UMK2020 finished with a somewhat surprise win to 22-year-old Aksel Kankaanranta and the media and social media has been busy trying to analyze what happened and why? He was himself one of those most surprised and confessed he was a bit shocked and could do nothing but mumble "thank you, thank you" after his win, something very visible also in the television. He literally came out of nowhere as all the media attention was focused on Erika Vikman, and somewhat in Catharina Zuhlke and he didn't look for attention in anyways. he just came, sung and won.
Fans have been critizing his song is "yet another boring male ballad" but Aksel isn't taking pressure and thinks one just can't please everyone, and he doesn't even want to.
Aksel is said to have "the most beautiful voice" in Finland at the moment and he also thinks his voice might be one of the main reasons, with the simple sober performance, that won't be changed for Rotterdam, just adapted a bit to the bigger stage Yle promises. And from the beginning there's been talk about an added gospel choir! The staging trick in the performance is a dark curtain in front of the stage, a bit like a seethrough silver screen where images are projected. We will be first or at least among the first to use it in Eurovision.
Aksel is rather unknown figure to the great public still despite being the The Voice 2017 runner up and featuring vocals to Jättiläinen by Pyhimys, the most streamed song of 2018 in Finland. However music has saved him he says. He was bullied at school and often felt insufficient. He says he has dealed with it and left it in the past, he got over it by listening to music by Coldplay and Queen, just to name a couple.
The shy giant from Turku calls himself an introvert but it has never stopped him performing. His family pushed him to take part in The Voice, and his first realization that he might have the voice when in the 8th grade he was chosen to provide backing vocals to Zen Cafe's Todella kaunis. His goal is to become an artist, release own album and make a living in music but he's not in a hurry, Looking back is his very first release.
His modest, calm and sympathetic leaning nature makes it almost impossible not to like him as a person, and apparently it conquered Finns Saturday night. Will it work in Rotterdam? Maybe, maybe not. If we are lucky the press gets a hold of it or find him exotic rather than akward, and the viewers at home may have the patience to sit down and listen and then anything is possible. The juries should like him at least. Otherwise he will go by unnoticed by both media and viewers. A total contrast to Erika Vikman's bubbly and attention seeking personality and trashiness of Cicciolina if we had chosen her.
Aksel is also Eurovision fan and names Alexander Rybak's Fairytale as a favorite, and out of this year's On fire by The Troops and adds he can't believe he's now on that same Spotify list!
Comments