Italy’s glam rock band Måneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, beating France and Switzerland for the top spot. Oulu band Blind Channel placed sixth in the music festival.
Blind Channel's second vocalist and guitarist Joel Hokka said he did not anticipate such a good result.
"I wouldn't have wanted to win. That would have been my worst fear...I wouldn't want any celebrations in the streets—that would be too much. In a way we still want to be the underdogs," he said.
Blind Channel was propelled up the ranking by votes from the viewing public as national juries did not give the group high points. The band did not draw any 12-point scores from judges. The Nordics, like other geographical regions with a shared history, often vote for each other in the contest—but not this time. Sweden and Norway's juries said no to Blind Channel's gloomy song, Dark Side, by awarding nil points.
Leading up to the grand final, the band said its goal was simply to be able to play a second gig in Rotterdam, playing music that differs from the typical Eurovision pop.
The band's sound, look and grim lyrics have been compared to so-called nu metal bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Finland's only win at the Eurovision Song Contest came in 2006 with another hard rock song, Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi, who also hail from Northern Finland.
The Dutch city was due to host the contest in 2020 before the pandemic cancelled the event. Saturday's show has been seen as a step toward a post-Covid return to live entertainment.
Watch the Eurovision grand final here.
