Robin Packalen presented the rookie of the year award at the Iskelmä gala.
This year, Robin Packalen, who is fighting for Finland’s Eurovision spot in the New Music competition, took part in the Iskelmä gala for the first time. Together with Konsta Hietanen, Packalen shared the Rookie of the Year award.
Packalen doesn’t directly consider himself a hit artist, but he also wouldn’t mind if one day in his career he could wear that title.
– There would be nothing wrong with that title. Perhaps, however, there is some adultness involved in that term, which I myself do not yet feel I belong to. Or why not, it’s a big title because Iskelmä is such a big genre in Finland, Packalen states.
Robin Packalen wore a black suit jacket to the Iskelmä gala. EVENING PAPER
– Yes, I have a lot of songs in the Finnish-language catalog that fall into the iskelmälar. And hello, Iskelmä, or strike tune. Everyone digs! The artist continues.
40 tickets
The final of the UMK competition will be held on February 25 in Turku’s Logomo. The artist says that excitement crept into his thoughts, which is very unusual for him.
– I’m not usually one for excitement, but this performance has been trained and awaited for a long time. In training yesterday, I felt a bit like it was a joke, I still need to confirm a few things for myself. A little tension is fine, but I think the tension will subside next week, when I get to Turku on site, Packalen opens.
Robin Packalen participates in the UMK competition with the song Girls Like You. EVENING PAPER
Packalen is born in Turku. This is why we can say that an artist whose UMK song has Girls Like Youhas some kind of home field advantage in the finals to be contested in a week.
– I don’t know if the home court advantage has anything to do with the win, but maybe it takes a little pressure off this. After the training day, I get to go home to sleep and I’m very happy about that, because staying in a hotel would be horrible, Packalen sighs with relief.
Packalen says that the supporters are coming to the finals to cheer him on to victory.
– Yes, a lot of friends and relatives are coming there. My mom bought 40 tickets as soon as they went on sale. He was afraid that we wouldn’t get the ticket afterwards. So yes, a lot of loved ones are coming, the artist reveals.
– So the whole second row is for our family! Packalen jokingly concludes.