# Käärijä
**Käärijä** is the stage name of Jere Pöyhönen, a Finnish rapper and singer from Vantaa who came second at the [Eurovision Song Contest 2023](https://www.edgepedia.org/eurovision-song-contest-2023) in Liverpool with the Finnish-language song "Cha Cha Cha", winning the public televote.[1](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) Active in Finnish rap since 2014, he had released the album *Fantastista* (2020) and nearly a decade of music without a single charted song before the contest.[1](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023) • [3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Jere Pöyhönen, born 1993; raised in Vantaa, in the Ruskeasanta district[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/) |
| Stage name | Invented by chance playing slot machines with a friend; translates roughly as "roller" or "moneymaker"[5](https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/language/kaarija-elected-finnish-name-year) • [6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) |
| UMK 2023 | Won Finland's national selection with 53 percent of the public vote[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4) |
| Eurovision 2023 | Second place with 526 points in the final; won the televote with almost 400 points[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) • [4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/) |
| Pre-contest streams | "Cha Cha Cha" had 17.5 million Spotify streams before Liverpool[7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837) |
| Albums | *Fantastista* (2020), *People's Champion* (2024, Warner Music)[1](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) |
| Signature look | Green bolero sleeves nicknamed Kaalimato, Finnish for "cabbage worm"[6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) |
## The name
The stage name came from gambling. Pöyhönen has said he won a small sum of money on slot machines with a friend, who remarked "jäbähän on käärijä" (roughly, "this guy is a roller"), and the name stuck.[8](https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000009344931.html) He told the BBC it translates roughly as a "roller" or a "moneymaker".[6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) Music Finland gives the translation as "roller" or "wrapper" and the pronunciation [kæ:ri/jæ], tying the name to his gambling-themed lyrics.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
The [University of Helsinki](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-helsinki)'s onomastics experts elected Käärijä as the Finnish Name of the Year 2023, noting that the name is authentic rather than a creation of a record company or advertising agency, and that its international success showed the vowels Ä and Ö, usually avoided in names aimed abroad, are not barriers.[5](https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/language/kaarija-elected-finnish-name-year)
## Early life and career beginnings
Pöyhönen grew up in Vantaa, in the [Helsinki metropolitan area](https://www.edgepedia.org/helsinki-metropolitan-area). His musical start was percussive: as a child he loved the drums and built his own from pots, pans, and kettles, hitting them with a spoon, and Yle's press kit traces his passion for music to grade-school drumming before he turned to rap and freestyling in middle school, including during English classes.[6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) • [7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837) Ilta-Sanomat reports that he played ice hockey as a young child at Itä-Helsingin Kiekko and wrote his first rhymes in 2009 over the backing of [Cypress Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/cypress-hill)'s "Illusions", inspired by SMC Lähiörotat's "SMC HOODRATS".[8](https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000009344931.html)
In 2015 he was hospitalized with serious health problems, after which he committed to music more seriously.[8](https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000009344931.html) His debut single "Urheilujätkä" appeared in 2016, followed by indie singles and a 2017 signing with Monsp Records, which issued the double single "Koppi tules" b/w "Nou roblem" that year.[7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) His first EP, *Peliä*, landed in 2018, and the debut album *Fantastista* followed in 2020; AllMusic records it as a Top 30 release that rose to number 21 on the Swedish charts.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) • [1](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023) Before the national selection he was playing about 25 gigs a year.[8](https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000009344931.html)
## Breakthrough and Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu
By the time he entered Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), Yle's national selection for Eurovision, Käärijä had an almost decade-long career behind him but not a single charted song.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4) "Cha Cha Cha" was written in the studio with his producers Aleksi Nurmi and Johannes Naukkarinen, and only afterwards did the team consider entering it for Eurovision; the lyrics are about freedom and weekend escapism, with drinking piña coladas for the courage to reach the dancefloor.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) • [6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482)
The song won the Finnish selection with 53 percent of the public vote, a share Music Finland compared with [Blind Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/blind-channel)'s 2021 triumph.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4) Even before Liverpool it had 17.5 million streams on Spotify and charted on the platform in countries including Iceland, Latvia, Portugal, Greece, and Romania.[7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837)
## Eurovision 2023
In Liverpool, Käärijä performed "Cha Cha Cha" in the first semi-final, where he placed first with 177 points in running order 15.[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/) In the grand final, in running order 13, he finished second with 526 points, winning the public televote with almost 400 points while finishing behind the winner overall.[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) He received the largest number of public telephone votes in the contest.[5](https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/language/kaarija-elected-finnish-name-year)
**The bolero and the fan phenomenon.** His green bolero sleeves became the visual signature of the campaign, nicknamed Kaalimato, Finnish for "cabbage worm".[6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) The song's success spawned piña colada flavored products, a signature Fortnite map, and green boleros draped on the granite sculptures at Helsinki Central Station; metal bands including the German Eurovision representatives Lord of the Lost covered it.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
## By the numbers
- 53 percent of the public vote in UMK 2023[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
- 17.5 million Spotify streams of "Cha Cha Cha" before the contest[7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837)
- 177 points, first place, in the 2023 semi-final[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/)
- 526 points, second place, in the 2023 final, with almost 400 of them from the televote[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732)
- Finnish Name of the Year 2023[5](https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/language/kaarija-elected-finnish-name-year)
## Artistry and style
Käärijä raps in Finnish and refuses genre confinement, combining elements of rap, metal, and electronic music; Yle notes his lyrics deal with everyday life from house parties to after-parties.[7](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837) "Cha Cha Cha" fuses rap, electronic music, metal, and schlager, according to the Eurovision participant record.[1](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023) Music Finland describes it as a hybrid of industrial rock and EDM with drink-themed lyrics readable as metaphors for overcoming shame to reach euphoric freedom.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
The metal side is explicit. He told the BBC that writing the song began with listening to [Rammstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/rammstein) and trying to sound like vocalist [Till Lindemann](https://www.edgepedia.org/till-lindemann) in the hard-voiced opening, that Rammstein's logo is tattooed across his chest, and that although many people compared the song to K-pop, for him it is "party metal".[6](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482) AllMusic likewise calls the track a Rammstein-indebted industrial pop rouser.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732)
His production setup centers on Aleksi Nurmi, who has produced his music from the beginning, with Johannes Naukkarinen as co-writer on "Cha Cha Cha"; lyric credits on that song include Jere Pöyhönen, Johannes Naukkarinen, Aleksi Nurmi, and Jukka Sorsa, and he signed with Monsp Records in 2017.[4](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/)
## What has changed since 2023
In 2024 he released the album *People's Champion* on Warner Music, his first album after Eurovision.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732) The fan culture built around the bolero, the piña colada references, and the song's crossover covers has continued to mark his post-contest profile.[3](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
## References
1. [Käärijä – Finland | Liverpool 2023, Eurovision Song Contest (EBU)](https://eurovision.tv/participant/Kaarija-2023)
2. [Käärijä — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4-mn0003763732)
3. [Who the hell is Käärijä?, Music Finland](https://musicfinland.fi/en/news/who-the-hell-is-k%C3%A4%C3%A4rij%C3%A4)
4. [Käärijä, Eurovision Universe](https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/encyclopedia/kaarija/)
5. [Käärijä elected as the Finnish Name of the Year, University of Helsinki](https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/language/kaarija-elected-finnish-name-year)
6. [Käärijä is Finland's Cha Cha Charmer. Eurovision Q&A, BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65473482)
7. [Käärijä press kit: short bio, videos, music & photos – Euroviisut 2023, Yle](https://yle.fi/aihe/a/20-10004837)
8. [Kuka on UMK:n Cha Cha cha -kappaleen tehnyt Käärijä?, Ilta-Sanomat](https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000009344931.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › Continental European rap*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license