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Eurovision 2023: Finland is now first on My Eurovision Scoreboard!

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In the most popular ranking application of Eurovision entries, the well-known My Eurovision Scoreboard, the first place for this year was occupied by Loreen, where with “Tattoo” as she was there from the first moment of her victory in Melodifestivalen 2023.

One of the biggest, if no longer the biggest, favorites to win this year’s competition was so far in the first place. And we say “was”, as a few minutes ago she was pinned down by another favorite. It is none other than Finland, where Kaarija with “Cha Cha Cha” is clearly now a highly measurable opponent for the victory next Saturday in Liverpool.

Sweden and Finland are also going head-to-head in the bookies for both the semi-final win and the grand final win, with Finland winning the first and Sweden the second.

See the new top 10 of the My Eurovision Scoreboard application:

Do you think Finland can overturn Saturday’s result as well? Tell us in the comments!

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Eurovision 2023: Finland’s Second Rehearsal!

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Closing the First Semi Final with an explosive performance is Finland with Käärijä and his Finnish rap song “Cha Cha Cha”.

Who is Käärijä?

Jere Pöyhönen is known in the music industry as Käärijä, which it means someone who rolls or wraps something up. He is a Finnish rapper, singer and songwritter. Käärijä grew up in a neighbourhoud outside Helsinki, while his passion for music kept increasing. He learned how to play the drums and started producing music in 2014. In 2020, he released his debut album called Fantastista. 

On January, Käärijä was announced as one of the seven participants in the Finnish National Selection Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023 where he managed to finish in the first place with a landslide of 539 points (467 from the public and 72 from the juries).

The Rehearsal

Unfortunately this year, accredited journalists don’t get the chance to watch the first and second rehearsals, so we only get the information and content that the organizers officaly release to the public.

It was confirmed for the first rehearsal that, the acid green bolero jacket from UMK along with four pink-clad dancers are accompaning with the singer. There is a new prop compared to the national final performance, a huge wooden box among with a stack with paletes are placed on stage. In the begining of the song the singer is inside it, then he climbs on top and throws a few moves before returning to the floor and leading his dancers in a routine.

Finland Second Rehearsal 2

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

At the end of the song, he pours himself with champagne, at which point the thumping techno/rap first half transforms into a joyful schlager anthem to the end. A “crazy” and “party” way to close the first semi final!

Finland Second Rehearsal 1

CHLOE HASHEMI /EBU

Below you can watch a small clip from the Finish second rehearsal, once it’s published on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASeTePlkQw

The Dress Rehearsal for Finland and the rest of Semi Final 1 will be held on the 8th of May.

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Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Finland’s entry in Eurovision 2023!

Source:

Eurovision 2023: The odds after the first rehearsals of the countries of the first semifinal!

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The first rehearsals for the countries of the first semifinal have been completed and, as it is expected, the odds have been refreshed for those ones. It is the second year in a row that the press center has been closed so there is no more information about the perfomances than the TikTok videos that Eurovision account have published. As a result, there are no big chances in the first days compared to last years.

1st Semi Final: The race of qualification

Most countries have been stabled in their position, except Switzerland who has overpassed Croatia and is now 7th in the betting odds to qualify for the Grand Final. Remo Forrer odds are between 1.33 and 1.4 compared to Let 3 who are between 1.36-1.55. It is also crusial to mention that Portugal has grown the gap with the Netherlands and, despite being 10th, has more chances to qualify compared to “Burning Daylight“. Also, Latvia, Malta, Ireland and Azerbaijan seem to loose ground and that it will be difficult for them to qualify to the Grand Final of Eurovision 2023.

1st Semi Final: The Winner

For the first time since 2007, televoting will decide 100% the result of the semi final, which means that the ten countries who will qualify and also the winner of the semi will be determined only by the viewers. Finland is ahead of this race and it is believed that “Cha cha cha” will win the televoting of the semifinal. The dynamic stage presentance, catchy chorus and also the fact that Kaarija is closing the show are making the odds to believe that he will overtook Loreen and “Tattoo“, the big favourite of this year’s competition. Honorouble mention to Israel and Noa Kirel, who has decreased the difference with Norway and is coming for the third place after the great reviews of her first rehearsal. Could “Unicorn” be the dark horse of the semifinal?

The Big Final

All “blue” for Finland and Israel, who are probably the gainers of the first rehearsals, in the betting odds. Kaarija has decreased his difference with Loreen and is now aiming for the first place. Also, Israel has overtook Austria and is now in the 7th place of the betting odds after her dance break. However, Loreen and “Tattoo” are still on the top of the scoreboard with a “safe” gap from Finland, until now. Sweden has managed to transfer the Melodifestivalen’s staging to Liverpool, despite the fears and difficulties, and did not dissapoint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3vJfR81xO0&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feurovisionfun.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Stay tuned in EurovisionFun for all the latest now of Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool!

Finland: Käärijä has finished shooting his postcard for Eurovision 2023!

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Finland’s representative for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has finished shooting his postcard. It is the video that will be shown before his appearance in the first semi-final this month.

The postcard of Finland was shot in Helsinki. Käärija appears in a snowball fight and rides the ferris wheel which is transformed into a Finnish sauna. 

You can watch the video here:

The countries that have confirmed that they have finished shooting their postcards  are:

  • Albania – Albina & Familija Kelmendi
  • Austria – Teya & Salena
  • Croatia – Let 3
  • Cyprus – Andrew Lambrou
  • France – La Zarra
  • Germany – Lord of the Lost
  • Ireland – Wild Youth
  • Latvia – Sudden Lights
  • Lithuania – Monika Linkytė
  • Malta – The Busker
  • Moldova – Pasha Parfeni
  • Netherlands – Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper
  • Poland – Blanka
  • Slovenia – Joker Out
  • Romania – Theodor Andrei
  • Belgium – Gustaf
  • Estonia – Alika
  • Greece – Victor Vernicos
  • Azerbaijan – TuralTuranx
  • Switzerland – Remo Forrer
  • San Marino – Piqued Jacks
  • Israel – Noa Kirel
  • Armenia – Brunette
  • Georgia – Iru

Finland competes this year with Käärija and Cha Cha Cha  closing the first semi-final on May 9th.

You can also watch the reaction video of the EurovisionFun editors  for Cha Cha Cha  below:

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Liverpool:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest news about Finland’s entry in Eurovision 2023!

Source: eurovoix

 

Finland: Watch an exclusive video of Käärijä’s first rehearsal!

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Käärijä’s first technical rehearsal was concluded an hour ago and the official Eurovision account of YLE shared some exclusive footage of Käärijä’s rehearsal.

https://www.tiktok.com/@uudenmusiikinkilpailu/video/7228212459327212827?embed_source=121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_share&refer=embed&referer_url=eurovisionfun.com%2F2023%2F05%2F%25cf%2586%25ce%25b9%25ce%25bd%25ce%25bb%25ce%25b1%25ce%25bd%25ce%25b4%25ce%25af%25ce%25b1-%25ce%25b4%25ce%25b5%25ce%25af%25cf%2584%25ce%25b5-%25cf%2584%25ce%25b1-%25ce%25b1%25cf%2580%25ce%25bf%25ce%25ba%25ce%25bb%25ce%25b5%25ce%25b9%25cf%2583%25cf%2584%25ce%25b9%25ce%25ba%25ce%25ac-%25cf%2580%25ce%25bb%25ce%25ac%25ce%25bd%2F&referer_video_id=7228212459327212827

Käärijä’s stage performance seems more refreshing and updated in comparison with the one he had in UMK 2023, in February. The wood pallets are still present, but the prop brought to Eurovision stage is noticeable bigger. We can also notice a Käärijä’s mirroring on the led behind him, moving to the beat exactly like him, which sure creates a beautiful effect.

You can read more on Käärijä’s first rehearsal below:

Eurovision 2023: Finland’s First Rehearsal!

We will see more from Käärijä on Wednesday, when he will have his second rehearsal and the exclusive TV snippets will be uploaded.

Käärijä with his song Cha Cha Cha participates in the 2nd Semifinal on May 9, perfroming 15th!

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Liverpool:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Finland’s entry in Eurovision 2023!

Eurovision 2023: Finland’s First Rehearsal!

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Closing the First Rehearsals from Semi-Final 1 is Finland, with Käärijä and his Finnish rap song “Cha Cha Cha”.

Who is Käärijä?

Jere Pöyhönen is known in the music industry as Käärijä, which it means someone who rolls or wraps something up. He is a Finnish rapper, singer and songwritter. Käärijä grew up in a neighbourhoud outside Helsinki, while his passion for music kept increasing. He learned how to play the drums and started producing music in 2014. In 2020, he released his debut album called Fantastista. 

On January, Käärijä was announced as one of the seven participants in the Finnish National Selection Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023 where he managed to finish in the first place with a landslide of 539 points (467 from the public and 72 from the juries).

The Rehearsal

Unfortunately this year, accredited journalists don’t get the chance to watch the first and second rehearsals, so we only get the information and content that the organizers officaly release to the public.

It’s known that the acid green bolero jacket from UMK has made it to Liverpool, along with four pink-clad dancers. There’s also a stack of pallets and a huge wooden box and in the begining of the song the singer is inside it, then he climbs on top and throws a few moves before returning to the floor and leading his dancers in a routine.

finland first rehearsal 1

Corinne Cumming / EBU

As Käärijä said “It’s crazy, it’s party”, because the lyrics are essentially a bar crawl where Käärijä starts out with a few piña coladas and ends up pouring champagne all over himself, at which point the thumping techno/rap first half transforms into a joyful schlager anthem to the end. What a great way to close Semi Final 1

finland first rehearsal 2

Corinne Cumming / EBU

Below you can watch a small clip from the Finnish first rehearsal, once it’s published on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@eurovision/video/7228237952474811675?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

 

The second rehearsal for Finland will be held on the 3th of May, when we will know how things will appear on screen for the Finnish entry.

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what will happen in Liverpool:

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Finland’s entry in Eurovision 2023!

Source: eurovision.tv

 

Finland: Watch footage of Käärijä’s rehearsals for “Cha Cha Cha”!

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A few days ago, we had the first details for the staging of  Käärijä’s Finnish entry “Cha Cha Cha“, but now YLE, the Finnish national broadcaster had published a short clip of the rehearsals at the official account of UMK, on Instagram!

As we can witness, all the details that had been revealed are indeed there!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK23 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

At the end of the Reel, a cardboard cut-out of Käärijä is shown, maybe this will be part of their Liverpool promotion? That remains to be seen, when Eurovisionfun will travel to Liverpool accredited on-site, to inform you for all the latest news with regards to the contest!

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding the Finnish entry in Eurovision Song Contest 2023!

Source: UMK

Norway: Finland wins Adresse Liverpool show two!

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Norway’s state broadcaster NRK broadcasts a special programme dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest every year. Each week approximately eight songs will be reviewed with the judges scoring the songs from one to twelve points.

Käärijä from Finland won the second episode of the Norwegian preview show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The celebrity jury for the second Liverpool address show includes Ingeborg Heldal (music editor), Staysman (singer and presenter), Kevin Vågenes (comedian) and guest judge gnete Husebye (YouTuber). While the audience jury consists of four participants, as in previous versions.

The results were as follows:

  1. Finland – Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha” – 88 points (12, 12, 6, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10)
  2. United Kingdom – Mae Muller – “I Wrote a Song” – 77 points (5, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10)
  3. Ukraine – TVORCHI – “Heart of Steel” – 52 points (4, 6, 5, 7, 10, 7, 6, 7)
  4. Serbia – Luke Black – “Samo mi se spava” – 48 points (4, 6, 1, 10, 8, 8, 8, 3)
  5. Albania – Albina & Familija Kelmendi – “Duje” – 47 points (12, 4, 5, 2, 5, 6, 3, 10)
  6. Slovenia – Joker Out – “Carpe Diem” – 47 points (4, 4, 2, 6, 12, 7, 4, 8)
  7. Denmark – Reiley – “Breaking My Heart” – 45 points (7, 10, 3, 4, 7, 6, 6, 2)
  8. Estonia – Alika – “Bridges” – 39 points (4, 6, 3, 7, 4, 4, 7, 4)
  9. Poland – Blanka – “Solo” – 24 points (8, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 4)

https://youtu.be/znWi3zN8Ucg

This means the combined results so far are:

  1. France – La Zarra – Évidemment – 96 points (12 points from all jurors)
  2. Finland – Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha” – 88 points (12+12+6+12+12+12+12+10)
  3. United Kingdom – Mae Muller – “I Wrote a Song” – 77 points (5, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10)
  4. Italy – Marco Mengoni – Due vite – 73 points (12, 4, 10, 10, 10, 12, 10, 5)
  5. Czech Republic – Vesna – My Sisters Crown – 62 points (7, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 12)
  6. Malta – The Busker – Dance (Our Own Party) – 61 points (10, 6, 10, 8, 1, 8, `12, 6)
  7. Ukraine – TVORCHI – “Heart of Steel” – 52 points (4, 6, 5, 7, 10, 7, 6, 7)
  8. Armenia – Brunette – Future Lover – 51 points (4, 8, 12, 5, 4, 3, 5, 10)
  9. Serbia – Luke Black – “Samo mi se spava” – 48 points (4, 6, 1, 10, 8, 8, 8, 3)
  10. Albania – Albina & Familija Kelmendi – “Duje” – 47 points (12, 4, 5, 2, 5, 6, 3, 10)
  11. Slovenia – Joker Out – “Carpe Diem” – 47 points (4, 4, 2, 6, 12, 7, 4, 8)
  12. Denmark – Reiley – “Breaking My Heart” – 45 points (7, 10, 3, 4, 7, 6, 6, 2)
  13. Greece – Victor Vernicos – What They Say – 42 points (5, 6, 7, 6, 2, 5, 4, 7)
  14. Australia – Voyager – Promise – 41 points (6, 7, 3, 4, 10, 4, 2, 5)
  15. Estonia – Alika – “Bridges” – 39 points (4, 6, 3, 7, 4, 4, 7, 4)
  16. Croatia – Let 3 – Mama ŠČ! – 32 points (5, 2, 6, 10, 6, 1, 1, 1)
  17. Latvia – Sudden Lights – Aijā – 30 points (6, 2, 1, 1, 3, 5, 8, 4)
  18. Poland – Blanka – “Solo” – 24 points (8, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 4)

The broadcast dates of the next Liverpool Address shows, the additional judges and some of the countries that will be featured are:

  • 28 April -Amanda Tenfjord (Greece 2022) & Fawad Ashraf (former Eurovision judge), for Iceland, Austria and Germany.
  • 5 May- Henrik Aasheim (deputy leader of the Conservative Party), Linn Skåber (comedian and writer), for Sweden, Finland and Moldova

You can watch the show on NRK Player here

Source: Eurovoix.com

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the Eurovision 2023 news!

Germany: Käärijä wins Songcheck episode two!

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In the second episode of Songcheck, the songs from the second half of the first semi-final were evaluated, as well as Spain from the Big5. The winner of the second episode was Finland’s Käärijä.

In Songcheck, the entries are rated by panel judges as well as the audience, the latter of which votes via a special application.

The results of the second episode were as follows (former the rating of the audience, latter the rating of the panel)

  1. Finland – 11.5 + 9.9 – 21.4 points
  2. Sweden – 8.5 + 8.0 – 16.5 points
  3. Czech Republic – 7.1 + 7.9 – 15.0 points
  4. Moldova – 5.6 + 7.1 – 12.7 points
  5. Israel – 5.7 + 5.9 – 11.6 points
  6. Spain – 5.5 + 5.8 – 11.3 points
  7. Netherlands – 5.0 + 5.8 – 10.8 points
  8. Azerbaijan – 5.7 + 4.4 – 10.1 points
  9. Switzerland – 3.6 + 6.4 – 10.0 points

After the completion of the second episode, the overall results regarding the first semi-final have been formed as follows:

  1. Finland – 11.5 + 9.9 – 21.4 points
  2. Norway – 8.6 + 8.3 = 16.9 points
  3. Sweden – 8.5 + 8.0 – 16.5 points
  4. Czech Republic – 7.1 + 7.9 – 15.0 points
  5. France – 6.4 + 8.1 = 14.5 points
  6. Italy – 8.1 + 6.3 = 14.4 points
  7. Croatia – 8.5 + 5.4 = 13.9 points
  8. Latvia – 6.8 + 6.2 = 13.0 points
  9. Moldova – 5.6 + 7.1 – 12.7 points
  10. Malta – 6.8 + 5.8 = 12.6 points
  11. Serbia – 6.0 + 6.4 = 12.4 points
  12. Israel – 5.7 + 5.9 – 11.6 points
  13. Spain – 5.5 + 5.8 – 11.3 points
  14. Netherlands – 5.0 + 5.8 – 10.8 points
  15. Portugal – 4.6 + 5.9 – 10.5 points
  16. Azerbaijan – 5.7 + 4.4 – 10.1 points
  17. Switzerland – 3.6 + 6.4 – 10.0 points
  18. Ireland – 3.8 + 4.0 – 7.8 points

https://youtu.be/rJHe-iZ5HSI

Songcheck continues with the songs from the first half of the second semi-final.

Source: eurovision.de

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding our favorite contest!

Finland: Käärija reacts to Eurovision 2023 songs!

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Käärijä has reacted to some of the songs competing in Eurovision 2023.

In the video uploaded by the official UMK Youtube account, the Finnish representative reacts to the songs from Austria, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, Croatia, France, Spain and Greece.

Although Käärijä’s comments about his fellow competitors were positive in general he has some favorite songs from this group which he would give 12 points.  According to Käärijä, the songs from Austria, Sweden, Germany and Greece are his personal favoruites from this group.

You can watch Käärijä’s reaction in this video:

And you can also watch our reaction by the Eurovisionfun team to Käärijä’s Eurovision song Cha Cha Cha

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more news about Finland in Eurovision 2023!