KAJ has landed in Switzerland and done their first rehearsal on the new stage. The sauna is smaller – but cooler, according to the group.
The sauna looks more worn and in-bastad. And the amount of fire that is now on the stage is not to be played with. The safety briefing was thorough, says Jakob Norrgård.
KAJ reports that there was some cheering inside the arena when they managed to run through "Bara bada bastu" three times.
But I realize that it might have been the ones working in the Swedish delegation. It will be totally crazy later when there is a real audience, says Jakob Norrgård.
No Certain Victory
The Finland-Swedish trio is at the top of all betting sites – and no one is more surprised than themselves. But the question is whether Sweden can take home the victory for the second time in three years.
We have made the opposite journey compared to the one we made in Melodifestivalen. Then we were last in the betting for a long time and struck from below. Now we are in Eurovision and anything can happen, says Axel Åhman.
Jakob Norrgård and Kevin Holmström agree and point out that even if the numbers look good, it doesn't mean a certain victory.
It can absolutely sail up some "dark horse" and beat us on the fingers, says Jakob Norrgård.
Kevin Holmström doesn't think they would take a loss too hard in that case.
When you get to know the other artists who are participating, you look forward to the final. It's clear that we want to win ourselves, but you would also be happy for others. It's a damn fine gang, says he.
"Total Shock"
Already now, KAJ sees how much life has changed after the victory in Melodifestivalen. The whole summer is booked with gigs and they will have to spend more time in Sweden from now on. Something they weren't prepared for when they said yes to participating – and hardly believed during the final week.
I sent a message in the family chat, maybe on Wednesday or Thursday, where I flagged that you should prepare for us possibly winning so that it doesn't become a total shock, says Axel Åhman.
The past few weeks, the trio has been to various Eurovision events. They have been to Spain and the UK and met fans and media.
It's special to come from Finland and meet people who say "you're always the best" and you just "What are you talking about?". Yeah, yeah, I think that we are from Sweden, says Axel Åhman.
If KAJ wins, it will be the first time since Carola's "Fångad av en stormvind" in 1991 that the winning song in Eurovision is sung in Swedish. The trend in the competition is clear: it's in to sing in one's own language.
We were clear about it from the beginning, so no one has asked us to translate "Bara bada bastu" into English. We wouldn't have wanted that either, says Jakob Norrgård.
Finland is known for taking out the big guns in Eurovision, both Lordi and Käärijä have stuck out in the competition. Something that now seems to have rubbed off on Sweden.
It feels like Käärijä paved the way for us. I think people think it's exciting that Sweden is sending something completely different from the usual pop entries, says Axel Åhman.
The group consists of Axel Åhman, Jakob Norrgård, and Kevin Holmström, all born in 1993, from the Ostrobothnian towns of Palvis, Maxmo, and Komossa.
They formed Kaj in 2009 and have since released seven albums, written two musicals, and toured in Swedish Finland.
Kaj sings in Vörå dialect and the songs span genres such as pop, rap, disco, and schlager. They have a side project together, the rockabilly band Vörjeans.
