Revealing #7 of our top 10 songs this year!

At number 7, we have Finland. Once again choosing between seven quality acts in their Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu national final, Finland selected Windows95man’s song “No Rules!” after the entry absolutely swept the Finnish televote. Windows95Man will be performing 10th in the first semi final.

This entry truly follows no rules: no pants, sparking jorts, a giant jean egg (a jegg), and a metatextual appearance of a stage manager. All this while they still deliver some quality vocals. The song may not stand out that much on its own, but paired with the shenanigans on stage it truly leaves a lasting impression. 

It seems to us that Finland partly chose “No Rules!” as a middle finger (ala Finland’s 2021 entry) to the Eurovision jury after they overwhelmingly neglected last year’s Finnish entry (and huge televote winner) Käärijä’s “Cha Cha Cha,” ultimately robbing Käärijä of the Eurovision trophy and Finland of their second ever win. Windows95Man makes absolutely no attempt to appeal to a jury vote that often goes for “serious,” “quality,” “artistic” entries with impressive vocal capabilities and emotional message. 

While “No Rules!” is the furthest thing from serious, it is clear that Windows95man and vocalist Henri Piispanen take having fun very seriously (aka camp). The fun comes through in the song, the performance, and in their approach to the whole contest. We love the joy that this entry brings to us and to the contest as a whole, and that is why this entry is ranked so highly for us. At a certain point, it doesn’t even matter if this entry qualifies for the final. They have made a statement and we are so glad that they are here.

When Windows95man won UMK, there were quite a few questions about what would be allowed in Eurovision given that the EBU has very clear “no brands allowed” and “no nudity” rules, and as we know this entry is about “no rules.” In a moment of sheer genius, Windows95man and the Finnish delegation released a “No Rules! (Rules Applied Version)” that censors the Microsoft branding (but nothing else) adding a lovely layer of irony. It also appears that for the live performance, Windows95Man will be wearing a shirt with a pre-censored graphic of the Windows 95 logo. 

In the lead up to the live event in the second week of May, the official Eurovision YouTube channel features different versions and performances by the competing artists. This often is an acoustic version of the song, a performance at a nationally important landmark, or a cover of a song that shows off the vocal abilities of the contestant. Windows95man instead released “No Rules! (Spa Remix)” (filmed at the Jean Sibelius Monument) and “No Rules! featuring Tapiola Sinfonietta” (the city orchestra of Espoo, Finland). These are fantastic and deserve to be watched.

In some ways “No Rules!” fits into the joke entry category of Eurovision given the lighthearted approach to the contest. However, this song and performance are consistent with previous work done by Windows95man and adheres to his life motto of no rules. Sidenote: his previous work includes an official collaboration with the Finnish Tax Administration on “Epic Tax Party.” (We don’t know what is going on in Finland, but it’s amazing and we love it.)

The fun in the entry is infectious and we cannot help but smile whenever they appear onstage or on our screens. Such a fun live performance where it is clear that they are just playing and enjoying themselves on stage paired with a catchy, 90s eurodance beat song, “No Rules!” will be a blast to watch. In the words of Käärjiä, “It’s crazy. It’s party.”