Haber is now facing something new when he starts his solo career and makes a new regional conquest by hosting the UMK final.
Especially successful in Central Europe, Sunrise Avenue was a real money maker for Haber. However, he is not afraid of risks, and is ready to start his musical career from the beginning at the age of 46.
– I think it’s really stupid if you just hold on to something and don’t dare to make game moves in life.
\”I don’t feel like running after money\”
Sunrise Avenue is one of the most successful Finnish bands abroad of all time. The duo founded by Samu Haber at the age of 16 grew into a band that was even more successful in German-speaking Europe than at home. The band also made Haber a super celebrity in Germany when he became a judge on The Voice of Germany.
Sunrise Avenue was Haber’s solo project from the beginning. According to his own words, he was responsible for the creation of the band’s songs and the business. Therefore, it was natural that the decision to end the band was also in his hands.
Haber says that he thought about ending the band for a long time. The band could have continued in the same way for however long, because it was a profitable business. Haber has been one of the highest-paid Finnish musicians for years.
– I thought it would be worth continuing because it was such a good way of doing business. But I don’t feel like running after money. There are other values \u200b\u200bin life than the economy.
It was already announced that the band was disbanding in 2019 and the farewell tour was supposed to take place in the summer of 2020. The tour finally took place last summer.
The farewell, which started in Finland, included two concerts at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
– Both times I went to the stadium in a hurry. I drove Mansku and the gang walked with Finnish flags and Sunrise Avenue tickets in hand. It was really cool both nights. Yes, it went to the core.
Sunrise Avenue’s last concert was in Düsseldorf, Germany at the beginning of September. As the final song *Hollywood Hills* began to play, Haber wondered how he really felt.
– I was like, this is how it has to go. This is big, fine and beautiful, but it’s time for this to go in the memory box.
Still, when he left the stage for the last time, he could not see the steps from his tears.
Solo career is the new sandbox
After the last concert of Sunrise Avenue, Samu Haber went to the hotel room and realized that there are 12 days until the first concert of his solo career. According to the original plan, there was supposed to be a break of several months in between.
– Two weeks was a pretty quick orientation. For the first six days, I did nothing but look out the window and exercise.
The singer believes that there is a place for him in the field of Finnish music. At least he says he enjoys making music in Finnish because he can express his feelings better than in English.
– It’s a new sandbox. But I’m not interested in thinking about strategies. On the business side, I’m thinking about how much I want to gig. Let’s hope that there will be a gap for me too.
\”UMK is not an A-Studio\”
Samu Haber has enough understanding for his colleagues’ decisions. He thinks it’s brave to step aside if you feel like it.
The singer reminds that being an artist is more than making music and gigging. It comes with even more pressure from social media and publicity.
– It may consume or it may lose itself in the waves. I appreciate it if someone dares to take new steps in life.
Haber goes in the opposite direction in this regard. He’s just putting more shit in the nest. In the spring, there will be solo gigs at, among others, Nordis and Musiikkitalo. Summer, on the other hand, is full of festival gigs.
The biggest leap into the unknown happens right at the beginning of the year, when he hosts the final of the New Music Competition in February. Musicians have been seen as presenters a couple of years before, when Antti Tuisku and Vesala have been on the UMK stage.
The singer is still in disbelief that she was asked to do the job.
– I don’t know who the crazy person thought that I could be a good candidate for that. But I answered that I am indeed at the trade fair. Sounds cool.
Haber has followed Eurovision since he was a child. He has been on the spot to watch the finals of the five-piece twice: in Sweden in 2016 and in Israel in 2018. He has been impressed by the show, which was thought out down to the last drawing.
The singer is happy that the domestic qualifier UMK has experienced a real facelift in the last few years. The show is spectacular and there is no more information about the shame of the past years. A year ago, he watched the five-man qualifier in the background of Cyan Kicks.
Haber has a lot of new things to learn as a UMK host. The intermission number has choreography and she has outfit changes for the first time.
Above all, he waits to dare to break free and let go.
– However, UMK is not an A-studio, where you are somewhere in expert positions. I’m probably in a gold glitter tuxedo messing around with unicorn pants. It’s just so damn cool.
*The final of the New Music Competition will be held on Saturday 25.2. In Logomo, Turku. UMK artists will be announced on Wednesday 11 January*