Kategori: Suomi

Suomifiasko: The contenders

Finland, Finland, Suomi. We haven’t heard much from Finland for a while – so here’s a bit about Finland.

YLE has changed the way that the song will be selected this year. I blame Jimi Constantine’s Euroviisut performance for that. So instead of various heats and a final, there’s just going to be a contest called Uuden musiikin kilpailu (UMK – ‘New Music Contest’). And it seems rather over-complicated for the purpose – but here’s a summary. I can’t guarantee I’ve got this totally correct…

- All the songs had to be submitted by the end of last September
- A jury of music industry and media people listened to all 540 songs, and chose 40 of them to go online. They went online
- A jury will then choose 12 songs, which will get a bit of a polish
- Eight of the songs will be performed to a live audience, but it won’t be on TV
- On 25th Februrary, six of the songs will be on the TV, and the audience televotes for the winner

After all that, I’m not sure I care if I got any of it wrong.

The selection is be the usual Finnish fare of folk, commercial rock and kooky love songs (no pretend death metal in the final 40). But there’s also some definite potential amid all that. Click on the artist and song title to hear the song. For all 40 songs, click on the link above.

DCX – Erase You
Club act DCX have supported the likes of September, Darude, Tina Cousins and, erm, Scooter at their Finnish gigs. This is one song that could do with a serious injection of production, and has the potential to sound amazing. And while they’re there, they need to give vocalist Bettina something to perk her up, as she sounds utterly bored.

Eveliina Määtäa – Perfect
Yeah. Perfectly inoffensive, middle-of-the-road love song. As weighty as a runway model during Milan Fashion Week, this barely touches the sides. Eveliina’s been on the circuit for a good while, and entered last year’s Euroviisut with Dancing In The Dark. Perfect will probably go the same way that did…

Freeman & Uusi Fantasia – Noitanainen
Actually amazing. This is 80s Georgio Moroder-style synthpop with absolutely no attempt to bring any contemporary references to it. ‘Witch lady’ requires no further production, it’s perfect as it is. Key change, the lot.

Iconcrash – We Are The Night
Like Noitanainen, this is an 80s throwback, but rather more A-ha this time. And it sounds… well, it sounds all right. We Are The Night doesn’t have any of the ridiculous immediacy of the other song. It’s a nice song. Nice.

Jessica Wolff – Better
Now we’re talking – europop dance with terrible lyrics and a one-take vocal. What we want, obviously. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Judy – Kisscollector
I want to see this performed live. RnB-pop with a dodgy English title and a storming bassline. Hot.

Leola – Rytmit rikkoutuu
This is a sweet indiepop song called ‘Broken Rhythm’. Leola is clearly influenced by the Brit indie scene of the 90s, but doesn’t seem to have appropriated the attitude, so that’s a plus point. It’s quite lovely.

Martina – Checkmate
One of those up-tempo songs that goes nowhere (I HATE the phrase ‘up-tempo’, it makes whoever says it sound like some elderly person trying to get down wit da kids, but it is the most appropriate description, sadly). One of the songwriters is Lene Dissing, who’s also got a song (Reach For The Sky) in this year’s Danish Melodi Grand Prix.

MOOBS – Johnny
Awful, tedious, painful electro-punk-rock-something. But the name of the band will be amusing to people whose sense of humour is as gutter-based as mine. This is the sort of stuff Björk was doing when she was 13.

Pernilla Karlsson – När jag blunder
Of note mainly because it’s song in Swedish by finlandsvenska Pernilla. I love hearing Swedish spoken by people in Finland. Lovely diction.

Ville Eetvartti – Lasikaupunki
Andreas Johnson with laryngitis. No, that’s unfair – he’s just husky. Very husky. It’s actually a fairly decent song. He says they changed the lyrics from English to Finnish – I’d like to compare the two, the English version could go down really well at Eurovision.

That’s it. I can’t listen any more. Please comment below, and tell me if I’ve missed anyone decent from the list.

Ideally, I’d like Jessica Wolff to win, but I’m desperate to see Freeman & Uusi Fantasia on that Eurovision stage.

Neither will be there.

The Hit Parade – Finland

As part of Schlagerfiasko’s efforts to recover from this year’s Eurovision, I’ve decided it’s time to see what’s been released while my attention has been elsewhere. Fortsätt läsa →

Eurovisionfiasko 2011 – The Nordics

Final Eurovision round-up, with the Nordic nations bringing everything to a close. Fortsätt läsa →

Schlageroverload

It’s a huge night for schlager, with contest finals taking place in Iceland, Norway and Finland, and the second week of Melodifestivalen in Sweden. There is nothing happening in Denmark.

There’s been plenty of comment about all the finals in the past few weeks on Schlagerfiasko, so we’re just going to briefly discuss each one and then reserve analysis for the morning after. Assuming there’s no drinking involved in tonight’s proceedings. I had plenty of refreshment yesterday at lunchtime. Which started at 1pm and ended at 8. I think. I can’t remember.

ANYWAY, there’s much anticipation in Oslo this evening about friend of Schlagerfiasko Stella Mwangi. Can she win? Her song has been at the top of Norway’s iTunes chart since it won in Skien, and would be fantastic on the stage at Düsseldorf. Other songs to to look out for is the marvellous friend of Schlagerfiasko, Hanne Sørvaag, who has a great chance of success this evening. Babel Fish will also provide competition, and Helena Bøksle is also in with an outsider opportunity… Hopefully, Åste of Åste & Rikke will be on good form – she had to miss a rehearsal this week because of illness, so Schlagerfiasko sends its best wishes.

Helene Bøksle – Vardlokk
Sie Gubba – Alt du vil ha
Babel Fish – Depend On Me
The Lucky Bullets – Fire Below
The BlackSheeps – Dance Tonight
Stella Mwangi – Haba Haba
Åste & Rikke – Not That Easy (Ah-åh-ah-åh)
Hanne Sørvaag – You’re Like A Melody

Across the sea in Iceland, another friend of Schlagerfiasko, Erna Hrönn, will be hoping for success. She faces stiff competition from past winner Jóhanna, while Jógvan Hansen and Matti Matts could also break through. Sjónni Brink’s song is also getting a lot of attention, and could finish at the top. This is definitely a wide-open competition, and I’m not sure that Jóhanna can be assured of victory as many fans outside Iceland assume.

Haraldur Reynisson – Ef ég hefði vængi
Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir – Ástin mín eina
Yohanna – Nótt
Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir – Eldgos
Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa
Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf
Sigurjón’s friends – Aftur heim

Finland’s final selection comes down to ten songs from a very un-schlager selection. The bookie’s favourite is Paradise Oskar (friend of… etc etc), with his gentle ballad. I’m also hoping that (friend of…) Saara Aalto will attract attention as well.

Eveliina Määttä – Dancing In The Dark
Sami Hintsanen – Täältä maailmaan
Milana Misic – Sydämeni kaksi maata
Paradise Oskar – Da da dam
Cardiant – Rapture In Time
Johanna Iivanainen – Luojani mun
Father McKenzie – Good Enough
Marko Maunuksela – Synkän maan tango
Saara Aalto – Blessed With Love
Stala & So – Pamela

Friday Five: Paradise Oskar

Paradise Oskar is not Paradise Oskar’s real name. This may not be a surprise to some of you. His real name is Axel Ehnström, and he likes to sing.

Axel is 19, but with a voice that sounds older, and he’s hoping for Euroviisut glory with Da Da Dam. It’s a ballad about the environment, which Schlagerfiasko was distinctly cynical about at first (because I’m miserable) – but then we pressed the play button on the song and loved it. A meandering song that showcases Axel’s guitar and vocal abilities, it’ll certainly have a few fans in Finland come Saturday.

He started playing and singing while he was at school, and he’s taken his musical studies onto the Pop & Jazz Konservatorio in Helsinki.

Hello Axel! Choose one -
Hello! Schlagerfiasko is a really nice blog you got. Thanks for showing interest in me!

That’s quite alright Axel. Thank you for talking to us. That’s all the thanks out of the way, and they do sure take up a lot of blog space! Now, if you could choose one word to describe your song, what would it be?
Think.

Who are your musical heroes?
At the moment, Jimmy Webb, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits.

Tell us one thing we would never know about you…
If I could afford it, I would retire and just eat for the rest of my life. I love food.

Saara Aalto talked about food for that one, too. It must be a Finnish thing. What are you most excited about for Saturday?
I’m excited about the fact that a lot of people are going to hear a song that I’ve written.

Finally, teach us a phrase in Finnish…
Minä yritin varoittaa sinua. It means ”I tried to warn you.”

He did. He really did.

Here’s the song:

Photo: Sari Gustafsson / Lehtikuva / Helsingin Sanomat

Friday Five: Saara Aalto

Finland’s Euroviisut competition reaches its final this Saturday, so as we’ve neglected our friends in Suomi, Schlagerfiasko caught up with a couple of our favourite performers for an early Friday Five.

Saara is based in Helsinki, and wrote her first song when she was just five years old! While still at school, she entered Euroviisut as part of the group Heidi Kyrö & just in 2004 – and then returned to try her luck in 2008. After reaching the top three of Finland’s Got Talent in 2007, she went on to appear in the Finnish theatre versions of High School Musical, and has also been a backing singer for other artists.

Most recently, Saara appeared in the smash-hit musical Wicked in Helsinki, and is working on her first album in English.

Saara’s entry, Blessed With Love, is a happy ballad with high notes that she carries off with aplomb – Schlagerfiasko was quite enthused with it in the competition, so let’s hope it does well for her.

Saara Aalto, hello! Describe Blessed With Love in one word…
LOVE!

Who are your musical heroes?
Hayley Westenra and Charlotte Church, who are both crossover artists. Also Beyoncé, Lara Fabian and The Corrs. And Stephen Schwartz, who composed Wicked – he’s my idol!

Tell us one thing we’d never have known about you before…
I used to spend €5 a day on sweets for six years – I was always ‘drunk’ on sugar! Gradually, it made me so ill that I decided to make a big change in my diet, and now I don’t eat sugar at all. I mainly eat raw food, which has made me so healthy. I feel like I have a new life now, and I love it!

What are you most excited about for the final?
Performing live on TV with my best friends – it’ll be so emotional!

Teach us a phrase in Finnish…
Rakastetaan toisiamme! It means ”Let’s love each other!”

Here she is:

Near the Finnish post

First of all, what is up with Tom Nyland’s hair? We were going to say something about the host’s cornrow-and-pony-tail look last week, but decided we wouldn’t judge. But when a man is sporting a hairdon’t that looks like an 80s drag queen’s wig, you have to wonder if YLE’s stylists were all drunk. And if it was for some joke, then, no. Stop it now.

Styling was also missing from Sami Hintsanen’s performance, which we actually liked. Checked shirt, jeans and rosary beads (why?) is not the look for performing a Eurovision ballad, Sami. Sort it out for the final, please. Besides that, it was a solid performance, and will be a real contender.

We’d already criticised Tommi Soidinmäki’s song, and, well, a hot mess was enjoyed by all. The dancers looked like they were engaged in a duel to the death, while the backing singers seemed to be fascinated by events to the side of the stage. Meanwhile, Tommi appeared to be dancing to another tune entirely in his tight jeans and black shirt, which had something resembling a painter’s rag hanging off it. This is the only song of the night that didn’t get through to the final.

Saara Aalto proved she can deliver the vocal goods with her difficult song, Blessed With Love. The great performance was a little confusing, though. Three excellent backing singers interacted directly with Saara, so it seemed that we were watching a four-piece group, rather than a solo singer. Another one to watch, though.

And yes, Stala & So. got through. Super. They appeared to have stolen Anne-Lie Rydé’s brown feather boa for the microphone stand. That was the best bit. We have a terrible feeling this is going to go all the way.

To the surprise of some online commentators, Eveliina Määttä was handed a wildcard ticket to the final. To be honest, we share that surprise. We already had reservations about the strength of the song, and the live performance reinforced that. Eveliina isn’t the strongest of singers, and coupled with a dance routine that amounted to a bit of shuffling, well. There you go.

Photo: MINNA Jalovaara