio albums, three live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD.
"Do You See the Light (Looking For)" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in May 1993 by Logic and BMG Ariola as the fourth and final single from their second studio album, The Madman's Return (1992). It features American singer Niki Haris, who also is credited for co-writing it. The song received positive rewiews from music critics, many of them were comparing it to the work of Giorgio Moroder. "Do You See the Light (Looking For)" reached number one in Finland, while peaking within the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. On MTV Europe, its accompanying music video received heavy rotation.
"Hanging on the Telephone" is a song written by Jack Lee. The song was released in 1976 by his short-lived US West Coast power pop band the Nerves; in 1978, it was recorded and released as a single by American new wave band Blondie.
Hanna Elise Isabell Maj Höstblomma Ryd, known professionally as Elize Ryd, is a Swedish singer, best known as one of the three vocalists and co-lyricist in the heavy metal band Amaranthe. She also gained some popularity prior to the band's inception by performing guest vocals for the American power metal band Kamelot, both on tour and in the studio. She sings in the soprano range.
Saara Sofia Aalto is a Finnish singer, songwriter and voice actress. In 2012, she came second in the first season of The Voice of Finland.
Henrik Kristoffersen is a Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer, World Champion, and Olympic medalist. He specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom.
Timothy Mychael Patrick is an American professional football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah.
Finland originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Looking Back" written by Joonas Angeria, Whitney Phillips, Connor McDonough, Riley McDonough and Toby McDonough. The song was performed by Aksel Kankaanranta. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) organised the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Six entries were selected to compete in the national final on 7 March 2020 where the 50/50 combination of votes from eight international jury groups and votes from the public selected "Looking Back" performed by Aksel Kankaanranta as the winner.
Blind Channel is a Finnish nu metal band from Oulu. They represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Dark Side", finishing in sixth place. The band define their musical style as "violent pop".
