Finnish singles chart #1s: 2002
I'm continuing my travels through the Finnish #1 singles history, and I've now completed my dig-through of 2002. As always the full list and my thoughts on every song that made it to the top of the charts are found on RateYourMusic, but below you'll find a summary of the year's highlights.
2002 is a weird year, with no real discernible trends and instead everything's in a bit of a flux. Some familiar names continue to make hits, new future regulars make their debut appearance, you have international evergreens and destined one-hit-wonders. Metal mingles with bubblegum pop, fresh blood hangs out with dinosaurs and their comeback singles. Between the lines you can detect the beginnings of a couple of trends that would have a more significant presence in the charts in the future, as #1s are scored by both reality TV singing competition winners and domestic metal artists singing in Finnish rather than English. It's all a little all over the place, in a classic transitional year manner.
What's missing are the real heavy-hitters. On RYM I score each song in a range from 1 to 10, and the highest 2002 ever got is an 8. The majority of the year is spent in the 6-7 range (you're moving your hands up and down right now aren't you?), meaning that this hasn't been a particularly thrilling year to look back to. It's all very mid-to-good and that's one reason why it likely took me a little longer to go through this year, this time.
But let's highlight some of the best stuff that we can find there.
Flint's Top 5 Hits of 2002
1. Lordi - Would You Love a Monsterman? (1 wk at #1)
Years before Lordi became world famous by being the heavy metal monsters who won the Eurovision, they were already making hits in Finland. Right from the very beginning: their debut single "Would You Love a Monsterman?" rode the out-of-nowhere buzz all the way to #1 on its second week, giving a flying start to one of the more visually unique metal bands to come out of Finland.
Lordi as a project technically had its start all the way in the early 1990s. At that point it was just a solo project for a student called Tomi Putaansuu AKA Mr Lordi, the name coined from a nickname a friend of his mother had given him due to his eccentric fashion sense. At this stage there were no monster costumes or overt horror themes, and the demos that Putaansuu sent out to various labels got constantly ignored or rejected. But he kept at it, continuing to record music and eventually shot a few videos as well, paying homage to the horror films he loved. Watching the finished video gave him the idea of a monster/horror-themed band - right now he had no means to do anything with the idea, but he filed it in his head for the right time. In the meantime Putaansuu, a massive KISS fan, set up the official KISS Army Finland fanclub in Finland and in 1996, organised a cruise ship event for the fanclub which would be notable for two reasons. One, it was the first time in 13 years that the original line-up of KISS performed in their make-up. Two, and more relevant for this story, it was during that cruise that Putaansuu befriended a handful of fellow musicians who'd end up as the first line-up for Lordi when the project turned into a band.
That formation took place in 1997. Putaansuu felt like it was time to take a step up and turns his dreams into a reality, and he moved to Helsinki in the hopes of getting a band together would be easier in the capital. He phoned up the friends who he had met during the KISS cruise and who found themselves interested in the idea, and Putaansuu got busy designing monster alter egos and respective costumes for everyone. Besides Mr. Lordi himself, the initial line-up of the band was Jussi âAmenâ Sydänmaa (guitar), Sami âG-Stealerâ Keinänen (bass) and Erna âEnaryâ Siikavirta (keyboards) - at this stage, Putaansuu was still insisting on using a drum machine rather than recruiting a live drummer. The band were earned a grant from a creative support institution to record their debut album but first they ran out of money partway through the sessions and had to record the rest in their practice space on their own, and then the record label they had signed up with for a distribution deal folded before the album was released. What was supposed to have been their 1999 debut album Bend Over and Pray the Lord never got released (though years later it was included in an archive compilation), and in the same year Keinänen left the band as he had to move overseas for his job. The band recruited a new bassist from Sami Wolking (AKA Magnum) who had already sung some backing vocals for the album, and then came around to the idea of a live drummer and welcomed Sampsa Astala to the band; Astala inherited a slightly modified version of the G-Stealer costume and was dubbed Kita. The band's manager had suggested that the group should try writing songs with more emphasis on the choruses, which Putaansuu as a KISS fan was all up for, and after a round of unsuccessful attempts with various independent labels Lordi eventually signed up with BMG Finland when their CEO at the time found themselves interested in the idea of the band.
And so we arrive at "Would You Love a Monsterman?", Lordi's official debut single. There was little initial hype or promotion for the band but it wasn't really needed either. The costumes and the overall aesthetic were an instant attention-grabber, and the rest were taken care of by the song itself. "Would You Love a Monsterman?" establishes the Lordi shtick loud and clear from the get-go: metal and pop holding hands like KISS updated to the modern day, delivered through snappy verses and gigantic choruses built around a killer hook. The melody of the chorus of "Would You Love a Monsterman?" is to die for - a fantastically simple yet incredibly exciting, a real thrill of a run that gallops on top of the futuristic hard rock production, delivering as much ABBA as it does KISS. The verses aren't shabby either; Mr. Lordi immediately presents himself as a charismatic frontman you'll remember for reasons besides the costume, and I particularly love the little drum beat switches present throughout that give the verses an additional dynamic kick, proving that having a live drummer was worth it. But ultimately, it's all about that gigantic chorus and despite the succinct three-minute length, they make sure to hammer that chorus down. And yet, it never gets boring. "Would You Love a Monsterman?" was a great choice for an introduction and quickly became one of the summer's most-played hits. It also became another heavier song that even I actually enjoyed too: I downloaded the mp3 at the time because I just couldn't get enough of the chorus, and I had a pirated copy of the debut album for a while. Never became a real fan of the band, but it was neat to partake in the phenomenon in hindsight.
The said debut album Get Heavy received positive reviews and big sales, reaching platinum by the following year; meanwhile, the second single "Devil Is a Loser" retained the band's popularity on the airwaves, with a very classically 80s chorus that again stuck around for a long time. In what was already becoming a trend, right before the album's release Wolking was fired from the band as the rest of the group didn't think he was motivated enough as he continued to prioritise his day job (though he stayed amicable with Putaansuu and would contribute backing vocals again in the future); Niko Hurme AKA Kalma was hired as his successor early enough to appear in the album's cover art, even though Wolking had played all the bass parts on the record. After the success in Finland had been nailed down, Lordi took on small tours in mainland Europe, establishing a small fan base there as well. And after that, it was time to start working on the second album - Lordi will be back, and before that one famed Eurovision night!
2. Shakira - Whenever, Wherever (1 wk at #1)
Shakira's grand debut with "Whenever, Wherever" caused so much buzz - as much excitement as bewildered sneer. Her idiosyncratic vocal mannerisms ("neaaaaaaar") became both adored hooks as well as sources for cheap parodies and the video's pure sex appeal seemed to be all some people ever mentioned about her (and she didn't help with lyrics about her humble breasts) - and it was all inescapable because the song had such immediate lasting power that she couldn't help but stay in the headlines. "Whenever, Wherever" was only #1 for a week in Finland but once again, that barely scratches the surface of the song's success and how for months its music video dominated every music video channel and program.
As far as pop star debuts go, this is one of the biggest in my living memory. And deservedly - "Whenever, Wherever" has stood the test of time so well, and perhaps even improved with age as we can now break it away from the general Latin Pop trend that was happening around the millennium. Shakira's pure charisma is radiant, the chorus is a colossus and sounds so joyous no matter how many times you hear it, and I gotta say I love the cheesy pan pipe riff now: it's like the cherry on top of this bombastic South American pop extravaganza, laying it down thick but with such cheer that you can't help but respect it.
"Whenever, Wherever" set the stage for one of the early 2000's most visible pop stars with aplomb, and I think it's still my favourite song of hers. She'll back in this list though - not for quite some while surprisingly. She continued to have a regular hit presence the same way she did in every country across the next couple of years, but none of these reached #1.
3. Nightwish - Bless the Child (3 wks at #1)
If you asked anyone what the real stand-out single from Century Child was, all of them would answer "Bless the Child". "Ever Dream" may have been the bigger hit in terms of pure numbers (4 weeks at #1 earlier in 2002), but "Bless the Child" felt like a real milestone in Nightwish's continued ascent in popularity. This was likely because of the simple reason that it had a music video so there was now an excuse for all the popular music video programs to feature the song (as dull as that video is, it's stuck with me just because of how often I saw clips of it back in the day); but also, it's just the better song.
In fact, "Bless the Child" is the start of Nightwish delivering some killer pop songs as singles from their often more complex, ambitious records. They had never shied away from catchy melodies and a crossover-friendly sound - we have plenty of #1s from them already to prove that point - but this is the first time that the band delivered a song like this out of their own repertoire rather than leaning onto a cover. Take away the chugging guitars and battering drums, and there's a suitably dramatic pop anthem underneath - and with these melodies, you could easily transform this to any sound without it losing much of its strength. It's songs like these where Holopainen's gift as both a songwriter and arranger really shows, as he effectively picks and chooses the best bits of all the genres and styles he personally likes and turns it into an epic concoction that works on all those levels: heavy, melodic, bombastic. But you shouldn't undersell Turunen's contribution to the whole affair - it's her voice which really made Nightwish jump out, and the contrast between her operatic notes and the ear-grabbing melodies is quite frankly enchanting.
"Bless the Child" was the second single from the album, but it establishes the formula for all Nightwish lead singles to come. It is not the perfected form of that formula, but here it's still got a touch of freshness to it - you can hear it in the sound of the song just how fired up everyone in the band is, their full belief in this over-the-top mixture they were creating.
After basking in the success of the album by undertaking an entire year's worth of touring across Finland and Europe (with Lordi as their warm-up act in some cycles), the band set their sights for the next album where they'd want to take their ideas even further. Of course they'll be back in this list.
4. Apulanta - Saasta (4 wks at #1)
Another year, another Apulanta single going straight to #1.
Following the last album, Apulanta took stock of their career so far and released a couple of retrospectives in form of a best of compilation and a DVD collecting all the music videos. Drummer Sipe Santapukki also had the time to put together a solo album which saw release in early 2002, where he played all instruments but brought in a cavalcade of famous Finnish singers to handle the microphone duties. But Apulanta also kept busy as a unit in their usual workaholic fashion, recording another new album in-between everything else. The trio's general feeling was that the previous album Heinola 10 had been the end of one road and a start of another, but they weren't entirely sure where that new road lead to. The sessions therefore started on an experimental bend, with the trio bringing in ideas without caring whether or not they would be something others would consider to sound like Apulanta. In late 2002 they released Hiekka, preceded by the lead single "Saasta" ("Scum").
And I have to give credit to the guys, this is a really interesting lead single - frontman Toni Wirtanen describes it on the band's website as "a commercial suicide". The percussion loop that kicks off the song sounds absolutely nothing like anything Apulanta had done in the past and even though half a minute later the familiar gruff guitar walls appear to ensure the listener knows they haven't accidentally tuned onto another band, it's left an impression. In fact, "Saasta" continues to leave you with positive surprises: the percussion returns to lay tracks all over the verses, and the chorus shifts into an almost pop-like beat and hammering groove, where only the slightly more aggressive guitars nudge it closer to familiar Apulanta territory. And then there's suddenly screaming, disjointed breakdowns in place of solos and all sorts of other wild and fun little ideas. In its heart "Saasta" hits all the usual Apulanta notes in its melody and structure, but for each section of the song the band have done something which throws it off-kilter. I have given Apulanta some subtle flack for doing the same thing over and over again for a while and hinted that this would ultimately become their modus operandi, but credit where credit is due - "Saasta" does break away from the norm, and it's all the better for it.
But maybe their experimental streak was a little too much. The positively baffling half-Rammstein half-80s anthem "Hiekka" ("Sand") failed to hit #1, and while the more typically Apulanta-esque dramatic anthem "Jumala" ("God") received quite a lot of airplay the momentum had sailed (plus it was also against some really strong chart competition we'll examine soon enough). All the singles sold gold and the album went platinum so it wasn't a flop, but anecdotally this definitely felt like a smaller event than the previous couple of albums. Part of it could have also just been simple oversaturation caused by the constant release schedule.
As fate would have it, Apulanta would end up taking their first proper break in years immediately after the Hiekka cycle had finished. This wasn't entirely intentional, but rather it was caused by Sipe having to undergo shoulder surgery which effectively forced the band to take a pit stop. More time for new ideas to build up, naturally - quelle surprise, the Apulanta singles rate will continue later down the line.
5. Gimmel - Etsit muijaa seuraavaa (4 wks at #1)
So the dawn of a new era of pop music is finally upon us. In a couple of years' time the various international variants of Pop/American Idol would shape how the general public consumed pop music and they'd splutter countless shooting stars on our TV screens and radio waves for years to come. But before Idol, there was Popstars - a New Zealand-born program with the exact same format of molding normal people into hopeful pop stars in front of the nation's eyes. The first season of the Finnish version of Popstars aired in 2002 and it would go on to have a much more impactful legacy than anyone could have guessed - so much so that in the end the group that actually won the original series has ended up becoming a pop culture footnote when compared to some of the other careers that popped up through it almost like ripple effects. But let's not dismiss that group - they were called Gimmel and for a couple of years, they were one of Finland's hottest pop acts.
454 young women took part in the pre-screenings for the first season of Popstars and out of them, 25 were selected by the judges for the actual competition. The format wasn't looking for solo acts the same way Idol did, and instead the ultimate goal was to find the best performers and voices of the final 25 to form a pop group, and the last episodes of the series actually followed the beginning stages of this new group rather than calling it a day the moment the winners were chosen. The final four of the first season were made up of Jenni Vartiainen, Susanna Korvala, Ushma Karnani and Jonna Pirinen; however a couple of weeks after the formation of the group, Pirinen left the group due to disagreements with the label and the directorial forces. The now-trio was christened Gimmel, named after a piece of renaissance era jewelry made of three connected rings.
Popstars was a massively successful program, which comes to no surprise given how big Idol would end up being, and Gimmel's debut single naturally went straight to #1 upon release. "Etsit muijaa seuraavaa" ("You're Searching for the Next Broad", roughly translated - basically a diss song aimed at a cheating boyfriend) was written and produced by domestic pop industry veterans Ilkka Vainio and Risto Asikainen, and every single second of it sounds fine-tuned to perfection. The production is immaculately contemporary, complete with all those busy synths and sound effects that accentuated so many pop songs of the time; the guitars in the chorus add a bit of 'edge' while also extending a hand towards Finland's rock-loving masses, the vocal parts and harmonies are split in a manner that ensures the each girl has her own signature section for their respective fans to obsess over, and every stanza is a hook. The language is modern and youthful - you've got the title that stands out but also sounds natural, the wordplay is sharp and the references to Deitti, the text message chat show that would fill idle hours of the TV when no other programming aired and which became a familiar background noise for everyone who was off sick or otherwise staying home from work/school, places this immediately in peak 2002. Absolutely nothing has been left to chance with "Etsit muijaa seuraavaa"... and I can't fault the results either. Now, granted, I'm going to pull the big nostalgia card here again because I remember Popstars and Gimmel's subsequent rise to fame really clearly, and hearing this song really takes me back to that time period in a myriad of ways. That's probably an extra point right there. But also as a pop song... it's just a dang good time. It's sharp, sassy, sunny and just plain fun. It's by no means an evergreen the way many other pop songs are, but I also kinda love it regardless?
Gimmel's debut album Lentoon was obviously a massive success, as it became the country's second most sold album of 2002. The second single "Roviolla" ("On the Bonfire") was another big hit though it stalled #3 in the charts - its attempt at hard "rock" didn't really appeal to me at the time and it sounds even more awkward now. Whilst more songs were sent as quick promo singles for the radio, Gimmel (and their production team) opted not to extend the campaign and instead shifted their attention towards a second album while the trio were still striking hot. Gimmel will be here again.
The Metallica Award for the Worst #1 of the Year: Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus - Surupuku (3 wks at #1)
By this point the charts featuring heavier music is nothing surprising: metal and hard rock have always appealed to the Finnish mentality for some reason and it's popular enough to break into the mainstream. But you may have noticed the absence of heavy bands singing in Finnish - whilst there were many acts who favoured their mother tongue, it simply wasn't cool or commercial enough for mainstream success. That'll start changing soon, and we have Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus to partially thank for that - they have been retrospectively credited as one of the torchbearers for Finnish language heavy music - certainly from the commercial perspective - and what we have here is their breakthrough single.
Frontman Timo Rautiainen put together the Trio Niskalaukaus ("Trio Neck Shot") in the mid-1990s: the name was a comedic interpretation of a generic bar band name, made even more into a joke by the band being a quintet. The band, however, were absolutely not a comedy act - with the debut album Lopunajan merkit focused on environmentalist themes and the sophomore release Itku pitkästä ilosta largely tackling death, Rautiainen and his crew projected a very serious visage. The critical reception was good and many reviewers were particularly praising Rautiainen's clear Finnish delivery, considered novel for the genre. The commercial success didn't quite match praises, though there were external reasons involved: on the week Lopunajan merkit was due to be released the nation was shocked by a triple homicide shooting which lead to the label pulling all the promotional adverts for the album - all making references to the band's name - from being published, leading to little to no promo. Positive word of mouth and hard work paid off though: the band's third album (excluding the album where they re-recorded a number of songs from the first two albums in German) Rajaportti struck gold, and its lead single "Surupuku" ("Mourning Clothes") became a #1 hit.
But here's another confession I've got to make: I find Timo Rautiainen so incredibly dull. Both the voice of Rautiainen himself, who just sounds like an average Joe trying to big himself up to be a serious rock singer, as well as the music which I can best describe as stodgy. Rautiainen's songs sound like wading through treacle, while also resembling cookie cutter Finnish hard rock to such an extent that I find it difficult to take it as seriously as the lyrics demand. The latter, naturally, is likely a problem of Niskalaukaus leading the way and causing a ripple effect of so much other music sounding like his band, but many of the peers that would start coming out following his trail usually sounded like they had a little bit more life to them. Trio Niskalaukaus is, to my ears, clinical to a fault. I never got along with them back in the day, and I still don't - their success mystifies me apart from, well, Finland just loving stuff like this by default.
So to no one's surprise, "Surupuku" doesn't do much for me. The run-of-the-mill chugga chugga guitars, Rautiainen's expressionless and po-faced delivery and the supposed "heavy" crashdown bits are just all so predictable, flavourless and boring. The reason I think "Surupuku" ended up becoming a hit, I think, is the chorus melody - it's actually a pretty decent one and thanks to the decision to add a bit more production layers underneath it, for a moment the song sounds like something that could actually potentially elicit some form of emotion. It's held back by Rautiainen not having an inch of resonance in his voice, but you can just about tap into something there, and for a country that was generally receptive to those chugga-chugga riffs then that must have sounded like gold. I find it such a nothing of a song that it barely registers when it plays, and I only get a little annoyed that the chorus melody didn't find a home somewhere... better.
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Onto 2003 I go, where many of the aforementioned ripples start showing up.
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