Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen, better known by his stage name Darude, is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 1995 and released the platinum-selling hit single "Sandstorm" in late 1999. His debut studio album, Before the Storm, was released on 18 September 2000, and sold 800,000 copies worldwide, earning Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards. It peaked at number one on Finland's Official List and number 6 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the United States. Darude's second studio album, Rush, reached number 11 on the Billboard dance chart in 2003 and number 4 on weekly album chart in Finland.
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is the fourth studio album by English rock band Oasis, released on 28 February 2000. It was the band's first album under their new record label Big Brother Recordings. In the year preceding the album's release, Alan McGee closed Creation Records, and Oasis had lost two founding members and hired new producer Mark "Spike" Stent to replace Owen Morris.
Skid Row is an American rock band formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. Their current lineup comprises bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Hammersmith. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. Those two albums also produced some of Skid Row's most popular hits, both in and outside of the United States, including "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and other charting singles such as "Youth Gone Wild", "Monkey Business", "Slave to the Grind", "Wasted Time", and "In a Darkened Room". The band's third album Subhuman Race (1995) was also critically acclaimed, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors. Those three albums featured the band's "classic" lineup, which consisted of Bolan, Sabo, Hill, drummer Rob Affuso and frontman Sebastian Bach. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996. Amid rising tensions, Bach was fired and Affuso left Skid Row towards the end of that year, after which the band entered a three-year hiatus.
Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since its debut in 1961. The Finish participant broadcaster in the contest is Yleisradio (Yle), which select its entrant with the national competition Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu.
"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.
Ari-Mikko Kuustonen is a Finnish singer-songwriter and television personality.
Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman of the Swedish electronic pop band Miike Snow, which released its acclaimed debut album in 2009. Since that time, Wyatt has released two other albums with the band as well as his solo debut Descender on Downtown Records in 2013.
Heikki Johannes Silvennoinen is a Finnish musician and an actor. He was a guitarist and a songwriter in several notable Finnish bands in the 1970s and 1980s, and has also recorded solo albums. He is best known in Finland as a member of comedy group Kummeli, which started a television show in 1991.
The discography of Finnish DJ and music producer Darude consists of four studio albums, fourteen singles, and a multitude of remixes and other productions. His debut single, "Sandstorm", was an international breakthrough hit, peaking within the top ten in several countries. It has also gained recognition for its significant amount of usage in sporting events and popularity within internet meme culture. His second single, "Feel the Beat", was also a commercial success, peaking in the top twenty in multiple countries. Darude's debut studio album, Before the Storm, was released on 5 September 2000 and was a commercial success, as well. Darude released three studio albums following Before the Storm: Rush (2003), Label This! (2007), Moments (2015), and Together (2023).
Iina Kuustonen is a Finnish actress.
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu is an annual music contest organised by the Finnish public broadcaster Yle. It made its debut in 2012 as the Finnish selection format for the Eurovision Song Contest, replacing the previous Finnish Eurovision selection Suomen euroviisukarsinta which had been held since 1961.
Janne Pekka Haavisto is a Finnish drummer, recording engineer and record producer. He has been a professional musician since the age of 16.
Sami Henrik Hedberg is a Finnish stand up comedian and actor. Hedberg became famous after winning the Get up, stand up competition on Sub TV in 2005. This victory caused him to become one of the most popular stand up comedians in Finland. Hedberg has his own company, The Showhouse OY, founded in 2005.
Arctic Circle is a Finnish-German crime drama television series that premiered on Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde at Christmas 2018 and later on Yle. The series stars Iina Kuustonen, Maximilian Brückner, Pihla Viitala, Clemens Schick and Susanna Haavisto.
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Look Away" written and performed by Ville Virtanen under the stage name Darude and Sebastian Rejman. Darude and Sebastian Rejman were internally selected by the Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) in January 2019 to represent the nation at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019 was organised in order to select the song that Darude and Rejman would perform. Three songs were selected to compete in the national final on 2 March 2019 where the 50/50 combination of votes from eight international jury groups and votes from the public selected "Look Away" as the winning song.
National selection refer to the process in which a participant broadcaster of the annual Eurovision Song Contest select the song and artist(s) that will represent its country in the contest.
"Look Away" is a 2019 single by Darude and Sebastian Rejman. The song represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel after winning Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2019, Finland's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song did not progress to the final, only earning 23 points in the first semi-final.
The Czech Republic originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Kemama" written by Osama Verse-Atile, Ben Cristóvão, Charles Sarpong and Rudy Ray. The song was performed by Benny Cristo, which is the artistic name of singer Ben Cristóvão. The Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) organised the national final Eurovision Song CZ 2020 in order to select the Czech entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Seven entries competed in the national final and "Kemama" performed by Benny Cristo was announced as the winner on 3 February 2020 following the combination of votes from an eleven-member international jury panel and a public vote.
HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat, is an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga (NSML). They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli. The team is the representative women's ice hockey team of the multisport club Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors and is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Dark Side" written by Aleksi Kaunisvesi, Joonas Porko, Joel Hokka, Niko Moilanen and Olli Matela. The song was performed by the band Blind Channel. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) organised the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2021 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Seven entries were selected to compete in the national final on 20 February 2021 where the combination of votes from seven international jury groups and votes from the public selected "Dark Side" performed by Blind Channel as the winner.
