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Bara bada bastu

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"Bara bada bastu"
Single by KAJ
LanguageSwedish, Finnish
Released21 February 2025 (2025-02-21)
GenreEpadunk
Length2:46
LabelWarner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Anderz Wrethov
  • Kristoffer Strandberg
KAJ singles chronology
"Dansgolv"
(2024) 		"Bara bada bastu"
(2025)
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Entry chronology
◄ "Unforgettable" (2024)

"Bara bada bastu" (transl. "Let's just sauna"[1]) is a song by Swedish-speaking Finnish comedy group KAJ, released as a single on 21 February 2025 through Warner Music Sweden.[2] An epadunk[3][4] song that pays homage to Finnish sauna culture with lyrics in the Vörå dialect of Finland Swedish,[3][5][4] it is set to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 after winning Melodifestivalen 2025.[6]

It will be the first song to be sung entirely in Swedish to represent the country since 1998 ("Kärleken är" performed by Jill Johnson).[7] It will also be Sweden's first Swedish-language entry in an edition without a language restriction since 1963. The last time a Eurovision Song Contest entry was performed in Swedish was in 2012 with Finland-Swedish Pernilla Karlsson's "När jag blundar", competing for Finland.[8] It reached number one on the Swedish Singles Chart and Finnish Singles Chart.

Background and composition

[edit]

In preparation for the 2025 competition, Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson [sv] contacted KAJ in 2024 to see if they would participate; at the time, the trio had just released an album, which meant they had to write a new song to compete.[9][10] "Bara bada bastu" was written by KAJ members Kevin Holmström [sv], Axel Åhman [sv] and Jakob Norrgård [sv], alongside Anderz Wrethov, Kristoffer Strandberg [sv] and Robert Skowronski [sv].[11] Members of the songwriting team worked on the song remotely and all met in-person for the first time at Melodifestivalen.[12] According to competition rules, at least one of the songwriters must be Swedish, so KAJ decided to work with Wrethov since they were fans of "Guld och gröna skogar".[10] Norrgård, who provides lead vocals, said the group wanted to write a song showcasing Finnish culture and that they were inspired by the "weirdness aura" of previous Finnish Eurovision entries, referring to Käärijä and Windows95man.[10]

KAJ performing "Bara bada bastu".

The lyrics of "Bara bada bastu" are in the Vörå dialect, an Ostrobothnian variety of Finland Swedish, and also contains a few words in Finnish, including the expletive perkele.[13][14] KAJ sent an "exaggerated" version of the song to Wrethov so that he could adapt it for a Swedish audience.[15] The song mentions Finnish singer Arja Saijonmaa, who reacted positively to being included.[16][17] KAJ expressed a desire for Saijonmaa to be featured in their performance for the Melodifestivalen final, and she ultimately appeared in a pre-recorded segment alongside competition hosts Edvin Törnblom and Keyyo.[3][17] Skowronski and Strandberg revealed that an early demo of "Bara bada bastu" contained a line about "dropping the soap", which was ultimately cut.[18]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Bara bada bastu"
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Finnish band KAJ advances to final of Sweden's Eurovision qualifier". Yle. 23 February 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  2. ^ "KAJ går till final i Mello: "Helt magiskt"". Svenska Yle. 22 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Jägerhorn, Jenny; Henriksson, Atte (26 February 2025). "Vi badar bastu och dansar med KAJ: "Aldrig vågat drömma om det här"" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b Broborn, Sandra (26 November 2024). "Experter om KAJ:s Mellomedverkan: Vörådialekt deras främsta vapen". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  5. ^ Mallén, Ingrid; Anttila, Sandra (25 February 2025). "KAJ toppar Spotifylistan också i Finland" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  6. ^ "KAJ has won 'Melodifestivalen' and will represent Sweden in Basel". Eurovision Song Contest. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  7. ^ Rätzer, Sarah (8 March 2025). "Skrällen: Kaj vinner Melodifestivalen 2025". Expressen. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  8. ^ "När jag blundar – Pernilla Karlsson laulaa äidistään veljensä sanoin ja sävelin". Yle Luovat sisällöt ja media (in Finnish). 16 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  9. ^ Häggman Grindgärds, Fredrik (26 November 2024). "KAJ klara för Melodifestivalen – "De satte oss i dödens grupp"". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Larsson, Ronny (22 February 2025). "Mello 2025: Favoriterna KAJ tar finsk bastu-weirdness till Melodifestivalen". QX (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Melodifestivalen 2025 final – startordning och artister". Expressen (in Swedish). 7 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  12. ^ Wikström, Håkan (7 March 2025). "Kristofers bidrag utmanar om Mellosegern: "Tänker bara njuta"" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  13. ^ Swanljung, Magnus (26 November 2024). "Nu är det klart! KAJ tävlar i svenska Melodifestivalen – på dialekt". Yle. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  14. ^ Slobodnik, Maja; Saari, Ellinor (22 February 2025). "Därför tävlar finska KAJ i svenska Melodifestivalen". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  15. ^ Broborn, Sandra (18 February 2025). "Svenska låtskrivaren Anderz Wrethov om KAJ: "De kommer sticka ut mest av alla"". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  16. ^ Beijar, Alexander (7 March 2025). "KAJ sprider bastufeber i Sverige – men hur ser svenskarna på oss i Finland?" (in Swedish). Yle. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  17. ^ a b Slobodnik, Maja; Bratell, Johan (8 March 2025). "Bluffen med Arja i Melodifestivalen – så luras tittarna". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  18. ^ Ek, Torbjörn (6 March 2025). "Textraden som ströks: KAJ ville inte tappa tvålen i bastun". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  19. ^ "KAJ: Bara bada bastu" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  20. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 9, 2025". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
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