Finland's Eurovision 2023 entry: who is Käärijä - and Cha Cha Cha song lyrics in English

Käärijä is bidding to become Finland's first Eurovision winner since 2016

By Matthew Mohan-Hickson

12th May 2023, 6:26pm

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Finland's Käärijä is one of the favourites to lift the glass microphone at the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend.

The rapper will be representing the country at the final in Liverpool with his track Cha Cha Cha after qualifying from the semi-finals earlier in the week. He has emerged from the first performance as one the acts expected to be challenging at the right end of the table come on Saturday (13 May).

His eye-catching outfit certainly made him one of the breakout stars of the Eurovision week so far. He has been installed as one of the favourites by the bookies alongside Sweden's Loreen and Ukraine's Tvorchi.

Käärijä is bidding to become Finland's first winner since Lordi took home the prize in 2006. But who exactly is he - and what are the lyrics of Cha Cha Cha in English?

Who is Käärijä?

Finland's Käärijä is a fan favourite this year. (Credit: Getty Images)

Finland's Käärijä is a fan favourite this year. (Credit: Getty Images)

Finland's entry for the 2023 Eurovision song contest is Käärijä. The singer wowed audiences during the semi-final and qualified for the grand finale on Saturday (13 May) in Liverpool.

His real name is Jere Pöyhönen but he performs under the stage name Käärijä. The name is derrived from the Finnish word kääriä, which means "to wrap", and is play on the similarity between the word "wrapper" and "rapper" - aka a musician who raps.

Born in Helsinki in October 1993, Finland's entry for Eurovision 2023 began his music career in 2014 and initially released his music independently. He was signed by a label in 2017 and released his debut album in 2020.

His music draws from electronic and Finnish hip hop genres. He will be performing Cha Cha Cha at the Eurovision Song Contest final.

How was Käärijä selected?

Finland uses the music competition Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu to select its Eurovision entry. It was the 12th edition of the show this year and seven acts competed for the Eurovision place.

In the final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu the winner was selected based on a public vote, which counted for 75% of the points, and seven international jury groups including the UK as well as Ukraine. Käärijä received the most points from the juries as well as over 50% of the public vote.

Käärijä was recently featured in the video game Fortnite. Finnish software company Zoan created a virtual rendering of Helsinki which players could visit and watch the artist perform his Eurovision track Cha Cha Cha.

What are the lyrics for Cha Cha Cha?

Käärijä is one of the acts who will be performing in their native tongue during the Eurovision grand final. Many of the acts will be performing in English during the night, but Finland's entry is not one of them.

The song Cha Cha Cha is in Finnish but the lyrics translate as the following in English - according to Google, which may not be 100 per cent accurate.

Cha Cha Cha lyrics in English

A tough week and a lot of long days aheadRankka viikko ja paljon pitkii päiviä takanPiña colada and rata are interestingMielenkiintona piña colada ja rataThe evening is still young and time to undoIlta on vielä nuori ja aikaa kumotaIt's time to destroy this icy outer shellTää jäinen ulkokuori on aika tuhotaI hold the drink with both hands like thatPidän kaksin käsin kiinni juomista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiI don't think about tomorrow when I grab a pint like thatEn mieti huomista ku tartun tuopista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiI want to be messy and free from worries like thatHaluun olla sekasin ja vapaa huolista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiAnd I will continue until I can no longer stay in the chair like thatJa mä jatkan kunnes en enää pysy tuolissa niinkuA few piña coladas are already behindMuutama piña colada on jo takanaStill I still have a serious face plate (yeah, yeah, ye-ye-yeah)Silti mul on vielä naamataulu vakava (yeah, yeah, ye-ye-yeah)The evening is still young and time to undoIlta on vielä nuori ja aikaa kumotaIt's time to destroy this icy outer shellTää jäinen ulkokuori on aika tuhotaParquet calls me when I'm no longer locked upParketti kutsuu mua ku en oo enää lukossaLike Cha Cha Cha I'm comingNiinku cha cha cha mä oon tulossaI hold the drink with both hands like thatPidän kaksin käsin kiinni juomista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiI don't think about tomorrow when I grab a pint like thatEn mieti huomista ku tartun tuopista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiI want to be messy and free from worries like thatHaluun olla sekasin ja vapaa huolista niinkuCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, noCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, eiAnd I'll continue until I can't stay in the chair like that anymoreJa mä jatkan kunnes en enää pysy tuolissa niinku vouNow I'm going to danceNyt lähden tanssimaanLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaAnd I'm not afraid of this worldEnkä pelkääkään tätä maailmaaLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaWhen I pour champagne on myselfKun mä kaadan päälleni samppanjaaCha, cha, cha, one eye is already squintingCha, cha, cha, toinen silmä jo karsastaaAnd the talk gets bogged down as this other side gets the upper handJa puhe sammaltaa ku tää toinen puoli must vallan saaCha, cha, cha, I'm not even a lazy manCha, cha, cha, en oo arkena tää mies laisinkaanI'm not, but today I'm that man, today I'm that manEn oo mut tänään oon se mies, tänään oon se miesNow I'm going to danceNyt lähden tanssimaanLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaAnd I'm not afraid of this worldEnkä pelkääkään tätä maailmaaLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaWhen I pour champagne on myselfKun mä kaadan päälleni samppanjaaLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, ahaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, ahaaLike Cha Cha ChaNiinku cha cha chaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, ChaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, chaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, ChaCha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha, cha

Could Finland win Eurovision?

The country's entrance in 2023 is one of the acts the most eye-catching and memorable coming out of the semi-finals. Käärijä's striking outfit involving a luminous green top covering only his arms and leather trousers - making him very hard to miss!

He has a good chance to challenge for the Eurovision crown on Saturday night, according to the bookies. He is the second favourite behind Sweden's Loreen going into the final.

Käärijä is aiming to become Finland's first winner of the song contest since Lordi's theatrical Hard Rock Hallelujah won in 2006. The country have finished last 11 times and received nul points in 1963, 1965 and 1982.

Since Lordi's win in 2006, Finland's best performance at Eurovision came in 2021 when Blind Channel came in sixth with Dark Side. But The Rasmus, who represented the country in Turin last year, fared much worse and came in 21st place.

Eurovision Finland 2023 Liverpool

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