In 2013, Finnish radio waves were dominated by middle aged male musicians with long careers behind them. "Mennyt mies" by J. Karjalainen was the most played song on the country’s most popular channel Radio Suomi. The biggest hit of Anssi Kela’s career, "Levoton tyttö", was the second most played song on the channel.
Kela also got ample airtime on other frequencies, with "Levoton tyttö"being the second most popular song on the playlists of commercial stations.
J. Karjalainen was the seventh most played artist on the list of commercial radios.
Cheek lagged behind
Surprisingly, the pop-music sensation of 2013, pop-rapper Cheek who sold out two Olympic stadium concerts, did not make it to the top 10 artists played by Yle radio channels. However on commercial frequencies, Cheek’s track "Timantit on ikuisia" (Diamonds are Forever) was the ninth-most played song of the year.
"Vapaus käteen jää" by Haloo Helsinki! took the top spot on this list.
Commercial stations account for a little less than a half of all radio listening in Finland.
Rap music was the most popular with listeners of youth-orientated YleX. Redrama’s "Clouds" got the most plays on YleX.