Eurovision 2025 Sweden profile: Bara Bada Bastu by KAJ
- Troy Turner
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
We profile the 2025 entry from Sweden including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction, and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.
Sweden is a Eurovision powerhouse, having won the contest seven times along with Ireland. Their first victory came in 1974 with ABBA’s Waterloo, launching the group to global fame.
Sweden doesn’t just send Eurovision winners—they send icons! Loreen has taken the crown twice! First with Euphoria (2012) and then with Tattoo (2023). Or Carola—she graced the Eurovision stage three times (1983, 1991, 2006) and stormed to victory in 1991 with Fångad av en stormvind. Then there’s Måns Zelmerlöw, who had us enthralled with Heroes in 2015. Let’s not forget The Herreys (Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley, 1984) and Charlotte Perrelli (Take Me to Your Heaven, 1999), adding to Sweden’s golden collection.
And even when Sweden doesn’t take the crown, they still bring bangers! Thanks to Melodifestivalen, we’ve been blessed with fan favourites Eric Saade, Robin Bengtsson, Cornelia Jakobs and Benjamin Ingrosso, who have all kept Sweden at the top of the Eurovision game with sleek, modern pop.
With their track record, it’s safe to say Sweden doesn't just compete—they dominate. KAJ are in poll position to make their own mark on Sweden's impressive winners board. Can the favourites pull it off and take their place among Sweden's Eurovision royalty?
2025 entry: KAJ - Bara Bada Bastu
KAJ will perform in semi-final 1.
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 2nd
Odds to win ranking: 1st
(Rankings as of 2 April 2025).
About the artist
The KAJ lads bring the laughs, representing a distinct break from the meticulously slick and clinical brilliance of the 'serious' pop productions that we've come to anticipate from the blue and yellow gang at Eurovision.
Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, and Jakob Norrgård (taking their band name from their first initials à la ABBA) have forged a successful comedy career based on satirical parody songs and performances. They've even produced two musical comedies to sell out crowds at Wasa Theatre in Finland.
Don't be fooled, though. They've got musical chops. Kevin studied sound production and design, Axel can actually play that accordion, and check out this hilarious but impressive spoof of Pavarotti's signature aria, Nessun Dorma, with Jakob on lead vocals hitting that epic high B note!
The Finnish-Swedish trio hail from Vörå in Ostrobothnia, Finland. They sing in the unique Swedish Vörå dialect, which has distinct pronunciations, playful intonations, and charming quirks that lend themselves to KAJ's comedy.
The boys have released seven albums and have amassed a strong following, not unlike Australia's own Tripod or Doug Anthony Allstars. But, Bara Bada Bastu has helped them reach their highest level of success to date.
Here's one last pro-tip: KAJ is pronounced with an "eye" sound, so "ky" as is "sky."
About the Song
Bara Bada Bastu is the ultimate sauna anthem—because let’s be honest, what’s more Finnish-Swedish than stripping down, sweating buckets, and pretending it's totally normal to have deep conversations naked in a 100-degree wooden box?
Penned by KAJ, Anderz Wrethov, Kristofer Strandberg and Robert Skowronski, Bara Bada Bastu is an Epadunk song. No, not Elephunk. Epadunk.
It's a genre associated with cars that have had their maximum speed lowered to allow 15-year-olds to drive them in rural parts of Sweden (the cars are marked with a red triangle and the cars are called EPA-tractors). Think bros doing laps or mainies. Epadunk draws on EDM and könsrock, an irreverent and dark-humoured style of Swedish rock music.
It will be the first time since 1998 a song sung in Swedish will be centre stage at Eurovision when KAJ encourages us all to sweat it out. Though, the song also features some Finnish, notably when the boys count us down with "yksi, kaksi, kolme, sauna" or "1, 2, 3 sauna" in English.
(Oh, eh-oh, eh-oh) This firewood of ours heats just as well
But who is Arja Saijonmaa? She's a famous Finnish-Swedish singer who started her career in the '70s and had her most recent hit in 2019. Oh, she's also been a politician and has written a Norwegian language book about the sacred art of Finnish sauna. She is in her 80s!
Now we get the joke!
How was KAJ chosen for Eurovision?
KAJ rose to the top in a hotly contested Melodifestivalen in a spectacular upset. They beat hot favourite and former ESC winner, Måns Zelmerlöw by only 7 points—164 to 157. They also beat former Melfest winner, John Lundvik.
The voting process was divided equally between the public vote and an international jury, each contributing 50% to the total score. Zelmerlöw scored more from the international jury than KAJ—76 to 74—but did not have enough public votes to see him triumph over the KAJ lads.
Both Zelmerlöw and Lundvik expressed disappointment at their loss, with comments that some labelled as questioning the validity of comedy entries to the Swedish national selection contest. Zelmerlöw also expressed his shock that the international jury awarded a comedy song such a high score, stating "you can discuss the role of the international jury groups in the whole thing, that the jury groups place them [KAJ] so high. We'll see if they're right."
Sweden will compete in the first Semi-Final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on 13 May 2025 in Basel.
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