Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Lordi represented Finland at Eurovision 2006.

Euroviisut 2006 was the national final that selects Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition consisted of five shows that commenced with the first of four semi-finals on 13 January 2006 and concluded with a final on 10 March 2006. The semi-final shows were held at the Tohloppi Studios in Tampere, while the final was held at the Caribia Hall in Turku. The five shows were hosted by Heikki Paasonen and Jaana Pelkonen.

The format of the competition consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Three acts with two songs each competed in each semi-final and one song by one act from each semi-final qualified to complete the twelve-song lineup in the final. The results for the semi-finals and final were determined exclusively by a public vote.[1] Public voting included the options of telephone and SMS voting.

A submission period was opened by Yle which lasted between 12 August 2005 and 1 December 2005. At least one of the writers had to hold Finnish citizenship or live in Finland permanently in order for the entry to qualify to compete and songs performed in Finnish and Swedish were given priority. A panel of experts appointed by Yle selected twenty entries for the competition from the received submissions and performers of the selected songs were chosen by Yle in consultation with record companies.[2] The competing artists were presented on 7 November 2005 and the competing songs were presented on 5 January 2006.[3][4]

The first semi-final show took place on 13 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Eternamente Maria" performed by Tomi Metsäketo, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi and "Take Me Higher" performed by Jennie qualified to the final.

The second semi-final show took place on 20 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Kerta viimeinen" performed by Johanna Pakonen, "Eternally" performed by Ville Pusa & Christa Renwall and "Who I Am" performed by Nina & Hanna-Riikka qualified to the final.

The third semi-final show took place on 27 January 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Shanghain valot" performed by Annika Eklund, "V.I.P." performed by Jane and "Katharsis" performed by Kilpi qualified to the final.

The fourth semi-final show took place on 3 February 2006 and one song per artist qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. "Enkeli itkee" performed by Marita Taavitsainen, "Pala taivasta" performed by Katariina Hänninen and "I Can't Wait" performed by Safe Six qualified to the final.

The final took place on 10 March 2006 at the Caribia Hall in Turku where the twelve entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed. The winner was selected over two rounds of public voting. In the first round, the top six entries were selected to proceed to the second round: "Eternamente Maria" performed by Tomi Metsäketo, "Take Me Higher" performed by Jennie, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi, "Shanghain valot" performed by Annika Eklund, "V.I.P." performed by Jane and "Katharsis" performed by Kilpi. In the second round, "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi was selected as the winner.[5]