A year in the life of Lordi

by Ilari Karhapää 190 views

Winning the Eurovision Song Contest was a real career boost for the monsters. Unpredicted success followed and opened them doors to places that in the end have nothing to do with Eurovision. Mr Lordi, however, is not sad at all to pass on the trophy to someone else in two weeks in Helsinki. They have a busy year behind them and 2007 will be no different.

If there was a word to describe Lordi’s year it must be hectic. “Hectic and busy, yes. There is no other way to describe it” admits Mr Lordi or Tomi Putaansuu himself. “Nothing has really changed except the amount: more gigs, bigger audiences, more interviews, more TV, more visibility, more sales – you can add zeros in the end of all those figures compared to 2005. We are now where we would have been maybe in five years, but with much more work. Winning the Eurovision was a really unexpected struck of luck. But nothing stays forever, we know it. Even Michael Jackson is no longer what he was, the king of pop!”

Lordi’s year in Finland has been one of breaking records and being first in many things in the Finnish music history: first ever Eurovision winner, best selling album, biggest ever crowd to see them live in Helsinki’s Market square after their victory… the list goes on. Is Mr Lordi full of himself and looking at himself in the mirror with pride? “Hell no, I am as I was before. I have no sense of competition and capacity to tell others how good or successful I am. But somehow it feels like everything went like it was supposed to go. This was our goal and here we are. Funny thing is how success doesn’t change things if you don’t let it. I thought that after selling a lot of records and making big money I would want to drive around in the limousine and have dolce vita but no, your socks still get torn and your underwear dirty, you walk your dogs and you go to Lidl to do your grocery shopping!”

He isn’t afraid when their year as reigning champions is nearing the end. “On the contrary. It has given us a lot but it is already time to move on and put Eurovision to rest. After all we are a hard rock band and we don’t want to be labelled Eurovision band forever even if it has given us so much. Helsinki will be our last engagement with Eurovision.”

Lordi has been doing concerts in all sort of places over the year, from small clubs to big arenas and MTV Music Awards. Where has been their best gig so far? “Well, the best gig is never the same to all band members. For me it was maybe the first gig in Rovaniemi after winning the Eurovision. And quite funnily it was not sold out, there was one seat left! For some reason that has stuck into my mind. But for me it was great. It was home. Really cool.”

Meanwhile in Europe the concert places got bigger and bigger and the audience was filled with the hats featuring Finnish flag and the Lappish Four winds hat Mr Lordi wore himself after winning in Athens. In some gigs there was no sign of Eurovision. “In Download Festival in England it was just like the previous year. No one cared about the Eurovision, it was not important.”

Lordi’s record company has marketed Lordi in very different ways in various countries. In Sweden for example the marketing was aimed to kids and Lordi was asked (and they refused) to perform in various children’s TV shows. In Germany on the other hand they wanted Lordi in porn magazines posing with naked ladies. From kids to porn: the same band and music, this is how no one seems to know how to categorize Lordi.

These days Lordi has been busy in Japan and the United States before coming home for the final of the Eurovision song contest 2007 in Helsinki. They also feature in the opening video of the final, shot by Antti J. Jokinen in Rovaniemi and Lapland recently. After Eurovision the filming of their first movie Dark floors will begin before going to tour the United States in the summer. Mr Lordi’s restaurant in Rovaniemi is doing well and May 9 the stamp will be issued with his face along with the other Finnish Eurovision stars.

Lordi’s year:

May 20 Lordi wins the Eurovision song contest in Athens with record number of votes.
Pre-orders for the album in Europe hit 140.000
May 22 Lordi is welcomed home by the Prime minister Matti Vanhanen
May 24 A gossip magazine 7 päivää published Mr Lordi’s real face photo. Over 200.000 signed
the petition on internet to boycott the magazine
May 26 Lordi performs in Helsinki’s Market square to nearly 90.000 people who sung in karaoke
Hard rock hallelujah and got themselves into Guinness Book of records
June 6 Hard rock hallelujah is released in the UK on date 060606
June 6 The centre square in Rovaniemi is renamed Lordi’s square. 8000 people gather together to see the band
June 10 Lordi’s mask is sold for 6701 euros for charity
June 11 Lordi perform in Download metal festival in Donington Park, UK
June 16 The Arockalypse hits number one in Sweden. No other Finnish artist has managed that. By September it had sold gold
Sept 1 Lordi Cola and Lordi Cola Light are launched along with some candy
Sept 16 Lordi started their European tour. Hard rock hallelujah has sold 150.000 in Germany and gets gold record. The album will hit gold in February 2007 (100.000 copies sold)
Nov 1 Lordi is the main performer in the MTV Europe Music Awards
Nov 11 The official book Mie oon Lordi is published
Dec 12 The band is invited to the President’s Independence Day reception but does not go
because they can’t wear their masks
Dec 15 Lordi’s The rocktaurant restaurant opens in Rovaniemi. Guest of honour Santa Claus
Feb 2 The Arockalypse hits the Japanese charts at no 13 on its release week
Mar 10 Lordi wins five Emma Awards or Finnish Grammys
Mar 20 The Arocalypse is released in the United States and Canada
Apr 6 Lordi starts touring the clubs in Japan
May 5 Lordi will perform in Bamboozle festival in New Jersey, USA
May 7 Filming of the horror movie Dark Floors will begin
May 9 The stamp Mr Lordi draw himself will be published
May 12 Lordi will open the Eurovision song contest 2007 final in Helsinki
May 20 Lordi will do PR for the Dark floors movie in Cannes Film festival
July 12 Lordi will tour America with Ozzfest. It kicks of in Seattle and will hit 24 major cities
in the United States until August 30. While on tour they will do extra gigs in clubs.