The Finnish final "Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu" was held on February 25th at Logomo in Turku and hosted by Samu Haber. The winner was chosen by a mix of international juries which made up a quarter of the score and national televoting making up the other three-quarters. The winning act, getting just over 45% of the total votes available, was Käärijä with the song "Cha Cha Cha".
Jere Pöyhönen - aka Käärijä - grew up in the Vantaa area on the outskirts of the capital, Helsinki. Growing up his main two passions were ice hockey and playing the drums; the latter became his starting point for writing and producing his own music. He released music independently at first then in 2017 he signed to Monsp Records. He has since released numerous singles and EPs on this label as well as his debut album "Fantastista" in 2020. His style of music crosses many genres: hip hop, rap, rock, electronic music mostly performed in the Finnish language. His stage name is even a Finnish pun as his name literally means "Wrapper".
Kaarija is on a stage made of wooden pallets that gives the song an industrial feel. He is wearing black trousers with spikes on them and what can only be described as an Incredible Hulk-esque bolero sleeve jacket. The song begins with a pulsating, infectious beat and earwormy synth line. The first verse is low and mysterious with Käärijä prowling round the stage menacingly. He is then joined by 4 Latin American dancers dressed in a lurid shade of pink. As the chorus comes starts his voice lifts but is juxtaposed by the shouty "Cha cha cha" refrain after each line. The second verse starts like the first but Kaarija starts to come out of his shell, singing the the last part, and seamlessly goes into the chorus. Here the dancers seem to be throwing themselves about and almost at war with each other. There is then a change in direction as the backing track and Kaarija's voice becomes softer and a new tune appears. The dancers move the pallets out of the way to make a bigger space to dance in. The final minute is much more tune driven and has its very own goofy dance routine. As the song nears its conclusion the loud "Cha cha cha" shout starts to come back in before Kaarija collapses to the floor.
On the face of it this song is an absolute mess but the precision and care taken to intertwine all the different styles, genres and earworms is done to perfection. All of the juxtapositions down to the song types and striking visuals make for a memorable act. The first part of the song is staccato and monotone, but so is the Finnish language, and they are ultimately brought together by the 'cha cha cha' refrain. Kaarija also straddles that very fine line between selling the tough rock character and being likeable and relatable. The song has a plethora of amazing earworms and catchy rhythms which will stay in one's brain for a long time. Moreover, this feeling is immediate and this entry wastes no time in getting through to you - whether you like it or not.
To my mind there are two main concerns with this song. Firstly, that people might see this as a joke entry. I would hope that when people see the whole thing from start to finish people might realise how clever and endearing the song actually it. Secondly is the prominence of the backing vocals. Having watched back the videos multiple times there is no doubt that Kaarija is performing live but it is embedded firmly within the vocals on the track. I almost want him to be a little more imperfect and riff a bit more during he instrumental parts. I think he can afford to be a bit more lenient with the vocals because people will not understand the Finnish words. The song has a great way of sucking you into the world and there will be a lot of people around the world who will want to vote for this and the call to arms for this will be strong - just in its national final this song got over 50% of the televote score. Winner or not, this is an entry to go down into the annuls of bright green iconic entries!
ARTIST - Käärijä
SONG - Cha Cha Cha
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Käärijä, Johannes Naukkarinen, Aleksi Nurmi Ki-RO, Jukka Sorsa
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