Karija, or Järre Pohonen, who represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest, is the talk of the town. And how was Pohonen before the new music contest entered the general public’s awareness?
Teachers who taught her in elementary school tell Yale that Pohonen won others over with her vivacious personality.
– At the time, I had a really vibrant boy-centered class. People like Jere will be missed. At the time, he was already mischievous in a good way and always had a twinkle in his eye, the former teacher tells Yale.
According to the teacher, the lively boy was more enthusiastic about hockey than music. The musicality was reflected in the drums on the stage. Furthermore, there were indications of a future career when Pohonen took part in several school plays.
– During the lesson, I got to hold the strings. As I tightened, Jere calmed down. At camp school and other informal activities, he lets go, jokes and pleases others, he tells Yale.
Karija made history when she finished second at Eurovision. The Finnish artist who received the most audience votes created a song that remains the best performed Finnish song in the contest’s history.
The song Cha Cha Cha has also reached the top ten in Spotify’s World Top 50 list.
Karija, who went to Eurovision with confidence, was however disappointed as he won, despite the historic performance.
We didn’t go there to see the view. We were serious. I am not fooling around in this matter and I hope that the same attitude will be broadcast in everything, for example in Finnish sports, he said at a press conference in Helsinki-Vantaa the day after the final.
– I was sure that I would win this race. In the end, the result was second and it was a huge disappointment. I would have liked to go to the market with a group. Let’s hope that next year one or the other will handle the work and bring home the profits.
