Born in Tampere, Finland, Erika Vikman comes from an incredibly musical family, with both her mother and her sister also being singers, her mother being a Finnish Tango singer, ultimately leading to Erika’s first foray into the world of singing also being in Finnish Tango. No stranger to the stage, she started singing professionally when she was selected as a participant on the Finnish Idol in 2013, where she placed ninth. She then competed in Tangomarkkinat, the world’s oldest tango festival, where she placed second in 2015 and first in 2016, earning the title of Tango Queen of Finland. Her participation in this eventually led to her being signed by record label Sony Music, although since then she has signed with Warner Music Finland. Erika signing with Warner Music coincided with the announcement of her participation in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) in 2020, the Finnish national selection for Eurovision.
Erika has been one of the favourites for not just the 2025 UMK victory but arguably the Eurovision victory since her participation in this year’s UMK was confirmed, with many seeing her participation as her coming back for vengeance after coming second in 2020, where ultimately the contest itself was cancelled. The UMK televote and juries agreed this year, with Erika claiming the UMK victory, coming first with the televote and second with the juries and proudly claiming her place amongst this year’s Eurovision lineup with “Ich Komme”, her song boldly championing feminine empowerment and both openly but ambiguously referencing typically more of a taboo topic of female pleasure.
Erika’s road to Eurovision has been a bumpy ride however, with her being subjected to alleged censorship of her act from a costuming perspective, and also public opinion leaning more towards her competitors KAJ, who although are Finnish themselves are representing rivals Sweden in this year’s competition. Regardless, Erika is a performer who promises to bring a jaw-dropping spectacle of a performance to the Eurovision stage, no matter what’s thrown her way.
How do you think Erika will do on the Basel stage? Can you see her coming for the win? Let us know!
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