Katson sineen taivaan

"Katson sineen taivaan" ("I'm looking at the blue sky") was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Finnish by Katri Helena. The song was written by Vexi Salmi, and composed by Matti Siitonen; Better known under his stage name Fredi, Siitonen previously took part in the contest, representing Finland as a singer in 1967 and 1976 with the songs "Varjoon – suojaan" and "Pump-Pump" respectively.

"Katson sineen taivaan"
Single by Katri Helena
from the album Katson sineen taivaan
B-side	Kevät
Released	1979
Length	2:53
Label	Scandia
Composer(s)	Matti Siitonen
Lyricist(s)	Vexi Salmi
Katri Helena singles chronology
"Voitko Rakastaa (All We Need Is Love)" (1978) "Katson sineen taivaan" (1979) "Katson autiota hiekkarantaa" (1979)
Eurovision Song Contest 1979 entry
Country	Finland
Artist(s)	Katri Helena
Language	Finnish
Conductor	Ossi Runne
Finals performance
Final result	14th
Final points	38
Entry chronology
◄ "Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus" (1978)
"Huilumies" (1980) ►

The song was also released in English under the title "I Will Follow Starlight".

Composition

The song is an up-tempo track sung from the perspective of a woman "looking at the blue sky", singing to "the brightest star", and asking it to lead her. Contemporary assessments regarded the song's lyrics as reminiscent of a prayer.^[1] However, the mention of the 'blue sky' could also be associated with Finnish patriotism.^[1] The song has been likened to "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant", which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977;^[2] Helena later covered this song in Finnish under the title "Lintu ja lapsi".^[2]

The composition has also been mentioned as having strong similarities to César Cui's piano prelude Op. 64 No. 2 in E minor.^[3]

At the Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979

The song was performed fifth on the night, following Ireland's Cathal Dunne with "Happy Man" and preceding Monaco's Laurent Vaguener with "Notre vie c'est la musique". At the close of voting, it had received 38 points, placing 14th in a field of 19.

It was succeeded as Finnish representative at the 1980 contest by Vesa-Matti Loiri with "Huilumies". Katri Helena returned to the Contest in 1993 with "Tule luo".

Reception

Despite its lack of success in the contest, the song did well commercially.^[1] The album of the same name sold over 33,000 copies, being certified gold in Finland for the year 1979.^[4] The song is well remembered in Finland, and counts as one of Katri Helena's biggest hits and signature tunes.^[1][2]

Charts

Chart performance for "Katson sineen taivaan"

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Finland (Jukebox chart)[5]	2
Finland (Singles sales chart)[5]	3

Covers

The song was covered by Kaija Koo in the first season of Vain elämää. The cover was subsequently featured on the compilation album Vain elämää jatkuu [fi]. In Finland the album was the third best-selling in 2012, and was certified multi-platinum, having sold over 110,000 copies domestically.^[6] The album peaked at number 1 on the Finnish album charts, retaining the top spot for 7 consecutive weeks.^[7]

Other notable covers by Finnish artists include a cover by rock band Jean S. [fi], and a cover by Aikakone soloist Sani.

References

1. Akkanen, Riku-Matti (30 August 2020). ""Tiesin jo kahden vanhana, että minusta tulee laulaja" – Katson sineen taivaan on 75-vuotta täyttäneen Katri Helenan ikivihreä" ["I knew already at the age of two that I would become a singer" – Katson sineen taivaan is an evergreen for 75-year-old Katri Helena]. Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 July 2023.
2. Koski, Sami (8 September 2020). "Vexi Salmi oli tekemässä Katri Helenasta sinivalkoista ääntä: "Hän oli yksi suurista"" [Vexi Salmi was shaping Katri Helena into a blue-and-white voice: "He was one of the greats"]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 July 2023.
3. Koppinen, Mari (18 November 2018). "Katri Helenan ikivihreässä klassikossa ja venäläisessä pianopreludissa on sama melodia – Soitimme laulun säveltäneelle Fredille ja langoille laskeutui epäuskoinen hiljaisuus" [Katri Helena's evergreen classic and the Russian piano prelude have the same melody – We played it to Fredi, the composer of the song, and an incredulous silence descended upon the room]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
4. "Kotimaiset kulta - ja platinalevyt 1979" [Domestic gold and platinum records 1979] (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
5. Pennanen, Timo (2021). Sisältää (PDF) (in Finnish). Vol. 2. p. 126. ISBN 978-952-7460-01-6.
6. "Myydyimmät levyt 2012" [Best-selling albums 2012] (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
7. "Vain elämää jatkuu". finnishcharts.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 July 2023.

External links

• Lyrics, from Diggiloo Thrush
• Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year