Lauri Yrjölä: "I’d like to show to the Finnish people that they can be proud of their weird language"

Photo: Jessica Häyhä

Hei hei everybody! Its time for the 1st interview of 2017. We will start with one of the finalists from Finland's UMK. He is a pretty cool guy and his song is one of my top 3 favs. Here are Lauri Yrjölä's answers:

Name: Lauri Yrjölä
Birthday: 12.11.1982
Height: 188cm
Favorite color: Green
Favorite food: Grilled salmon salad
Shoe size: 12 US
Where are you right now? Home, Helsinki
3 things that make you happy: Music, my god-son, Huge (dog)
What’s your strangest talent? I don't snore
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? A hobby horse
What are you really good at? Playing the guitar
What are you really bad at? Getting out of bed
Childhood idol: New Kids on the Block
Childhood memory: Orange vacuum cleaner
Celebrity crush: Hayley from Modern Family
What would you do if you were invisible? Do Snapchats and wonder why the filters aren't working
Favorite movie: Scent of a woman
Favorite TV series: Isänmaan toivot
What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate
If you were a girl for a day, what would you do? Examine myself a lot and memorize
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: I Will Wait for You by Michel Legrand
Can you teach me some interesting words in finnish? Mun täytyy mennä vessaan = I have to use the toilet. I do that a lot.

Hello Lauri! Welcome to the Eurovision bubble! How are you?
Good thanks! Playing some guitar.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Professional, confident, funny and hard working.

You are one of the participants of UMK 2017. How did it all begin?
I wrote 12 songs last Nov. and decided that I need to perform them as an solo artist. Then in the summer I realized that UMK would be a great way to gain publicity for me and Finnish pop music overall and I wrote a few more songs and with my producer Kasperi Kallio we picked out Helppo elämä and sent it in.

Photo: YLE

“Helppo elämä” is the title of your song, what’s the story behind it?
I’m singing about a bohemian person who wants to think deeply and save the world and be compassionate but who has no discipline or perseverance. Someone who wants things quick and easy. That person is quite the opposite of me in the sense that I like to put time and effort in whatever I do.

Photo: Jessica Häyhä

Describe the song with 4 words:
Catchy, meaningful, modern and international.

What can we expect to see on stage for the performance?
Me without the guitar which is pretty new.

Tell me about the official video of “Helppo elämä”:
It's about a gold digger who's going after the luxurious life without working hard for it. The video follows quite a lot of the lyrics.

Have you heard any of the other songs in the competition? Any favorite?
Of UMK? My two favorites are Emma and Norma John.

What do you like about Eurovision?
I like the variety of artists. And also whenever there's a language other than English it's fresh. I don't mind if I don't understand the lyrics. If it sounds good it's good! But of course it's nice to know that there's some meaning also and not just some random Cotton Eye Joe stuff :D :D

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
Some of the acts seem to be more like jokes but I understand that ESC isn't all about the music. Other things matter also. But I'm all about the music. Then the rest.

Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
Isac Elliot: Fun times always!
Something gay: Sanajahti (a word puzzle game)
Nightmare: Freddie Krueger
Fangirling: Really loud noises
Clowns: Stephen King
Stage: Home

Photo: Jessica Häyhä

What are your plans for 2017?
During the last year or so I’ve made nearly 20 good songs and I can’t wait to get to perform them more and more in front of people. So I’m building a career and UMK serves as a good ground to get new fans and media’s attention. Also I’d like to show to the Finnish people that they can be proud of their weird language and that we make good international pop.

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
If you like Helppo elämä maybe you'd like my other stuff also so you can stay tuned by following me on Twitter @LauriYrjola, Facebook @yrjolalauri, Snapchat @lauriyrjola or Instagram @lauriyrjola. Not too hard to guess my usernames :D :D

Thanks to Lauri for the interview. I wish him all the best in the UMK final.