Blind Channel

Some bands reach Eurovision through a national final built on heavy riffs and pop hooks, and the Oulu act Blind Channel did just that. Their own term for their sound, violent pop, captures the friction between abrasive guitars and catchy choruses. From Oulu, the band brought the hard-edged track Dark Side into the 2021 Finnish selection and won it.

Their win came with 54.3 per cent of the vote, the highest in UMK history. In May 2021 they finished sixth at the contest in Rotterdam with 301 points, 218 from televoting and 83 from juries. Painting their middle fingers red was a workaround after they were told that raising a middle finger to the crowd clashed with the family-friendly tone of the show. The band signed to Century Media and Sony Music a day before their Eurovision performance. In October 2024 they announced an indefinite hiatus, and in April 2025 Joel Hokka said he would not return, citing insomnia. In August 2026 they announced their comeback and the album Painstream, due 30 October.