Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  The 2020's have been very good for Finland, the best era of the whole Eurovision history by far. Four out of six our best placements ever have been in the past six years.  1. Lordi - Hard rock hallelujah - 1/37   2006 2. Käärijä - Cha cha cha  2/37  2023 3. Blind Channel - Dark side  6/39    2021 4. Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen -Liekinheitin  6/35    2026 5. Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME   11/37    2025 5. Softengine - Something better  11/37    2014

  There was a saying that hell will freeze over before Finland wins Eurovision but then came the monsters from hell and stormed to record breaking victory that night exactly 20 years ago in Athens.... And even cows did fly! (At least I saw a cow balloon the day after hanging in a three infront of my window anyways....) I remember being at home alone, as I always do watch Eurovision alone and as I was a lot more inside in the bubble back then I had had my spies in Athens telling me Finland had won the semi-final. So expectations were high and all along I had said since Lordi won the national final that they would either win or be a total flop. After the Swedish vote I remember my excitement turned into calmness: We will win. And oh boy did we win! The Finnish commentators Jaana Pelkonen and Heikki Paasonen with Asko Murtomäki lost it completely somewhere around the third 12 points. You can watch the voting here , starting around 2h10) 8 points from Slovenia..... (We got first point...

Two ESC legends, two classics, one project: Logan and Lordi in the studio to record their respective songs. The Irish singer and three-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan an the Finnish hard rock artist Lordi, winner of the Eurovision Son Contest 2006, have realized a joint project in which both reinterpreted the other’s Eurovision winning song. Logan recorded a pop-rock version of Hard Rock Hallelujah, while Lordi, together with singer  Noora Louhimo aka Motherbeast, produced a new metal-ballad version of Hold Me Now.  "The idea emerged during a spontaneous phone call. We immediately hit it off", says Logan. "The original idea of a duet for 20th. Anniversary of Lordi’s ESC victory was quickly discarded in favour of a song sway. When I heard Lordi’s demo of their winning song tailored to me, I knew right away that I wanted  to do it." Both songs will be out tomorrow May 15, 2026. So, as it seems Johnny Logan was invited to Vienna Eurovision but declined the invitati...

ORF and EBU have revealed the opening and interval acts for the three shows coming from Vienna 2026 Eurovision song contest and as a Finn one can only be pleased as there are (following Käärijä's two year stunt) again Finns as among the announced acts are Eurovision 2006 winners Lordi and last year's Erika Vikman performing along with other Eurovision royalty like Verka Serduchka from Ukraine, Il Volo from Italy, Go-Jo from Australia and Cesar Sampson and reigning champion JJ from Austria. Here's what we know and has been announced: First semi-final will be opened by 70 member choir performing L'amour è bleu , a song from Vienna 1967 Eurovision that Vicky Leandros sung for Luxemburg and later became a real evergreen and a classic even though it placed only 4th. After all these decades she's back to sing it again! The interval act will feature fun by Austria/Australia by the presenters Victoris Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski joined by Aussie Go-Jo . The s...

The Käärijä hype in Finland is real. The past week everything has turned green and most every company and business is showing support in most imaginative ways from big companies to small businesses, private and public and I have to admit I have never ever witnessed such a support and hype for anything or anyone, not even ice-hockey world champs and that tells it all.  And it shows also in viewing figures: 1.264.000 (78%) for the first semi-final, all time record. Taking account the grand final that usually gathers a lot more viewers it's the 7th most watched Eurovision final or semi-final since 1999. The record is obviously Helsinki 2007 Eurovision final with 1.905.000 (83%). I have a feeling we will break that next Saturday. The fever was high also in 2006 when Lordi won. 1.479.000 (75%) gathered in front of their tv-screens. But in spring 2006 there was no hype. It only started a week before the final and exploded in their home coming concert in Helsinki Market Square with 800.00...

Käärijä has been touring Finland with full packed sold out gigs ever since he cha cha chaed to victory in UMK2023, hasn't left the charts and radio waves since and has got everyone talking about him, fueled by the Eurovision 2023 polls and odds. Some eager Finns might be already booking hotel rooms in Tampere and speculating who will be hosting Eurovision 2024 in Tampere Arena. If I may say mine I think it'd be very classy to welcome back amazing Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi and Krista Siegfrids could be the princess of the nation played by Krisse Salminen in 2007. Just like AFTER Lordi's win there are products! If Lordi got his Lordi Cola in shops the summer after their win Käärijä is already ready with his very own alcohol free Piña Colada and Piña colada tasting ice cream! It's crazy, it's party! And just before packing his bolero for Liverpool he got the ultimate honor by this ice-hockey crazy country: The bolero was lifted to the ceiling of Helsinki Ice...

Euroviisut 2006, the Finnish national selection for Eurovision song contest featured two song in Italian sung by Tomi Metsäketo. And Eternamente Maria was to one to challenge Lordi in the end. That year each artist had two songs and in the first round one of them was eliminated. Lordi's duel was quite even but apparently also Mr Lordi's favorite Bringing back the balls to rock lost 58-42% to Hard rock hallelujah . In the final Lordi dominated the first round with 29.150 votes against second placed Tomi only with 4832. But in the superfinal things changed and it was really between these two in a very tactical voting behavior: Lordi or not to Lordi? Tomi got as many votes as the other four finalists put together aka 45.431 but Lordi managed to get 67.369 and the rest is history. For once Finns got it right but in any other year this Eternamente Maria would have been a very decent entry. Never ever (or after) has Euroviisut caused such a stir and media attention and divided the...

Mr Lordi and his band have been a bit bored during the pandemic and after the fun idea of their fictional greatest hits compilation Killection last year they have now extended it to fictional seven albums of different decades and genres those songs could've been from. Clever, no?   Skelectric Dinosaur, Superflytrap, The Masterbeast from the Moon, Abusement Park, Humanimals, Abracadaver and Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular are the album titles including influences and sounds inspired from likes of Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Boney M, Earth Wind and Fire, Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi and more... This blogger has enjoyed with amusement the disco one, Superflytrap wherefrom single Believe me is taken from. The latest single Borderline is from Humanimals. 

Eurovision 2006 winners Lordi are releasing this fall a total of seven albums (!!!), each with a different theme or genre, a kind of back catalogue to their previous fictional greatest hits album Killection . The pandemic really makes people creative! Here's the first offering from that extravaganza: Believe me is almost old school disco song with insanely catchy refrain. It sure could have been a late 70's megahit for sure! Lordiversity 7-album box will be released on November 26, 2021.

Yle organized among its other consolation Eurovision 2020 programming also a voting to find out the most loved Finnish entries of each decade ( here ). And this is no surprise: Hard rock hallelujah!   When eveything else has been tried go over the top and just risk it full time. It paid off. The hell froze over and liberated Finns from the decades long trauma of "Finland zero points" and for a year or so everyone was an Eurovision and Lordi fan. Well, it didn't last long...... Once again Finns had to sit home thanks to poor results in 2001 and 2003 before that insanity was changed. Or rather semi-final introduced. 2006 Lordi - Hard rock hallelujah  63,3% 2002 Laura Voutilainen - Addicted to you  10,7% 2007 Hanna Pakarinen - Leave me alone  8,6% 2008 Teräsbetoni - Missä miehet ratsastaa   6,5% 2009 Waldo's People - Lose control  5.6% 2004 Jari Sillanpää - Takes 2 to tango   3,7% 2005 Geir Rönning - Why? 1,0% 2000 Nina Åstro...

Most of Europe, and world, in in various stages of quarantene or lockdown (except Sweden...) and Eurovision artists and winners are finding ways to spend their time at home like the rest of us. Social medias are more vivid than ever and home made concerts and performances are in offer almost every day if you just keep up with them, including EBU's Eurovision Home Concerts series that you all are surely following every Friday, and last night's PrePartyES at home .  Let's have a look at some winner's activities during this #COVID-19 aka #Coronavirus pandemia, including reigning champion Duncan Laurence (above) who celebrated his birthday. Alone. Taking an extra long shower..... Dima Bilan has been entertaining himself with the dress challenge. Check his Instagram for more and in motion pictures as well, aka videos.....  Salvador Sobral will be having tomorrow already a third (and last) episode of his live Instagram concerts at 22.30 CET singing Spanish so...

Eurovision 2020 may be cancelled but the various broadcasters are filling the empty hours with Eurovision related programmes and their plans are slowly coming out. Besides the specials in the making in Germany and Sweden, and EBU's own Love shine a light show airing on May 16 that should involve all the artists of Eurovision 2020 somehow there are alternative ideas. Yle has decided to celebrate the brightest moments of Finland in recent years instead. On May 14 Krista Siegfrids and Mikko Silvennoinen will be hosting a Top-10 show (19.00-20.30 local time). Finns have an opportunity vote online before hand the Eurovision 2020 songs and they will reveal and showcase the top-10. The voting opens on May 8 and the show will feature also other performances and guests. After that Yle will broadcast again the Eurovision 2014 final , where Softengine placed 11th with their Something better .  On May 15 we will have Krista and Mikko again (19.00-20.30 local time) and this tim...

  I didn't really listen to any Finnish music in the 80's, back then it was still (hard) rock or elderly schlager and the pop music as we know it now was totally unexisting. Then came Dingo. Of course they considered themselves (and everybody else) as rock band but their sound and melodies were pop to my ears. And they created a Dingomania comparable only to the Beatlesmania in the 60's. Teenage girls were fainting and screaming, and streets were filled with teenagers dressed up like them.... But all that aside, their music was good and they scored hit after hit and broke selling records. Autiotalo was for years the best selling Finnish single ever (maybe it still is?) and they sold nearly half a million albums in three years before they broke up. Their break up was main news in the Yle's  very conservative tv.news, making another first. The band and lead singer Neumann are still around in various combinations (the latest one including Lordi's Eurovision winnin...

  Eurovision winner 2006 Lordi is losing another member of its winning formation. After Kita (2000-2010) and Awa (2005-2012) also Ox (2005-2019) is leaving the band after this summer's festivals. In the band's website he says there's no drama or major issues. He only has a strong urge to do something else in music and be available for new adventures. He thanks the band and the world's best fans for this 13 years long journey. Ox aka Samer El Nahhal is half Egyptian and he has studied in Los Angeles Musicians Institute. He spent part of his childhood in Libya and Irak wherefrom they fled when the war started. Kita or Sampsa Astala has been active after Lordi with his band Stala & So and they even participated in the Finnish national final back in 2010 - that got him fired from Lordi actually. He also plays in several other bands, plays drums and does backing vocals besides writing and producing songs for others. Awa aka Leena Paisa left Finland and moved to ...

Lordi is currently touring Europe with their #Sexorcism tour and is treating fans in merchandize stand with limited editions of various items. Another treat is coming in a form of their first real live DVD to be filmed in Pratteln Z7 , Switzerland later this month.  Spice up your love with #Vodkatomicbomb  lingonberry hot sauce  or fix your sugar rush with #Chokelate chocolates.  And 50 daredevils can get wild with #Lordildo !  All of sudden the Lordi Cola of the 2000's seems rather innocent.... Tonight Lordi plays Heidelberg (Germany) and the tour continues to Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and back to Germany, then Switzerland, Italy, Russia and finally Finland on December 28 at legendary Tavastia Club in Helsinki. They already did Austria, UK, France, Spain and Belgium.