Euroviisut 2011: Tango royalties look forward to the final

I met with two tango royalties in connection with the rehearsal of Euroviisut. Marko Maunuksela became the Tango-king 2010 and Suvi Karjula became second in the female section 2010. The tango competition is very popular in Finland and takes palce every summer. The winner gets a free ticket to Euroviisut. Marko has now qualified to the final together with Suvi. 

First of all I would like to ask if you have changed anything in your performance since the semifinal?
Yes we have. The lightning is different, we have more people on stage and we will have some pyrotechnics as well. But the song has not changed.

Marko – has the winning of the tango king competition changed your live?
Yes it has. From having a job as a nurse I’m now a full time singer.

Suvi – you are also in the tango celebrity.
In this last contest I became second. 

How come that you decided to work together in Euroviisut?
Marko and met in 2009 because we both participated in the tango contest that year and then we met again in 2010. It is very common that artists participate several times in the tango contest.

Do you think it will be an advantage for you in the Euroviisut final?
Maybe. Hopefully because people know us.

Tango is a big art in Finland.  When and why did you started to sing tango?
Tango has a lot of emotions and maybe is a way for us to express ourselves.
Suvi: My roots are in soul and rock music and continue later on with tango
Marko: I started to sing tango in the age of 20. Before that I was more into opera and musicals and during ten years I was also singing dance or entertainment music.

How would you describe your song for those who do not understand Finnish?
It’s a song and the lyrics is about the Finnish people and why we are living in a cold, dark, melancholy country. Despite this we do not want to move anywhere and in the end we do not want to have a warm, sunny climate anyhow. A kind a hate-and-love-song.

What’s your relation to ESC? Something you follow?
Marko: I have been following Eurovision since I was a small boy and I one of my favorites were Herreys and Digi-loo-diggi-ley. I think that the reputation of the Finnish contest increased because of Lordi.
Suvi: Yes I agree. The Finnish winners nowadays are getting a lot of attention around Europe.

Your musical role models and any Eurovision favorites?
Marko: Not really. I’m very broad in my taste and like all kinds of styles. In Eurovision I liked Norway 2010 very much – Didrik Sollen-Tangen.
Suvi: Many. I think it will take too long time to go through them. If I mention some Finnish Eurovision artists it would be Paula Koivuniemi and Laila Kinnunen.

If you win, will you sing in Finnish?
Yes we will not change the language. The song is about Finland and the people here.

If you win what will happen then?
Marko: After the celebration I will start en intense language course in English.

Now it’s soon time for the final and Marko feels confident and appreciated his good team which will back him up on stage. We wish you all the best in the final. Marko Maunuksela is performing “Synkän maan tango”and start as number 8.

Euroviisut 2011: Milana wants to express a Mediterranean feeling in her song

I met Milana after her rehearsal and she told about her feelings being a singer and the daughter of the legendary Eurovision-artist Laila Kinnunen. 

Are you satisfied with the rehearsal?
Yes I am. Small technical problems but it will be fixed before the final. Luckily I’m used to situations where the techniques might cause troubles.

Media in Finland are very interested in you because of your mother Laila Kinnunen. How do you handle this?
My mother Laila Kinnunen was the first contestant to represent Finland in Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. She was and is a legend and this has also been a problem for me as an artist. I started my career when I was 20. I sent a song to a record label just using my name Milana because I didn’t want them to know that I was Laila Kinnunen’s daughter. But they found out and the following years were really difficult because people in Finland expected me to sing her songs. So I stopped singing for a few year, educated myself to an optician. After the studies I recorded my third album and since that I have been an artist singing pop, rock and entertainment music.

Your mother passed away 10 year ago but are people still comparing you with her?
It depends on the age of the person. Many people say that I look like her.  But people who have met my father say I look like him. My conclusion is that people see what they want to see.
Time also makes a difference and people have started to respect me for my own personality.
I also needed time accept that legacy of my mother. It took seven years after my mother’s death before I was ready to record her songs.

Did Laila ever talk to you about her participation in Eurovision?
One thing she told me was about the language. She wished that it would have been possible to sing in other languages that Finnish. Even if I sing in Finnish we have already recorded an English version.  But this is NOT because I think I will win. It’s because people from different countries have contacted me and asked what my song is about.  

Your father is a musician originating from Croatia – has it influenced your music?
Yes he has and he is a very important person in my life and he will be here during the final. He is partly living in Finland and partly in Sweden. I’m somewhere in between two cultures and in my song I want to bring the nationalities together.

What’s your relation to ESC?
There was a time when I didn’t follow it because Finland didn’t do well. It was the period when we had to sing in Finnish. The language is so difficult even if some people say that it is exotic. But exotic is not always related to positive things.

Any Eurovision favorites over the year?
I have many songs so I can’t nominate only one. I like the old songs from former Yugoslavia and I like many of the Greek songs as well.


Will there be any changes in the final compared to the semifinal?
Yes – I have a new dress because I was not satisfied with the one I had. My new one is a bit less shiny. And we want the performance to look a bit Mediterranean.

Your future plans except for Euroviisut?
My new album came out in September 2010 and I continue with my gigs around Finland. And I hope to have some holiday as well. I only had one week in June.

Any message you want to forward to our readers?
I am happy that the Eurovision interest has increased in Finland because of Lordi and I hope it will continue. And also hope the international readers keep in mind that we are living in a cold country in the north and sometimes we are not looking as glamorous as many European artists. But we are trying and improving little by little

Paljon onnea to Milana in the Euroviisut final.