Sweden SWEDEN 2025 - KAJ - Bara bada bastu

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[Fearnavigatr]

25 years of following this contest, I had more or less forgotten what it feels like to root for your own country. I've seen Sweden send so much stuff that simply doesn't represent me, from living in the past with schlager divas to forced generic pop. Sure, there have been a handful of Swedish entries that I've liked or even loved, but none that have connected with me on a personal level the way this does, not unless you go all the way back to my ESC beginnings and Roger Pontare!

Of course a lot of it has to do with having listened to and enjoying KAJ years before, I was well aware of their talent and multifacetedness, but the entry still blew me away in MF! It's such a complete package of a slick show, a melody with a great hook, warming light-heartedness and a good showcase of what KAJ and Fennoswedish culture is all about, a revue condensed into three minutes! I've dreamed for a long time that Sweden would try a new direction, something that agrees more with my tastes, but I never thought it would be this good!

I don't dare getting my hopes up too much for tonight, but regardless of what happens I'm so proud of KAJ for what they've accomplished, grateful to Finland for the loan of their most precious gems, and so happy I got to experience being represented by them! Also worth mentioning, I lost my grandmother the day after the MF final, and this song and everything surrounding it has helped me get through the past few months still allowing myself to feel joy alongside the grief. Thank you KAJ for everything and all my love and support to you tonight!

 

[Judas]

Honestly, I am not surprised. I was one of the happiest people when KAJ won (and I am still glad that they made it to the stage) but the song got stale and lost its magic charm that it had initially. It didn't stand out too much especially in such year. I think it got a really decent place at the end.

 

[Preuss]

Got somewhere where I thought it would… never truly got the winning hype about it

 

[Rocket man]

Should have been a lower result. But still, this was over-hyped.

 

[Geborgenheit]

I am surprised it flopped. So favored by the Eurovision producers...

 

[GermanBango]

Well maybe Sweden should stick to sending decent pop songs with an articulate performance?

 

[ESC94]

I enjoyed their performance but never got that winning vibe to be honest.

Anyway: Congratulations to another good placement , wouldn´t mind them sending another song in Swedish next year.

 

[nudiecrudi]

Honestly I thought Sweden was going to win, not because I like the song but because of all the hype created around it.

 

[allenakaalan]

Turns out Bara Bada Bastu is this year's Occidentali's Karma...

 

[freerider]

25 years of following this contest, I had more or less forgotten what it feels like to root for your own country. I've seen Sweden send so much stuff that simply doesn't represent me, from living in the past with schlager divas to forced generic pop. Sure, there have been a handful of Swedish entries that I've liked or even loved, but none that have connected with me on a personal level the way this does, not unless you go all the way back to my ESC beginnings and Roger Pontare!

Of course a lot of it has to do with having listened to and enjoying KAJ years before, I was well aware of their talent and multifacetedness, but the entry still blew me away in MF! It's such a complete package of a slick show, a melody with a great hook, warming light-heartedness and a good showcase of what KAJ and Fennoswedish culture is all about, a revue condensed into three minutes! I've dreamed for a long time that Sweden would try a new direction, something that agrees more with my tastes, but I never thought it would be this good!

I don't dare getting my hopes up too much for tonight, but regardless of what happens I'm so proud of KAJ for what they've accomplished, grateful to Finland for the loan of their most precious gems, and so happy I got to experience being represented by them! Also worth mentioning, I lost my grandmother the day after the MF final, and this song and everything surrounding it has helped me get through the past few months still allowing myself to feel joy alongside the grief. Thank you KAJ for everything and all my love and support to you tonight!

The best songs are often those we never sent who didnt win Melodifestivalen.

 

[Fearnavigatr]

Very proud of the Vörå boys for their flawless performance and a great result!

To be honest it really sucked that the odds and the ensuing narrative was a thing, since it inevitably triggered a begrudging attitude from noticeable parts of the fandom and taking away some of that pure joy of having a fun entry that breaks the Swedish pattern.

I see people trying to spin this as a flop using the same measurement, which is very far from my personal sentiment, and I have yet to see another KAJ fan who thinks this is anything but an excellent position and pretty much in line with what we hoped for back when they won MF. With a better result than several entries that Swedish media was overconfident in in the past but I personally didn't care for, such as Lena Ph, Carola '06 and John Lundvik, there's simply no way I can be disappointed!

Not to mention that this was probably the best outcome for KAJ's career. They've already worked very hard these past months, and I would hate to see them potentially lose their identity and love for their craft from the additional pressure, expectations and scheduling conflicts that would come with winning ESC. They can continue doing what they've done so expertly for 16 years, but with a newfound international audience and fanbase!

 

[4815162342]

Damn.. I was really wrong with this one. I just went through ~15 countries juries voting and found quite a good amount of juries putting this dead last. And then sometimes same juror would put Estonia on #3. Wild results this year.

 

[hijirio]

I still think that had any other country sent this entry ,it wouldn’t have made the top 10 with the juries.

It basically got the usual Sweden treatment for an entry that really didn’t have much jury appeal.

 

[blajblaj]

I still think that had any other country sent this entry ,it wouldn’t have made the top 10 with the juries.

It basically got the usual Sweden treatment for an entry that really didn’t have much jury appeal.

I think the exact opposite. If KAJ had represented Finland, which is the only other country that could send a song in Swedish about sauna culture without it being weird, my guess is it would've gotten more televotes and overall done even better.

With that said, people take the competition part of this show too seriously. I don't care that much if my personal favourites do well or not. I can still go back and rewatch them as many times as I like.

 

[Vittra]

4th place is flopping? What planet do you all live on?

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

It came 3rd in televote which doesn't seem a 'flop' (although I realise it was tipped to win the televote). I don't have the jury ranking to hand here but I remember thinking it was respectable

 

[Sammy]

Thank you Sweden for an enjoyable, great entry! Best one since Cornelia. Great result even if I think they should have beaten Estonia.

 

[sigi]

Kajtastrof

 

[Rocket man]

Damn.. I was really wrong with this one. I just went through ~15 countries juries voting and found quite a good amount of juries putting this dead last. And then sometimes same juror would put Estonia on #3. Wild results this year.

I think this shows that the juries are not susceptible to an entries hype. A bookies favourite and many jury members will still consider this the worst song in the final.

 

[SirPeterGriffin]

It's weird how this finished +60p behind the fake italian impersonator of Estonia giving the RO and the number of streams. Still very stable in a year too spread out. And overall, one of their best results outside of the victories so i don't wanna hear any excuses for not sending a song in swedish again.