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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
The Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Remember Monday's Eurovision result ‘revealed' just hours before live final – and it's not looking good
BRITISH girl group Remember Monday will be taking to the stage tonight in Basel in a bid to win the Eurovision song contest. But the band, who are singing What The Hell Just Happened?, have been dealt a crushing blow with just hours to go before they perform. 3 3 The bookies now make them 66/1 to cause an upset tonight, meaning they're more likely to finish in last place (3/1) than first, while 12/1 says they score 'nul points'. Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: " Remember Monday need nothing short of a miracle to cause an upset in Switzerland tonight, if the latest odds are anything to go by." Inspired by their friendship after they met at school in Hampshire, Remember Monday will be the eighth performance this evening. They will be up against the noted contenders Sweden, who are represented by Swedish-speaking Finnish trio Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, a comedic song about Nordic sauna culture, and who will break Eurovision records if they win. Ireland, whose 2025 representative Emmy Kristiansen failed to get through in Thursday's semi-final, and Sweden are currently on seven wins each after Swedish singer Loreen's victory in Liverpool in 2023. Other favourites this year are Austria 's JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with the emotional song Wasted Love, and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, who will see her country join Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom on five wins if she lifts the trophy with the ballad New Day Will Rise. Also in the mix are Finnish leather-wearing Erika Vikman with the innuendo-laden German language song Ich Komme, France 's Louane with the soulful Maman, and Dutch singer Claude Kiambe's touching C'est La Vie. There has also been buzz around host country Switzerland 's Zoe Me with Voyage, Estonia's Tommy Cash with Italian parody Espresso Macchiato, and Malta's Miriana Conte, who changed her song's title, Kant, due to a complaint about its similarity to an English language swearword, to Serving. The winner will be determined by a combination of points from national juries and viewer votes in the participating 26 countries, along with a separate rest of the world poll. The UK's national jury votes are set to be announced by singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, after Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa pulled out of being the British Eurovision spokesperson due to "unforeseen circumstances". The grand final will also see previous Eurovision runners-up Croatia 's Baby Lasagna and Finland 's Kaarija perform, as well as 2024 champion and Swiss singer Nemo with their new song Unexplainable. There has also been speculation that Canadian singer Celine Dion, who won for the Swiss in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, could take to the St Jakobshalle stage, amid her stepping back from touring due to health issues. Eurovision legend Graham Norton reveals secret surgery for 'crippling' condition ahead of song contest final 3
