Mikael Saari: "I didn't expect anything like this, it has been great"

Now its time for the 2nd interview of the year! Wohooo! and its the turn of a very interesting finnish artist. He is one of the finalists of the UMK 2013 and he is also one of my favorites  in there so lets get to know him better. Here are the answers of MIKAEL SAARI:


Name: Mikael Saari
Age: 24
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Height: 1.82cm
Favorite Color: the colors of the fall. Ruska in finnish.
Favourite food: various. French fries and a good steak.
Shoe Size: 43
Eye color: grey
Where are you right now?: Home in Lahti
3 Fears: deaths of close people, sickness and loneliness
What’s your strangest talent?: i can dig my nose with my tongue
Do you have any nicknames?: Many.. miksu and miklu are the most common
Home alone and your bored. What do you do?: I play the piano or the guitar, or just watch TV. There's nothing better than to eat and drink and watch Simpsons.
What are you really good at?: Cooking! I wish
What are you really bad at?: Drawing. It's crazy how bad I am.
Childhood idol: I don't remember having any. I was dull
Tell me something no one knows about you: I can twist my ankle behind my head. I don't think anyone's ever seen me do that
What would you do if you were invisible?: I'd sneak a peek of great composers doing their work. I'd like to know where their inspiration really comes from and how they do their jobs.
Favorite movie: Airplanes!
Tell me a super power you wish you had: Read minds! Of course
What's your favorite part of your body?: my fingers maybe?
Tell me one of your insecurities: I worry about work, what will i become after I finish school.
What is your guilty pleasure?: Fast food. Oh yeah
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Bohemian Rhapsody
Can you teach me some interesting words in Finnish?: Ruska is a great finnish word, it's when the green of treeleaves changes to all colors of red and yellow and orange.
Tell me some of your bad habits: I drink too much and eat too much fast food. And I'm very bad at waking up in time in the morning and I'm always late from everywhere.
Which famous artist would you like to work with and which song would you like to feature?: I know I'll never what it takes to do that  but I would like  to become Adam Lambert and lead Queen in concerts...
When did you start singing?: Publicly when i was 15.

The live shows are getting closer. How do you feel right now?
Beforehand I imagined that i would be terrified, but now I just can't wait to get on the stage! And it's still almost two weeks to go... Luckily I have other gigs before that, so time flies.

How would you describe as an artist?
I'd like to say that as an artist I'm versatile. I make musicals and acoustic gigs and showbandstuff, all kinds of very varying stuff.

You are one of the finalists in the UMK 2013 selection. How did it all begin?
I had written songs for my debut album, and then came across this oportunity. So i chose one of the songs to be sent to the competition, and that's how it started.

We should be through is the title of your song. What is the song about? and what made you write it?
I wrote the piano parts on my ex-girlfriends piano, in our ex-house. The lyrics came afterwards, and were inspired by that.

Photo: anatom.fi (Tom Hakala)

Describe your song with 4 words
Dramatic, intimate, in-your-face, ballad

How did you feel the day of the performance for the juries?
I had mixed feelings, i was very nervous performing the song for the first because it was also the first time I saw who the judges were. During the first verse I was just squinting to the audience.

What do you feel about the reaction of the public with your song?
It has been overwhelming, I didn't expect anything like this, it has been great, and the whole hasn't even really started yet.

There's a lot of people loving the jumper you wore in the performance for the juries, do you know what are you going to wear for the live shows?
I do, but let's keep it a secret for now!

Did you start preparing the next performance? what can you tell me about it?
I think we will keep it very simple, but I'm glad i will have my band my band with me on stage!

What do you think about the other songs in the competition? 
There are so many great songs! I'm so proud to be amongst them, It's great.

What do you like about Eurovision?
There is something about the grandeur and feeling about it that cannot be explained. It's unique.

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
I've heard a lot of discussion now about what kind of songs would maybe be succesful in the contest, and I don't like that at all. People shouldn't of anything like this a competition. Just vote for the song that you yourself like, without any speculation.

Do you like any Eurovision song from Finland?
I don't have a very close relationship with any of them, I have to say. But of course i've liked many of them, Hard Rock Hallelujah for example!

Did you watch Eurovision 2012? what do you think about the winner and the finnish song?
Our Pernilla was so good I liked her a lot! And I loved Estonia's Kuula and the song Suus from Albania I think? Many great songs there.

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
Thank you very much for this, it was a pleasure share with you my thoughts! See you soon! Mikael

Thank you Mikael! I loved the answers and i really like"We should be through" so i wish you all the best in the UMK selection.

If you like Mikael here is his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mikaelsaariofficial
His soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/mikael-saari
And his page in the UMK website: http://yle.fi/musiikki/umk/umk2013/kilpailijat/mikael-saari

Here are the lyrics of his song:

We should be through

You see, I stand on my two feet

And all I try I succeed, I am no clown

Now I do just what I like to do

I don’t have to fight, I just wear my crown

But when I lay myself down

I’m more than alright, can’t you see my smile?

And why shouldn’t I, of all these people around?

And that girl, she keeps me sane in so many ways

That would make you frown

When I lay myself down

When I lay myself down

When I lay myself down…

We should be through

We should be through

But I throw myself at you

And I can’t go on

Because you keep me holding on

Go Mikael! and thanks a lot for this great interview.