Eurovision fans in the UK reacted the same as football fans. Every time Sweden is awarded 12 points by the jury, the fans screamed out “Cha Cha Cha”. Their support for the Finnish song was evident. If the Finnish song won, that would make history as the song is written in Finnish.
Finland has participated in Eurovision 56 times but only won the trophy once with the English song, “Hard Rock Halleluja” in 2006. Käärijä’s song “Cha Cha Cha” is in Finnish. Though it’s not the typical jury favourite, the song is dancy and memorable, and the staging is superb. This boosts our energy for 3 minutes and the rest of the day.
Besides, the contestants’ personalities count. Although Käärijä struggles with his English, he is cheerful, open, and sometimes awkward in his way. Käärijä is extremely friendly and approachable. He connects with other artists, Eurovision fan channel hosts, and his fans. Everyone enjoys his videos and shorts which have become viral and influential.
He apologized for not winning the contest. His result demonstrated that it’s not necessary to write a song in English for excellent results in a competition. It is just Loreen who is so famous and an iconic figure in the song contest. She has equally many fans and won the juries’ hearts.
The jury can be a balance of fans’ choices as many ethnic songs have their beauty but are not appreciated by fans. Jury votes are controversial. Nordic countries are more likely to vote for neighbouring countries. Eastern European countries are doing the same, but that may be affected by culture and music taste. Neither jury nor televote can be 100% fair.
Expanding the voting to the rest of the world is a smart move to involve more stakeholders to say what songs they like. However, voting is not free. The organiser wants contributions and states that it’s a way to avoid spam and manipulation. Despite that the audience can vote for as many as 20 participants, very few people prefer to spend that money supporting many entries.
Käärijä should still be proud of his achievement, coming home with first runner-up honours. It is the second-best result Finland has ever achieved and the most successful Finnish song entry ever.
After the grand finale, some more Eurovision commentary videos will help get over the sadness.
Till next year 🙂
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