Tag Archive for: Kaarija

The finnish broadcaster YLE has released the fifth song competing in UMK 2023, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2023.

The song is titled “Cha Cha Cha” by Käärijä and you can listen to it below:

The official Eurovision site presents Käärijä as follows:

Käärijä is an artist who is almost impossible to define. Unabashed and unpredictable, Käärijä loves to break boundaries, follow his own beat and explore new things. Käärijä’s debut album Fantastista was released in 2020. The artist’s music takes on a whole new dimension live – indeed, Käärijä’s unfettered live performances are what he’s known for.

Käärijä’s passion for music started with drumming. In grade school he began taking drum lessons, but when he started middle school his interest turned to rap: Käärijä started to practice his freestyling during English classes.

His debut single Urheilujätkä was released in 2016 and since that time Käärijä has done his own thing. Käärijä hates being confined to a specific genre, preferring to combine elements from, among others, rap, metal and electronic music. His lyrics deal with everyday things, the passage from youth to the threshold of adulthood, from house parties to after-parties.

Käärijä has watched Eurovision since he was a little boy, with Verka Serduchka’s Dancing Lasha Tumbai being an especially memorable performance. He has also been interested in UMK for several years. This year, he was 150% sure that he would be submitting an entry, because when Cha Cha Cha came along, Käärijä knew the time was right.

‘Finland is a party country, a heavy metal country and a pop country – this song brings all of those together,’ he says.

The UMK jury had the following to say about Käärijä and his song: 

“Will this become the afterski hit of Finland for the spring of 2023? In his song Cha Cha Cha, Käärijä combines rap, electronic, rock and pop in a unique way. The end result is truly one-of-a-kind, but also very approachable, like the artist himself. The song’s hook is one that grabs you on the very first listen, and we can say with confidence that this is the hardest rap banger in the history of UMK. At UMK and Eurovision, there is always room for something off the wall, which this song so perfectly offers.”

We remind you that the competing artists/songs of UMK 2023 are being revealed in different dates in the following order:

• Thu, 12 January Keira – No Business On The Dancefloor
• Fri, 13 January Benjamin – Hoida mut
• Mon, 16 January Robin Packalen – Girls Like You
• Tue, 17 January Lxandra – Something To Lose
• Wed, 18 January Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
• Thu, 19 January KUUMAA – Ylivoimainen
• Fri, 20 January Portion Boys – Samaa taivasta katsotaan

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 25 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2023!