So having gone through all of Semi Final One virtually unscathed – save for Norway – Semi Final 2’s press conferences kick off with Finland.
There was a left-of-field opening question about how the band feel about streaming music. They expressed general support for streaming over physical sales of music, liking the idea of being able to have your entire record collection in your pocket at any one time. They did though note the reason they have such dedicated fans is because of physical media.
Established act
The concept behind ‘Jezebel’ started last summer when they first wrote the song, after which they took it to YLE and the UMK competition to reach Eurovision. They didn’t take success at the national final for granted, despite being one of the more established acts. On the subject of the songs vying for a win this year, they admitted being blown away by the quality – picking out Greece, the UK and Sweden for special praise.
There was a discussion on how much of an advantage it is to be a band with some degree of international recognition. They didn’t know for sure if you could claim it as an advantage. They have had number ones in some of the countries – but that was back in 2003 and like most bands, The Rasmus are measured by the quality of their newest material.
Influences
With the Finnish music scene being very small, they used to work together with up to 20 other bands under the name of ‘The Dynasty’ all creating what they call ‘darker music’. This moved the discussion onto musical inspirations and they talked a lot about how they were big fans of Scandinavian minimalism, mentioning Bjork as someone they admit. Sam Ryder scored a second mention with the Rasmus saying they’d love to work with him on account of his energy – they compared him to an excited Labrador puppy!
The pre-party scene was fun and it was ‘super nice’ to get a taste of other songs and meet the fans.
@eurovision @therasmusofficial ROCK OUT during their first rehearsal for Finland 🎸🎈 #Eurovision2022 #EurovisionTikTok #Eurovision ♬ original sound – Eurovision