The Finnish band Brother Apollo is aiming to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Finnish band Brother Apollo is aiming for next spring’s Eurovision. Vin Valentino
Estonia’s representative for next spring’s Eurovision will be selected in the Eesti Laul competition. One of the competitors is the Finnish rock band Brother Apollo with the song Bad Boy.
The five-member band includes: guitarist-producer Erkki Sippelsinger Joseph Miettinenguitarist Kare Kipinoinenthe bassist Olli-Petteri “OP” Paasi and a drummer Take Tiilama.
– The goal is to win and go to Eurovision and win that too, says Sippel.
The rock group got a direct final place in the five qualifiers. The information came as a complete surprise to them.
– In Estonia, the contestants are announced directly on television without telling the artists, Joseph Miettinen recalls in an interview with Iltalehti.
The Brother Apollo band is looking forward to performing in the final of the Estonian Eurovision Song Contest. Vin Valentino
Miettinen is half Estonian, as his mother is from Pärnu. The singer’s uncle is known as an Estonian director Hardi Vollmerwho has also worked as an MP during his career.
Although the band is still completely unknown to the general public, the members have gained experience in the bands of leading artists. Tiilama has played with Sini Yasemin, One Morning Left band, Portion Boys and Sara Siipola at gigs. Paasi, who works as a bass player, has also toured with Siipola’s band.
Sippel has performed, among other things by Erika Vikman and Kaija Koon in the band.
Miettinen is known to many from the program Idols. The young man finished second in the singing competition in 2013. At that time, the winner was Mitra Kaislaranta from Oulu.
Joseph Miettinen came second in the Idols competition ten years ago. Photo from 2013. Matti Matikainen
The competition song Bad Boy is the band’s first single. Sippel reveals that the song came into its current form “accidentally”.
– Joseph and Iiro Gröngroos had made such a demo called Bad Boy, which was intended to be sold on the Korean market, meaning it would have been a song intended for a K-pop boy band, Sippel explains.
– Joseph sent the song to our group discussion and suggested that there might be potential here. In the end, we drifted quite far from the demo, says Sippel.
The final of the Eesti Laul competition will take place on February 17 in Tallinn. Finland’s virtuoso representative will be chosen in the New Music Competition on February 10.