News - Kuunkuiskaajat give an interview for Esctoday.com | Eurovision Song Contest News - Azerbaijan 2012 

Kuunkuiskaajat duo, Johanna and Susan will sing for Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo in May. Finland will perform in the first part of the first semi-final on 25 May and hoping to be amongst the ten countries that will qualify for the final. The girls have found time in their busy schedule to answer some questions especially for the readers of Esctoday.com. We hear about the song, their plans for Oslo and how happy they are to bring something genuinely Finnish to the contest.

Esctoday.com: Congratulations for winning the Finnish national final! It was a very exciting voting, have you already recovered from the shock?

Kuunkuiskaajat: Thank you! It is finally starting to sink in that we are on our way to Oslo to represent Finland. Also we are very glad that we can take something truly Finnish, and in the Finnish language to the Eurovision Song Contest.

You were campaining for voters before the Finnish final for example on Facebook. Did you however believe that you could actually win on the night?

Honestly we could not believe we would win, even if we did always believe strongly in our music. But despite Johanna having premonitions in dreams about winning, it really was a big surprise!

Most people seemed to expect the band Eläkeläiset to win in Finland. After your victory they said gracefully that a "humppa" won anyway, so they did not sound too disappointed. What is your relationship to the band?

Susan: We had a really good time with Eläkeläiset band members the whole time. They are really fun and relaxed guys and I even borrowed their accordion in one of the heat rehearsals, while my own was still en route from Helsinki.

How would you describe your song Työlki ellää and what it is about?

The song is about expressing emotions through music, and how important it is whether the feelings are good or bad. In the lyrics we talk about singing while happy, sad or in love. It also tells about the lives of a musician – about how you could make a living by working in something else or get rich by selling things, but the desire to make music always wins.

Is this very typical music in Finland and is it connected to the traditions of a certain region of the country?

Our song has a strong hint of a traditional Finnish “rekilaulu” (A form of rhyming folk song that became popular in the 17th century) and also the lyrics are quite nostalgic. Even if the song also has a Slavic flavour to it, it definitely follows Finnish folksong traditions too.

The song is part in dialect, but will it remain in Finnish even in Oslo?

We are definitely going to keep the language in Finnish all the way! We have even had many reactions from international fans hoping that we would not change the language of the song, as Finnish sounds so exotic and good!

How will you try to get your message through to the European viewers who don’t understand Finnish?

We think our bright and positive energy on the stage will be enough!

Some foreign commentators have said that your song sounds like a Finnish Eurovision entry from years gone by. Did you have something like that on your mind while making the song?

Like we said before, our song has a lovely nostalgic feel to it while being also modern and fresh.

Do you maybe have a favourite amongst past Finnish Eurovision entries?

We can’t name any song in particular, but there have some good and some bad performances.

How do you plan to use the time now before May? Are you maybe planning to do promotional visits to countries that are in the same semi-final as Finland to secure some votes from those countries?

We have already been very busy giving interviews to the press and television. We have also already recorded video greetings to five participating countries. It has been quite manic and we expect it to go on until Oslo in May.

What are your feelings ahead the contest? Are you going for victory like Lordi or do you feel taking part is more important?

We will be there to have fun and give our best. We don’t have the competition on our minds, but rather we want to do our best and enjoy the experience to the full.

Are you apprehensive about the big stage at the Eurovision Song Contest, when there will be up to 10 000 people in the hall and another 125 million viewers at home?

We are already used to big stages from touring with Värttinä, so this is not worrying us at all.

Lastly, what are your greetings to the readers of Esctoday.com around Europe and the world?

We wish everybody joy and a positive mind in anticipation of the spring!

Esctoday.com thanks Kuunkuiskaajat for this interview and we wish all the best in Oslo in May!

Watch the preview video of Työlki ellää below: