Eight entries ultimately competed in the final on 30 January where votes from the public selected "Lose Control" performed by Waldo's People as the winner.

It was later revealed that Finland had been selected by back-up juries to qualify after placing twelfth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 42 points.

In the 2008 contest, "Missä miehet ratsastaa" performed by Teräsbetoni managed to qualify Finland to the final and placed twenty-second.

[2] Finland's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest have been selected through national final competitions that have varied in format over the years.

[2][5] Twelve artists were directly invited by Yle to compete in the national final following consultation with record companies and presented during a press conference on 25 September 2008.

[19] The final took place on 31 January 2009 at the Leonardo Hall in Tampere where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and the Second Chance round competed.

The panel consisted of Thomas Lundin (Finnish Eurovision commentator on Yle FST), Hanna-Riikka Siitonen (singer and vocal coach) and Merituuli Lindström (television presenter).

[21] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured Northern Kings and Scandinavian Hunks.

[8] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries.

The LED screens displayed blue urban scenes with an illuminated train running from one side to the other and the stage also featured two metal boxes with fire coming out.

[32][33] The two backing vocalists that joined Waldo's People on stage were Manna Borg and Päivi Virkkunen, while the two fire artists were Niko Virtanen and Kasmir Jolma.

It was later revealed that Finland was selected as the back-up jury qualifier after placing twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 42 points.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.