Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

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...

Sanni replaced JVG as #1 in the album chart Video has Mika Häkkinen, former F1 world champ in it Yet another radio hit for the one who's at his best live on stage Young, pretty and free.  Younger and prettier Mikko Leppilampi? Mikko's ex replaced him with Leo...

Finnish variety show Tähdet, tähdet,  hosted by Eurovision 2007 host Mikko Leppilampi, where artists compete every week performing a different genre this season also Eurovision got its night. In tonight's episode the remaining artists sung their hearts out with Eurovision songs, choreographies, glitter and wind machines. Sadly only five artists are left in the show, so we only got to enjoy only five songs. Eurovision wannabes Mikael Saari and Tomi Metsäketo have already been voted out in the previous weeks.... (Next week will be country, last week was Finnish singer-songwriters for example) Krista Siegfrids was the expert jury member and also opened the show with an Eurovision medley with the respective choreographies doing an amazing job with My number one, Wild dances, Dancing Lasha tumbai, Marry me and Pump pump. Lordi was the guest star of the show proving once again despite all, they like to pop into the Bubble time to time again. They did Hard rock hallelujah ,...

Mikko Leppilampi, the host of Eurovision song contest 2007  in Helsinki, turns 39 today. Congratulations! Mikko shot to the fame when he landed his first movie role back in 2003 and besides getting the lead role he also won Jussi award aka the Finnish Oscar for it. In the next years he did 9 more films and a musical before he landed the hosting role in the 2007 Eurovision song contest next to Jaana Pelkonen. Since then he has done 17 more films, acted in seven tv-series, released an album as a singer, and hosted a variety of top tv-series from Dancing with stars to various top award and gala evenings, and countless visits to other series either as a host or a guest. In one word: he's been on screen ever since! Even in ads....

How times flies? It feels like last week when ten years ago after two weeks of 24/7 Eurovision hassle non stop the grand final was here, I was sitting in the audience waving my Finnish flag and feeling so sleepy.... Amazing two weeks, house full of people, writing for a website, staying in the arena and in the press center from early morning to late night only to contnue to day at the EuroClub.  Amazing production also the final with Lordi's opening video and live performance. Who could forget Krisse, the princess of the republic? Jaana Pelkonen & Mikko Leppilampi the fantastic hosts? Santa Claus! The Apocalyptical interval act with more heavy rock than all other Eurovisions put together.... I'm a proud Finn!  Such wonderful colorful memories! Here's the final recap: And here's the full show:

Fans have spoken. Helsinki born Lill Lindfors was chosen as the best Eurovision host of the 1980's, Swedish Ulrika Johnsson and Irish born Terry Wogan the best ones of the 1990's, Finns Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi were the favorites of the 2000's and finally Swedish Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede the best of the 2010's. Four Swedes (one born in Finland), two Finns and one Terry Wogan. The Nordics know how to host! (And Terry)

By the readers of the official Eurovision website . And without being patriotic, deversedly so. I have always thought they did a marvellous job and way better than many other couples in other years. Excellent job and a great compliment for their credit by fans. This blogger thanks all voters for good taste and congratulates Jaana, Mikko and YLE!

Yle's Nenäpäivä aka Red nose charity event included tonight a live broadcast on YLE1 and online from Helsinki's Musiikkitalo with Radio Symphony Orchestra and several artists giving a go of Finnish Eurovision classics.  To make the event even more special was the reunion of Eurovision song contest 2007 hosts Mikko Leppilampi and Jaana Pelkonen . Mikko has continued his career as a tv-hosts and movie actor and is a regular hosting popular series and big events. Jaana has moved on from entertainment to politics and is today a MP. In the last parliament elections she was the most voted female member in the whole country and was tipped to become a minister but that hasn't happened yet. Wouldn't she be a great minister of culture for example? Now it looks pretty much like she's pregnant in her glittering long dress. Congratulations!!! Anyways, a nice evening with great songs and stories of children of the world in need and stories how they have been helped th...

Speaking on this week's special Eurovision episode of Newsmakers, HSTV's weekly English-language current affairs show, the host of the 2007 Eurovision song contest in Helsinki Mikko Leppilampi says  "It's pretty serious. The forum is so huge, you reach so many people. The economic benefits for the country and the city that gets to host it" are important, he adds. Leppilampi recalls that he was selected to host the live shows after a series of auditions and call-backs. "I was pretty new to television and hosting at that time, so we just did the auditions, like everyone else" explains Leppilampi, who is currently filming the new Finnish political drama 'President'. "I think it was probably every single male performer who had been on television or acting got auditioned for that and it ended up probably being the EBU mostly who selected us". In the end in the final he wasn't to one to say the magic words "Welcome, Europe...

Finland has its parliament elections last Sunday and Jaana Pelkonen, the fabulous hostess of Helsinki 2007 Eurovision contest with Mikko Leppilampi, as well as multiple national final hostess and commentator, including the legendary commentary of the voting when Lordi won, emerged as the most voted female candidate nationwide getting 15.954 votes in Helsinki electoral district. That made her not only as the most voted female but number five in overall nationwide after the new premier Juha Sipilä, party leader Timo Soini who took Finns Party as the second biggest in the new parliament, ex-premier Alexander Stubb and ex-minister of defence Carl Haglund. This result means most likely she will be appointed a minister! (If her national Coalition party enters the government that is, being now the third biggest party and could possibly choose to step back.)  She entered the parliament four years ago for the first time. She has been campaigning for the equal marriage low (now approve...

We all know about the recent discriminating anti-gay laws in Russia. We know the father of them, a municipal politician Vitaly Milonov. We also know Jari Sillanpää came out back in 2006 just stating the fact we all knew by then already. The thing becomes absurd when Sillanpää headlines a concert in St. Petersburg under title Our Romance - Dialogue of Cultures , and event that includes also business and politics, and the very Milonov sits in the audience and comes out as a Sillanpää fan being very familiar with his career and songs! Milonov, known to raise scandals wherever anything gay is happening and or even suggested, sat in his place and seemed to enjoy the experience fully. Wonders of this crazy world we live in.... Along the Russian artists also Eurovision 2007 host Mikko Leppilampi performed with other Finnish artists.

Loreen was tonight live in Finnish TV in Mikko & Heikki Show (or Eurovision 2007 host Miko Leppilampi and  multi-Euroviisut host Heikki Paasonen) singing My heart is refusing me . Let's see how high she gets in the charts when the next official chart comes out....

The crazy lady of Marja Tyrni collected the Finnish stars together to record a charity single Leivotaan, leivotaan (Let's bake, let's bake), which is actually a cover of Ricchi e Poveri's Che sará. The lyrics are funny and can be summed up as "let's bake so everyone can have a cake" and the song's release to download on internet and the video's preview in YLE's Nenäpäivä show pushed the amount of money collected during the over 6 hour show to all time record. - almost 2 million euros Katri Helena, Marion, Hanna Pakarinen, Vicky Rosti, Jippu, Frederik, Arja Koriseva, Tommi Läntinen, Mikko Leppilampi are just some of the almost 30 artists taking part in the recording, all with a tongue in cheek. Watch it here . Or buy and donate to charity here .

It is a magical year for Jenni Vartiainen. She's topping both the single and album charts, her album is the most sold album of 2010 so far and now readers of Elle Finland have chosen her as the Female Dresser of the year. She has been a fashion icon ever since she came to public eye so it comes as no surprise. A bit more surprising the choice of the Male Dresser of the year, Mikko Leppilampi. Eurovision 2007 host, actor, singer and at the moment the presenter of the Finnish Strickly come dancing must have convinced the voters with his casual style.

Tanssii tähtien kanssa , the Finnish version of Strictly come dancing features some Eurovision names this season. Mikko Leppilampi takes over this 5th season as the male host - against protests - while one of the dancers is Laura Voutilainen . Another famous singer and eternal Eurovision hope Antti Tuisku is also in. Tomi Metsäketo won the first season while Mariko of Kwan took part in the second one. Late Kirka was to take part, too, but died just before the show started. Maria Lund took part and won the third season and represanted Finland also in the Eurovision Dance contest. Finally Kim Herold of Humane took part last year so every year there has been also an Eurovision connection. The programme is very popular in Finland reaching 1,5-2,0 million viewers.

It has been announced Mikko Leppilampi will be the new host for the Finnish version of Strictly come dancing, Tanssii tähtien kanssa. Marco Bjurström - who btw was the one whose comments in Euroviisut 2010 final caused a controversy, read more here and  here - has been replaced after five seasons by MTV3. The fans of the program are furious and want Marco back.... Is Mikko's honeymoon with the TV audience over? His matrimony surely is as you can read from the scandal papers this week.

As reported before Alexander Rybak will be the guest of honour in the Finnish final on January 30 in Tampere. He will be joined by Eurovision 2007 host Mikko Leppilampi who has been performing succesfully with his big band all autumn-winter 2009, including the New year's reception a few days ago in Senate's square in Helsinki that was broadcasted live on TV and on internet. Here he is doing Sata salamaa , the Finnish 1987 entry together with Maria Ylipää just seconds after we entered 2010. The Finnish semifinals start this Friday and yours truly will be reporting live as usual.

A big research of families conducted in Finland recently asked also the question who is the sexiest mother and father in Finland and Eurovision related stars won both categories. Eurovision 2007 host and actor/singer Mikko Leppilampi got 31% of the votes in the Hottest Father category beating actor Peter Franzen (21%) and actor/TV-host Niclas Lignell (9,8%). In the Hottest Mother category Janina Fry (previously Frostell) had no competition, she won with 30% and is known to win every similar voting the past 15 years or so. She's a model, TV-host, designer, singer and business woman and Miss World 1993 finalist and also lyricist for Laura's Addicted to you in 2002! Lola Wallinkoski (previously Odusoga), the first and only black Miss Finland 1996, Miss Scandinavia 1996 and Miss Universe's 2nd runner up, nowadays a media person came second (9,3%) and actress Pamela Tola third (8,9%).

The presenter of the semifinals in Moscow 2009, Andrey Malakhov surprised Jaana Pelkonen with a phone call full of praise and compliments. Jaana, who presented Eurovision 2007 in Helsinki along with Mikko Leppilampi is in Moscow and once again doing the live commentary for YLE on TV. Andrey stated that Jaana & Mikko were his favourite presenter couple over the past years. Nice to hear but apparently he hasn't learn anything from them, judging the way he failed to impress in the first semifinal. The most complaints about the show have been about the poor presenters - even so much the Russian TV and EBU have had to step out and comment on that, too.