Sweden is getting up a head of steam for what could be a record number of Eurovision wins this year with a humorous sauna act.
KAJ, a comedy group more accustomed to playing birthday parties than large arena shows, is already the bookies’ favorite to triumph at the extravaganza in Basel, Switzerland, on May 17.
With their song Bara Bada Bastu (Just Have a Sauna), the Finnish trio pay homage to sauna culture, clad in brown suits and accompanied by an accordion in a wink to Finland’s other big cultural phenomenon, the tango.
Photo: AFP
Dancers in lumberjack shirts grill sausages over a bonfire before appearing in a sauna with towels around their waists, slapping their backs with birch branches.
“We’re gonna have a sauna, sauna, steam up and let go of the stress of the day,” they sing repeatedly in Swedish, in a catchy chorus that sticks to the brain like chewing gum to the sole of a shoe.
“The melody works internationally. Even I am able to hum the chorus, and I absolutely do not speak the language,” said Fabien Randanne, a French Eurovision expert and journalist.
The Swedish public chose the song at its annual Melodifestivalen contest — a national institution broadcast five Saturday evenings in a row that attracts millions of viewers.
KAJ’s victory stunned the nation that brought us Abba and two-time winner Loreen, beating out 2015 Eurovision victor and pop heartthrob Mans Zelmerlow, who was broadly seen as the favorite.
“Sweden has usually competed with very slick numbers. Now I have the feeling that the public is a little more open to originality, to something unique,” Randanne said.
Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson approached KAJ and asked them to send in a demo for the Swedish contest, said Swedish songwriter Anderz Wrethov, a Eurovision veteran who cowrote and coproduced KAJ’s song.
Founded in 2009, KAJ is made up of Kevin Holmstrom, Axel Ahman and Jakob Norrgard, its name formed by their first initials.
Until now they had a niche but steady following in Finland, primarily in the small Swedish-speaking community to which they belong.
Their song was one of 30 selected by Swedish broadcaster SVT — out of almost 2,800 entries — to compete in Melodifestivalen, ultimately winning the contest with 4.3 million votes.
“We’ve seen all these very polished artists, but underneath it all, the kind of music KAJ makes is very typical of Swedish schlager [popular hits],” said Andreas Onnerfors, professor of intellectual history at Linnaeus University in Sweden.
Randanne said that while it was hard to explain KAJ’s success, Swedes “voted with their hearts.”
“In the current context, we all need to destress ... but the vote also just shows what people find entertaining,” Onnerfors added.
He said it was also important to understand the song’s popularity in the broader context of Eurovision, a contest created to unite Europeans across borders.
“Eurovision is like a bonfire around which we gather... It doesn’t have to be very serious, it can also be eccentric,” he said.
Onnerfors said countries reveal their true selves through their cultural stereotypes — in the case of KAJ, poking fun at the way Swedes view Finns and their sauna culture.
Does KAJ have what it takes to claim Sweden’s eighth Eurovision victory in Basel? Onnerfors does not dare make any predictions.
Randanne said he expects them to place well thanks to the tune’s catchy melody.
“Eurovision is usually a little more open-minded than Sweden,” Wrethov said.
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS