When rumors started circulating Antti Paalanen might be one of the finalists a certain part of Finnish Euroviison fandom got very excited. This blogger on the other hand had really never heard of him but obviously got quite interested: accordion,.throat singing, folk music.... His entry Takatukka meaning mullet showcases all that with a sparkle in the eye with its humorous lyrics. But did I like it? Read at the bottom....
Antti Paalanen (48) is already a seasoned artist at home and internationally. He has won several awards and besides his solo career has been active in various groups with whom he's been nominated and won Emma awards. He's the Finnish champion in accordion three years in a row (1994-96). He has worked and composed for theater, studied in Sibelius Academy and other prestigious music schools. His international breakthrough happened in WOMEX showcase concert in Copenhagen 2011
Four solo albums todate and 17 collaboration albums with his various bands. Additional ten albums were he plays at least in one song. He says he has sent several songs to UMK over the years but until now hasn't been lucky enough.
Takatukka ***
Antti Paalanen, Lauri Halavaara, Heidi Maria Paalanen, Saara Törmä
Chart action
Official singles chart: #4, / #9./ #18.
Official radio play chart: #53. / #53. / #99./ #57.
Antti has 366.000 monthly listeners on Spotify
<On Spotify daily charts he debuted at #2 with 98.695 streams
So, what do I think? Expectations were high as it all sounded so cool and crazy. But then the song came out and I was left a bit disappointed, it's too mild and less crazy than I expected. And maybe I wasn't alone with this as this hasn't yet become a phenomenon as expected but let's see what happens in the final. The staging will be once again crucial . Then again should this win I wouldn't be too sad. It would be interesting anyways to see how this would do in Vienna and I would support this fully.
Enjoy some of his other songs and performances below:
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