Carizza collected, among other things, more audience votes than the Italian band Manskin, arriving on the world map as a talent.
14.5. 12:36
so close yet so far.
Finland’s Eurovision representative Karija managed to collect the third largest audience vote ever, but still finished second in the song contest, which was won by Sweden’s Loreen.
According to expert Tuomas Lasinharju, yesterday’s Eurovision final was historic in more ways than one. The 376 points collected by Caria from the audience were previously only surpassed only by Alexander Rybak of Norway in 2009 and the Kalash Orchestra of Ukraine last year. For example, in 2021, Italy’s Menasquin, who dominated Visa, was left behind.
At the same time, Karija achieved Finland’s second best song ranking and best Finnish-language song ranking. According to Lasinharju, it has never been seen that the spectators there shout the name of their favorite in the middle of the vote like yesterday, when Karija shouted in Liverpool.
It’s an incredibly unique performance for a Finnish-language song, says Lasinharju.
– The rapper made an extraordinary impression on the Eurovision audience both on site and in front of the TV.
Read more: This is where the five-point win fell – the huge difference in the scores of the judges and the public
The rapper went wild for Weiss’ fans both at home and on site. Photo: Vesa Moilainen / Lehtikuva
But they vote the jury. Finland received 150 points from the international judges, while Lorraine, who won, was the clear favorite of the judges, collecting 340 points for herself with the jury votes. The margin had time to increase to 190 points before the public vote.
– This is where almost the worst horror of what can happen with the participation of the jury is realized. Eurovision fans have become aware that sometimes a situation may arise where a municipality is so superior in the vote that it is not necessary to change the result with those audience scores.
Lasinharju stressed that the controversy would not be limited to this weekend, but that the entire Eurovision community would be grappling with the consequences for a long time. The current voting system will certainly come under serious scrutiny.
– I do not think that if everyone sees in the live broadcast that the public’s favorite does not win, even if it receives an absolutely insane avalanche of votes, it does the Eurovision Institute little good.
In Lasila’s opinion, the celebration of Sweden’s victory was somewhat dampened by the result of the spectators.
– I’m no expert, but I think the sign language of Sweden at the time of victory was quite calm.
READ MORE: Lorraine comments on Karizza’s huge popularity – explains how it felt to be out of control with Karizza
This is Sweden’s Lorin’s second win. Apart from him, Irishman Johnny Logan has won fives twice. Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP
Jury voting behavior is talked about about every five years, but with yesterday’s result, the jury’s role has virtually been put on the backburner. Lasinharju believes that there will be serious discussions about removing the jury and returning to pure public voting.
Knowledge experts themselves do not feel that reducing the weight of jury votes would be the right solution, as it would make the system even more ambiguous. The jury was dropped from the semi-finals this year, which may signal a change.
– This may be a logical continuation of the fact that the rails will be completely removed. I can’t predict whether this will happen or not, but it will certainly be hotly discussed at the Eurovision meetings.
Eurovision was decided by public vote from the late 1990s until 2009, when the jury was brought back into the contest to share the voting responsibility. Mere public votes were considered problematic, among other things, because votes often went either to a neighboring country or to a country from which many immigrants had moved to the voting country.
According to Lasinharju, Eurovision in 2009 was in a different situation than it is now. For example, in the context of the music industry, the contest was not considered an important institution. Today, the situation is very different, as Eurovision songs rank among the most listened to on streaming services year after year.
– Times have changed and perhaps the reasons for which raids were restored can no longer be maintained in their current state.
Shoes for the jury? The jury was not as enthralled by Karija’s performance as the audience. Photo: Vesa Moilainen / Lehtikuva
However, there is also a positive side to the current system. Sometimes the town hall vote is able to keep performances that were not among the pre-favourites at the top of the competition.
– But last night’s result, that the overwhelming majority of the public vote did not win, is such a big deal that the council’s assessment of this role will surely heat up.
Lesinharju believes tomorrow’s final will be etched in Finns’ minds like Juha Meadow’s skiing in Lake Placid in 1980, when Meitow was one-hundredth from the gold medal. Nevertheless, Sweden stood on the highest ball.
– I am sure it will be remembered by the nation. Finland was close to winning the Eurovision Song Contest, but then silly councils turned the tide in Sweden’s favor.
