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THE EXCLUSIVE BÄÄBS INTERVIEW


Blogilkar had a little chat with Bääbs and Tommi Forsström recently and this is what they can reveal about their plans for Euroviisut 2010 and beyond. Enjoy!

Tell us a little bit how the song was written and chosen for Euroviisut?

B: The song was created only for this cause and with the idea of Eurovision in mind. I think it has all the requirements; drama, feeling, uplifting violins, hope and a wink in the eye.

Tommi: Don’t forget the modulation!

I guess you are going to remix it, will there be any major changes?

B: I think we want to give it a little boost. It’s maybe a bit too static now, so we want give it a bit more variation, so it can build up towards the end. We are also gonna do the vocals again and have my lovely backup singers Juho and Heidi to participate in the recordings.

Tommi: We will add some heart, some soul and a lot of cowbell.

Bääbs has managed to get some wellknown people behind her for the wardrope and shoes. Tell us more about the coming presentation, burlesque I hear?

B: I´ve been lucky enough to get some great people to work with me on this show. Anne-Mari Pahkala (from Illusion Costumes) is a great designer and I immediately knew I´d like to have her to do my outfit. I'm very much in to pin-up and burlesque aesthetics also with my personal style and I think we will bring that to the stage. It's gonna be big and flashy, I'll tell you that ;)

I want to use young innovative designers cause they have such creative powers and will most likely to come up with things that are amazing and interesting. I´m very particular with my style, so it's important to find the right people.

If I understood right YLE didn't tell you beforehand but you found out on TV like everyone else that you were in top-3, where were you?

B: No, we didn’t know beforehand, so I was kinda bummed on that Friday and didn´t believe our chances. I was actually working that night arranging this event in Congress Center in Helsinki and I had to sneak out to the press room with my colleagues to see the results on TV. Never ever have I jumped and screamed so hard. It was a total surprise and I was totally blown away by the news. I think it's a moment I will never forget.

As I called Tommi I found out he had missed the whole thing while playing his Xbox.. Silly him. I guess he didn't believe our chances either.

I know you are Eurovision fans yourself, name your favourite songs and singers, and if youn have some special memories of some past ESCs?

B: My absolute favourite is from 2007 Sopho Khalvashi with the song Visionary dream. During recent years I have also enjoyed the Armenian performers, they always have the nicest rhythms.

My memories for ESC go way back. I watched it when I was a kid and I still do. For some reason my father has always had a strong believe that one day I would participate ESC and he always said things like "the day when you'll be in Eurovision..", without ever really finishing those sentences.. Well see if he has some fortune telling skills ;)

Tommi: Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son by France Gall, the Sopho song Bääbs already mentioned, L’amour Est Bleu by Vicky Leandros, Shake It Up Shekerim by Kenan Doğulu, Divine by Sebastian Tellier, Boom Bang A Bang by Lulu and many many many more…

You have said that social networks like Facebook helped you to get through. I think it's the song (Roni Tran and Geir Rönning were left out with huge internet fan bases). Don't you agree?

B: Well of course we hope it was the song, no doubt about that, but we feel that we were able to activate people trough social media. People have really campaigned for us through Facebook and other channels and that has been really amazing. I want to share this experience with people as much as I can and I'm really touched how much people have supported us.

Tommi: It was clear from the very beginning that the absolute number of votes would be pretty low for the open qualifiers, so the competition was mostly about activating your fans and friends. I’m sure our song earned its share of votes, but also some of the bigger names most likely trusted their status to be enough to earn them a slot in the semis and didn’t really put any effort into getting their people active.

Who is going to be on stage with you, dancers? Backing singers? Some special gimnmicks under your sleeve?

B: Well, besides me, there will be at least two lovely backup singers but also burlesque performers. We’ll see, I don’t know all the bits and peaces yet, but I certainly don't want to give a boring show.

As we don't have record company backing us we have all the freedom for our show. It'll cost us, but it's worth it.

Will you show your tattoo?

B: Of course, the outfit will be designed with tattoo visibility in mind ;)

Do you know already more about your schedules from here to January and in which semifinal you will be?

B: We are just starting to plan the schedule. We know all the important dates, like our semifinal (on the 8th of January) but we just have to get the crew together to figure things out. It took me few days to realise, how much work this actually requires. Since I don’t want to give anything else but all, we are not gonna cut corners. So there is a lot of work ahead.

When is the single going to be released? Will there be remixes? Other language versions? 


B: We are allowed to perform and distribute the song starting 7th of December. Our plan is to make a music video for the Eurovision song as soon as possible and then probably release an ep with new songs in January. I'm really excited about that and I can’t wait to make more music.

You have been compared to Madonna voicewise. What do you think? And what is your favourite Madonna song?

B: That Madonna comparison was such a surprise to me cause it never really crossed my mind nor was it intentional. But I see no harm in it, Madonna's the queen of dance music so I take it as a compliment.

I think I started listening Madonna for real about 3 years ago, and man, I love it. Of course I’ve known Madonna's music forever, but since then I’ve been a true fan. I’m really in to the 80's-90's phase of Madonna’s music. Especially The Blond Ambition tour is amazing. But I also like the two latest albums she has made.

Tommi: Madonna kicks ass! Plus she just seems to get better with age! The Helsinki show in August was nothing short of phenomenal!

Blogilkar thanks Bääbs and Tommi for the interview and wishes them a lot of luck in January. Stay tuned for their future developments!

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