Käärijä almost won the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2023 with his song Cha Cha Cha. If you haven’t seen his performance, check it out here – you won’t be disappointed:

Now, Käärijä had a long career of several years already before the ESC, but he was a rather underground artist back then and I admit I hadn’t heard of him either. After his performance in the contest I started listening to his earlier music as well and found some great stuff. Most of Käärijä’s songs are about various aspects of partying, but what, I believe, makes him so popular is his attitude: he’s never dissing anyone except maybe himself, and he’s always happy to engage with his fans of all backgrounds. It’s a bit shame that he doesn’t have too many proper music videos, but here’s a couple of my favorite pieces from him anyway.

Välikuolema (2022) is about having to lie down and take a break from partying. It’s literally translated as “intermediary death”. Käärijä wants to party but he can’t and needs a break.

Auto jää (2023) Käärijä made with Antti Tuisku, a very successful Finnish pop star who became famous in a talent show in 2003. The piece is about how your plans can change and you end up partying even though you thought you’d drive straight home from work. “Auto jää” translates to “the car stays” or maybe more accurately “drop the car”, as you can’t drink and drive.

KAJ finished fourth in the ESC this year (2025) and like Käärijä I hadn’t heard of them before either. Their song was Bara Bada Bastu:

I looked into the group and it turns out they have been making hits for some ten years already! Pa tu ta na kako (2015) is a J-pop style song (they call it KAJ-pop!) about your grandma force-feeding you more and more cake. They have a brilliant music video and even a behind the scenes documentary (part 1, part 2) about the video (in Swedish). After the video you might want to watch this live version with subtitles.

Another hit from KAJ is Taco hej (me Gusta) (2016). This one is about having a cozy night at home, making and eating tacos and tortillas. It’s as catchy like Pa tu ta na kako and the music video is shot in a single long take somewhat in the spirit of OK Go:

Taco hej also has a making-of documentary in Swedish (part 1, part 2), and you can also watch a live version with English subtitles.

So there you have it: it’s worth looking into the Eurovision artists, you might discover some gems from their other songs. Leave a comment if you know of any other hits from any Eurovision artists, besides their ESC entry!