Latest news with #Kaj
Winnipeg Free Press
04-06-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘He's just getting going'
Two provincial teams, a Zone 4 AA championship and, most recently, an invitation to the Canadian U16 Men's National Team training camp roster — Kaj Willms is building quite the resumé just a year and a half into his basketball career. The 15-year-old out of Rossendale — a small community nestled southeast of Portage la Prairie — stands taller than all of his teammates at Westpark School at 6-11 and is also standing out in the national team program. Willms took up basketball after Grade 8, encouraged by his uncle and Westpark Royals head coach Dave Britton, which eventually led him to try out at the National Team ID camp hosted by Canada Basketball in September. SUPPLIED Rossendale's Kaj Willms already has two provincial teams, a Zone 4 AA championship and a National Team training camp invitation on his resumé. From there, Willms was invited, along with 32 other hopeful hoopsters, to the U16 Men's High Performance National Team Assessment Camp over Easter weekend in Toronto. It was at that camp where Willms was told that he was selected to attend the U16 National Team's training camp at the end of May. 'It was pretty crazy to me that, me being from where I'm from, from my little school, that I would make it all the way to be selected to this camp,' said Willms. 'That was just shocking to me.' Willms was the lone Manitoban at the camp, who tried out with 15 other athletes to represent Canada in the FIBA U16 Men's AmeriCup 2025, going June 2-8 in Juárez, Mexico. Although Willms did not make the final 12-player roster, he says the experience was good for his development. 'It was great to match up against some of the best guys in the country, well, the best guys in the country,' Willms said. 'I could see myself improving every practice and so could the coaches, and they made sure to let me know that I was doing very well and that I was improving a lot.' Willms is now back at home and will continue training with the U17 provincial team as a roster player, coached by Dan Becker. 'He has been instrumental in Kaj's development,' said Corey Willms, Kaj's father. 'He saw him at the junior academy a year and a half ago, and then invited to play on his club team in Winnipeg. That was a great experience for Kaj.' Becker supported Kaj as he tried out for his first provincial team last year with the U15s and says the young player is developing at a fast rate. 'He was tall,' said Becker, recalling his first impression of the Rossendale native. 'He was very tall for his age. He moved quite well for his age, he had good hands, and he listened well and was competitive.' SUPPLIED Rossendale's Kaj Willms has only being playing basketball for a year and a half. In addition to making provincial teams and attending national camps, Willms also helped his Westpark Royals varsity basketball team win the Zone 4 AA championship in February, defeating the Roseau Valley Raiders 82-70. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'He's hit a lot of milestones,' said Becker. 'His strengths are aggressiveness, rebounding the ball and finishing near the rim. He actually has a nice shooting touch, too.' Willms says he wants to keep working on his offensive game and hopes to one day play NCAA Division I basketball in the U.S. 'He's got to build the confidence and experience just for the game to come naturally, the shooting in the games,' said Becker. 'But he has that ability so I expect to see that come into play in the next year or so.' 'He's just getting going.'
Local Sweden
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Sweden
What does Sweden's bizarre Eurovision hit have in common with India?
Finland-Swedish comedy trio Kaj in the end finished fourth in the Eurovision Song Contest, but not before their sauna-themed song Bara Bada Bastu had become a viral hit all over Europe. Did you know it has an unusual Indian connection? Advertisement In the end, Austrian JJ's opera-techno fusion took the top spot, despite Bara Bada Bastu the clear bookmakers' favourite to win the contest on Sunday. Indian readers who watched Eurovision this year may have noticed that the accordion loop at the start of the entry sounded remarkably like the chorus to Indian DJ Devinder Sunny's Enough is Enough. "Both songs are in roughly the same tempo and tone, and they're very similar," Jan-Olof Gullö, professor in music and media production at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, told TV4 news. The similar sound isn't due to plagiarism. Rather Kristofer Strandberg, one of the songwriters behind Kaj's sauna hit, said they had legally downloaded the loop ‒ originally a saxophone loop ‒ from audio library Splice, a subscription service which allows users to download millions of sound files royalty-free. According to Splice, the package which included the loop used in Bara Bada Bastu is one of the website's most downloaded packages. The band then got an accordion player to record the loop, which Eurovision officials confirmed was perfectly allowed. The loop was originally created by Niles Hollowell-Dhar, or KSHMR, a US-born DJ whose father emigrated from India. His name is a reference to Jammu and Kashmir, the area his father's family comes from. Advertisement SVT contacted KSHMR to ask him about the loop. "I just make a little piece of magic, and I let the world do what it wants with it," he said. "When people are critical, 'oh, you're just using loops' ‒ but it's really what you do with it. You see there are a couple other songs who have used the same sound and they didn't get nearly as big as this one." He told SVT that the song was "very Swedish", laughing when they told him what it was about. "OK, it's about going to the sauna? That's what I was thinking when I made the melody," he joked. There are at least two more songs using the same loop as KAJ and Devinder Sunny ‒ Zapłakane Matki by Polish rapper Yung Adisz and Straume by Latvian pop duo MUSIQQ.
New York Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Eurovision 2025 Live Updates: With Odes to Saunas and Coffee, Contest Tries to Focus on Fun
Pinned Reporting from from the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel To its millions of devoted fans, the Eurovision Song Contest is a cultural juggernaut, an exciting competition in which singers and rappers represent their countries and perform for votes. To more casual observers, it's simply a fun, campy — and often bewildering — night of TV, with extravagant songs and outrageous outfits. The bookmakers' favorite to win this year's final in Basel, Switzerland, is Kaj, representing Sweden with 'Bara Bada Bastu,' an ode to the sauna. Other must-watch acts include Louane, of France, with 'Maman,' a ballad during which the singer is showered in more than 500 pounds of shredded cork; and Tommy Cash, representing Estonia with 'Espresso Macchiato,' a song about Italy's love of coffee, sung in a cheesy Italian accent. All Eurovision viewers, no matter where they live, can vote to choose the winner, and you can read our guide on how to watch (in the U.S., via Peacock.) Stay on this page for all the news from the contest as it happens. I'll be reporting from the arena, and we have fashion and music experts standing by to explain what on Earth is going on. Often, at Eurovision, the madcap performances need a little explanation! Show more
New York Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Eurovision 2025 Live Updates: With Odes to Saunas and Coffee, Contest Tries to Focus on Fun, Not Politics
Pinned Updated May 17, 2025, 3:03 p.m. ET Reporting from from the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel To its millions of devoted fans, the Eurovision Song Contest is a cultural juggernaut, an exciting competition in which singers and rappers represent their countries and perform for votes. To more casual observers, it's simply a fun, campy — and often bewildering — night of TV, with extravagant songs and outrageous outfits. The bookmakers' favorite to win this year's final in Basel, Switzerland, is Kaj, representing Sweden with 'Bara Bada Bastu,' an ode to the sauna. Other must-watch acts include Louane, of France, with 'Maman,' a ballad during which the singer is showered in more than 500 pounds of shredded cork; and Tommy Cash, representing Estonia with 'Espresso Macchiato,' a song about Italy's love of coffee, sung in a cheesy Italian accent. All Eurovision viewers, no matter where they live, can vote to choose the winner, and you can read our guide on how to watch (in the U.S., via Peacock.) Stay on this page for all the news from the contest as it happens. I'll be reporting from the arena, and we have fashion and music experts standing by to explain what on Earth is going on. Often, at Eurovision, the madcap performances need a little explanation! Show more
New York Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Eurovision 2025 Live Updates: What to Expect
Pinned Updated May 17, 2025, 12:40 p.m. ET This year's Eurovision Song Contest final is aiming be all about fun and spectacle. After last year's event was overshadowed by protests over Israel's participation, Eurovision's organizer wants a return to normality this year. And Saturday's event in Basel, Switzerland, will include dozens of sublime, ridiculous and catchy songs, just like any edition of the contest. The bookmakers' favorite is Kaj, representing Sweden with 'Bara Bada Bastu,' an ode to the sauna. Other must-watch acts include Louane, of France, with 'Maman,' a ballad during which the singer is showered in more than 500 pounds of shredded cork; and Tommy Cash, representing Estonia with 'Espresso Macchiato,' a song about Italy's love of coffee, sung in a cheesy Italian accent. The final is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. in Basel (3 p.m. Eastern). Here's our guide on how to watch, wherever you live. To help prepare for the spectacle, you can also read our rundown of this year's must-see acts, and our deep dive into the organization that runs the show and has tried to keep politics offstage this year. Stay on this page for all the news from the contest as it happens. I'll be reporting from the arena, and we have fashion and music experts standing by to explain what on Earth is going on. Often, at Eurovision, the madcap performances need a little explanation! Show more
