Aksel Kankaanranta

Aksel Kankaanranta (born 28 January 1998)^[1] is a Finnish singer. He was due to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam with the song "Looking Back", before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] In 2017, he finished second in The Voice of Finland.^[3] He was born in Turku.

Eurovision Song Contest

Aksel Kankaanranta was scheduled to represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam with the song ''Looking Back'' after winning the Finnish national selection Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, but then on 18 March, it was cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Later that month, the Finnish national broadcaster, Yle, announced they would not internally select Aksel, and he would have to participate in UMK 2021. In episode 2 of Eurovision Home Concerts, Kankaanranta confirmed that he would audition for the 2021 edition of the national selection.

Aksel participated in the national selection for Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with his song "Hurt". This time, he finished 5th in the final.

Kankaanranta announced the Finnish jury votes at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

Discography

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		FIN^[4]
"Jättiläinen" (with Pyhimys)	2018	1	Non-album singles

References

1. Jokihaara, Teea (2 April 2020). "Aksel Kankaanrannan viisukevät vaihtui viulunsoittoon". ts.fi (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
2. "Finland: Aksel Kankaanranta wins UMK 2020 with "Looking Back"". wiwibloggs. 7 March 2020.
3. "Aksel Kankaanrannan koskettava Looking Back -biisi kehottaa elämään hetkessä". yle.fi. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
4. "finnishcharts.com - Aksel Kankaanranta - Muista kuka oot". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman with "Look Away"	Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 (cancelled)	Succeeded by Blind Channel with "Dark Side"