Bess’s Ram pam pam continues to break records – but she herself was of the opinion that the song should not be sent to UMK

Just a year ago Bess dreamed of meeting Antti Tuisku, but now she has recorded a song with her idol and performed at the Olympic Stadium.

– I have not fully internalised what has happened here. I’m in for a good shock.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
– It’s really cool that the crowd is there to cheer you on and be part of the journey. I hope I can keep doing this for a really long time,” says Bess, who made a big breakthrough this year.

Ram pam pam was not sent to UMK

Bess has arrived a little late for the interview and filming. She was stuck at home changing clothes at least ten times.

The situation made him nervous – and that’s not unusual. Bess admits to being a thrill-seeker.

It’s surprising, because the artist is used to being very confident on stage and in pictures. His image is that tough guy who curses, says whatever he likes and laughs out loud.

– Yes, everything excites me in my own way. I try to think that people are always really nice and I’m not going to be slaughtered and I don’t have to be afraid because of that.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
Bess has been in the public eye a lot this year. “A few years ago I would have been shocked and horrified and said I wasn’t coming. I’m so terrified. Now I’ve had to be brave and courageous and I’ve said let’s go.

The interview is conducted in the studio where the mega hit was born a year ago in the summer. Bess and her team had decided to try if a suitable song would be created for UMK.

The first version was called , and the authors felt that it was too shocking. The song was polished, and the team was excited about the final version – except for Bess.

– I had a feeling that if we go to UMK, at least not with this song. I thought we should make a world saving song, because the world needs to be saved and we still have a lot of work to do. Yes, we did, but it ended up there.

Bess has dabbled with music earlier in her career. While studying Pop

After graduating in 2016, he even decided to stop his music work completely, because he wanted to make dunes that will stay in the dune place.

Fate decided otherwise. He met reggae artist and producer Nopsajala, with whom music began to be born. Bessi’s breakthrough was in 2017 with a single, which was also destined to remain unreleased.

– I still have a long message saved for Nopsajala that for these reasons this cannot be published. I had thought differently about what kind of music I was going to make, and this didn’t go as I planned. But nothing goes as planned. The universe has a twisted sense of humor, the singer grins.

-swept by the song’s popularity, Bess had enough gigs for the next couple of years before the corona.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
– Everything has happened so recently that I’m still inside the experiences and dealing with them. After a while, when you’ve got some distance and the dust has settled, it’s easier to see what has happened,” says Bess.

Head first into cold water

In the final of the New Music Competition held at the end of February, Bess was the early favorite. The song had become number one on Spotify immediately after its release, and social media was filled with videos of people partying to the song.

At the final moments of the competition, TV viewers including the singer’s mother witnessed how Bess cursed. Everyone thought he was upset after only finishing third.

– It is true that I was cursing while the points were being counted. But I cursed because I was so nervous.

Bess now says she is not at all disappointed with the outcome. Things went as they were meant to go.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
– I want to tell everyone that you can do anything. You shouldn’t limit yourself to doing one thing for the rest of your life. Few people are cut out for it. Take the rags off your eyes and get on with life, says artist Bess.

The New Music Competition was a springboard for Bess to greater popularity and a very educational experience.

– A lot happened in a short time and I was excited and terrified. Help, there are 30 people filming a music video here, what the hell is going on here. But now we just have to be here and go. When you go headfirst into cold water, it will harden and grow.

The Eurovision Song Contest was held in May in Turin, Italy, and Bess traveled there to cheer on Finland’s representative, The Rasmus. He was watching the five finals and got to see how a world-class show is made.

– I would probably have died on that stage. I was already so excited in the audience there. I wouldn’t necessarily have been ready. I wasn’t even at UMK, but then I had to be.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
– I am still amazed and surprised at the way people around the world have found me. Insta-live greetings from places like Guatemala and Argentina. I’m just a small person here in Finland, how did you find me,” says Bess.

The road to the Olympic Stadium for a Tuisku fan

More than a year ago, Bess was standing in a raincoat in Rovaniemi, watching Antti Tuisku’s concert. His own gig had just been cancelled, so he decided to go see the star he admired. He has been a fan of Tuisku since the Idols days, and as a child the walls of his room were full of Tuisku posters.

It had been Bessi’s wild dream for years that she would be able to make a song with Tuisku. After the UMK spring in May, he received a message from the artist himself: \”Can you talk?\”

Bess was torn from her joints. Soon the two talked for a long time on the phone and Tuisku suggested the singer to visit his upcoming song.

– I meant to say right at the beginning that yes, yes, it’s fine! But adults and professionals listen to the demo first and only then say yes, Bess laughs.

The artist Bess aka Essi Launimo.
– I thanked Erika Vikman at the Olympic Stadium for all the work she has done. By being and doing what she has done, she has opened up avenues for the rest of us, given us courage, been an inspiration and empowered me too,” says Bess.

The collaboration resulted in a song released in the summer, is a party rally about the world of speed dating. It also took Bess to perform at Tuisku’s Bailantai concerts at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium a week ago.

Before the stadium gig, Bess had performed for audiences of a few thousand people, but now there were 35,000 spectators. Although the singer’s part on stage was only less than a minute long, it was a unique experience for him.

– I can’t describe it with the word excitement, because it was something like next level excitement. It was some strange special electricity.

Cats keep their feet on the ground

– Who has been able to listen to that song for five months straight? Terrible.

Bess is amazed by the continued popularity of the song. He believes that the song has made Finns dance and release the energy built up during the corona period.

People have come to gigs to tell how he and he as a person have empowered them.

– One person said that he has been in a violent relationship and gained the strength to leave it through the song.

The singer feels that the year of success has changed and grown her as well.

– I am more determined than before. In a way, what I want to do and in what way has become clearer. I dare to do the things I’ve always wanted to do.

– At some point, I made a decision that every time I go on stage and no matter how nervous and horrified I am, I will not go there to be shy. Then I’ll make everyone else feel uncomfortable too.

Artist Bess in the studio.
Bess is now concentrating on finishing the second album. It is scheduled for release early this year. The singer reveals that the album will dive even deeper into neon and laser lights on the dancefloor.

Success also brings publicity, but Bess feels that it has not affected her life too much. In order to keep the head spinning, he tries to keep the artist-Bess and the private-Ess apart.

The singer has made routines in her life that ground her from the spin of the entertainment world. He counts the laps by playing sports, sleeping well, throwing the phone in the corner and petting his cats.

– I am still the humblest servant of my cats. Stay realistic when shoveling cat poop at home.