Eurovision sensation! Sauna gang kicks out ESC winner

Solna (Sweden) - A big surprise in Sweden! In the national preliminary round "Melodifestivalen" of the "Eurovision Song Contest" (ESC), former winner and jury favorite Måns Zelmerlöw (38) had to admit defeat to a fun song.

Fire bowl, piles of wood and freaky dancing: Swedish group KAJ won the national Melodifestivalen.
Fire bowl, piles of wood and freaky dancing: Swedish group KAJ won the national Melodifestivalen.  © IMAGO / TT

"Bara bada bastu" sing Kevin Holmström (31), Axel Åhman (32) and Jakob Norrgård (31), whose first letters of their first name led to the band name.

In Swedish with occasional Finnish words, the self-proclaimed sauna brothers sing about this activity, which is particularly popular in winter.

With dancers in lumberjack shirts carrying a tree trunk through the picture and later sweating with Kevin, Axel and Jakob in front of a fire bowl in a sauna with just a towel around their hips, the trio sing that all worries disappear, that it's the best thing for body and soul to simply let off steam and relax at 100 degrees.

Yes, you could definitely call that a fun song. But the stage design alone is a blast.

In the meantime, the stage set has been transformed into a sauna - with accompanying visitors.
In the meantime, the stage set has been transformed into a sauna - with accompanying visitors.  © IMAGO / TT

Melodifestivalen 2025: Viewers vote KAJ to the ESC in Basel

Deeply sad: Måns Zelmerlöw (38), who won the ESC 2015 with "Heroes", came a close second.
Deeply sad: Måns Zelmerlöw (38), who won the ESC 2015 with "Heroes", came a close second.  © IMAGO / TT

Måns Zelmerlöw initially received the most points from the international jury (76:74). However, the 38-year-old, who competed for Sweden with "Heroes" after Conchita Wurst's (36) "Rise Like A Phoenix" victory for Austria in 2015 and won in Vienna, was beaten in the televoting.

It "only" rained 81 points from the viewers for Zelmerlöw, who wanted to compete in Basel with "Revolution". KAJ scored 90, overtook the jury favorite and came out on top by just seven points.

A sensation in Sweden! A few hours later, the sauna song is on a par with Austria in the betting odds on eurovisionworld.com, for whom countertenor Johannes Pietsch (23) aka JJ is competing with the pop opera "Wasted Love".

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place in Basel from May 13 to 17, 2025. Last year, Nemo (25) won with "The Code" in Malmö, Sweden, and brought the ESC to Switzerland - for the first time since 1989.