A Swede who lives in Finland and who is lost in Euroland - the wonderful world of Eurovision
There is always some matter to discuss or just a song I want to share
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Saturday, October 29, 2011

ESC reject: Finland 1991

The first Finnish final I ever saw was Euroviisut 1991 - a relative in Stockholm recieved Finnish television on cable, so she recorded it on a VHS videotape and sent it to me in an large envelope. (Oh gosh, this really was back in the day, wasn't it?)

Out of the ten finalists, my instant favourite was Arja Koriseva's "Enkelin silmin". Very direct, very catchy, maybe a tiny bit old-fashioned, delivered in a very cheerful manner by a likeable singer, written by the same successful team that wrote "La dolce vita" in 1989.

The expert jury left "Enkelin silmin" only in fifth place, and opted for Kaija Kärkinen's "Hullu yö" instead.



Kaija Kärkinen - Hullu yö (Finland 1991)

These days, Kaija is a personal favourite of mine as well as another of the songs I can't believe the juries didn't vote for. In Rome, it recieved a grand total of six points and a 20th place.

"Enkelin silmin" became a big hit in Finland and is still seen as an evergreen and is one of Arja's most well-known and loved songs.

I can't help wondering how it would have scored in Rome, also given it would have granted some bouncy sing-along clap-along qualities in a line-up full of ballads.



Arja Koriseva - Enkelin silmin (Finland 1991 national final)

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