JOY Eurovision

28 Feb 2016

Finland: Sandhja sings her way to Stockholm

All the polls were pointing to a Saara win, but the Finnish public backed the underdog in the final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK).

After three semi finals, nine acts battled it out for a ticket to Stockholm, with Sandhja taking the prize with her song Sing It Away.

Image credit: YLE

The Finnish singer and songwriter performed seventh in the final with favourite, Saara Aalto, following in proceedings with No Fear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdrmxib5JwQ

There was a 50/50 split between the juries and public vote. This year, the ten juries that each provided 5% of the vote consisted of different groups, including Eurovision fans, media, children, gay and lesbian, Finns, Swedes, parliamentarians and, the most popular group of the night, the Asfalttimiehet (Asphalt Men).

juryvotes UMK 16

Sandhja was the popular choice of the juries, placing her at the top of the ladder before the public votes were added, with Mikael Saari in second place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAw0JOSGzc8

When the televote was added, Sandhja came in at 160 points, winning by 4 points over Saara Aalto.

What do you think of Sandhja’s win over Saara?

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