Käärijä wearing KOI
Three weeks before the now infamous Eurovision 2023 final that would leave fans around Europe feeling cheated and defeated, I admittedly hadn’t ever given The Eurovision Song Contest much of a second thought.
Riding in an Uber through Central London in late April 2023, I noticed a grand and magnificent Art Deco cinema with posters plastered in every window, reading “WATCH THE EUROVISION 2023 FINAL HERE”. Naturally, I got my phone out and did a quick Google search, only to discover that the final wasn’t taking place for an entire THREE WEEKS from that moment. That’s when the penny dropped, and it were as if a cartoon-style lightbulb had just materialised over my head – I thought “wow, this song contest is a big deal, huh?”.
From that moment onwards, I was quite frankly obsessed and knew that I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to witness the competition unfolding. I caught wind of whispers across the internet, most notably rumours of Finland being favoured to win.
If you live outside of Europe, aren’t a fan of the contest or simply live under a rock, let me give you the 411.
CHA, CHA, CHA, CHA, CHA, CHA, CHA – EI!
This year’s Eurovision took social media by storm thanks to Käärijä, Finland’s entrant whose hip-hop/ rap anthem ‘Cha Cha Cha’ and gleaming radiation-green attire had the entirety of Europe in a chokehold. Even if you’ve never dabbled in Eurovision, I would bet money that you’ve somehow feasted your eyes upon Käärijä’s Eurovision getup – my Instagram explore page has been a sea of Cha Cha Cha green for the past week.
As part of the team at KOI, you can only imagine that Käärijä’s futuristic ‘fit was very much our cup of tea – with the icing on the cake being Käärijä’s choice of footwear.
CHA CHA CHA Hologram Flame Boots
Käärijä’s futuristic Eurovision ‘fit featured KOI’s ‘Helios Hologram Flame Boots’ (Now appropriately renamed the ‘CHA CHA CHA Hologram Flame Boots’.
The ‘CHA CHA CHA Hologram Flame Boots’ have been a KOI fan-favourite since first launching in 2019, and have been spotted at Coachella, worn by an array of internationally renowned influencers and have graced our ‘tagged photos’ section for the past five years. With an already impressive and accomplished CV, they can now add ‘Were favoured to win Eurovision 2023’.
Shoutout to our followers who always have our backs and can spot a KOI design from miles off.
At the beginning of this article, we brushed over the fact that fans of the contest throughout Europe (and undoubtedly across the globe) felt cheated, defeated and downright outraged once the final results were in.
The Eurovision jury awarded Sweden’s entrant Loreen with 340 points, ranking Sweden top of the scoreboard, and Finland with a measly 150 (all the other participating countries have been left out of the KOI Eurovision 411, as there’s just too damn many to write about – and frankly, they aren’t relevant to the ending of this story). The stakes were high, hearts were racing, and one thing remained – The public vote.
Käärijä in all his neon green glory could be seen nervously awaiting the final vote from the public, and Cha Cha Cha fans across the globe were on the edges of their seats…
The end result: Sweden’s entrant Loreen took the crown (insert Loreen the Queen pun), and Käärijä with Cha Cha Cha sat defeatedly in second place.
Many deemed the competition rigged in Sweden’s favour, in light of ABBA’s Voyage tour (fun fact: ABBA were the winners who took it all in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest). Many speculated online that Stockholm as the 2024 Eurovision hosting city would mean a star-studded ABBA performance. Others took to Instagram to shout ‘ROBBERY’ from the rooftops (we may have partaken in such shenanigans), but one thing remains… Käärijä and Cha Cha Cha will forever be in our hearts and living rent free in our heads.