Things are getting steamy in Scandinavia. Grab your towels (or don’t), because KAJ are stepping out of the sauna and onto the Eurovision 2025 stage, ready to represent Sweden with ‘Bara Bada Bastu’.

Feeling the heat

Sweden had the whole of Europe on their toes at the Eurovision 2025 national selection final Melodifestivalen, with a tense contest . We got a cameo from Eurovision favourite Petra Mede, a performance from Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo, and a packed programme of top talent.

Finnish-Swedish band KAJ brought their sauna-themed song Bara Bada Bastu to the show, and they’d already had plenty of attention across the world with their catchy tune. But they were up against stiff competition – including two previous Eurovision artists, one who already has a lovely shiny Eurovision trophy at home.

First, they had to take on John Lundvik, who represented Sweden in Eurovision 2019 with the song Too Late For Love, finishing in 5th place. Next up was Måns Zelmerlöw with his new song Revolution. Måns won the Contest in 2015 with the iconic song Heroes. There were plenty of other strong acts too, all itching to get their hands on a ticket to Basel.

The points came in. And after a race on the leaderboard that looked to go either way, KAJ beat Måns to the win. Maybe it was the song, the showmanship… or maybe regular sauna use really is some kind of magic.

The naked truth about KAJ

By now, KAJ are well-known for their humour, energy, and folk-pop sound. They all come from the Swedish-speaking region of Ostrobothnia in Finland, and they started their musical journey in their hometown, Vörå.

The three friends (Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, and Jakob Norrgård) started locally, singing witty songs that celebrated Finland-Swedish culture. They think they’ve performed at every restaurant and lavatanssit (a traditional Finnish outdoor dance) in Ostrobothnia by now.

Before long they were performing sold-out tours, and they’ve even played in Tokyo. There are around 17.8 million sauna users in Japan, although we can’t confirm whether they’ve all listened to Bara Bada Bastu.

KAJ might have gone global, but their feet are on the ground. They say that if they could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, they’d choose their grandmothers.

The ones who steam it up

Bara Bada Bastu is a celebration of Nordic sauna culture, and a way to bring Finland-Swedish to the masses. There are thought to be 3.3 million saunas in Finland, and over 300,000 in Sweden, where it’s called a “ bastu .” Both countries even have national sauna days.

The band wrote the song together with Swedish songwriters and producers Anderz Wrethov, Kristoffer Strandberg, and Robert Skowronski. Anderz has written 44 songs for Melodifestivalen before, and has competed in Eurovision 6 times, including with John Lundvik’s Too Late For Love. Kristofer is a member of the Swedish metal band Eyes Wide Open, and Robert owns the record label Emperial.

The song shot to number one on Spotify in both Sweden and Finland, also getting to the top spot on the Spotify Global Viral 50.

They've had other hits too. In their music video for their K-pop inspired song Pa To Ta Na Kako? KAJ had pink, blue, and white hair. It took weeks for the colour to fade, which wasn’t the best look. KAJ, may we introduce you to the concept of wigs?

The hottest Eurovision moments

Their earliest Eurovision memory is seeing the Olsen Brothers win for Denmark in 2000 with Fly On The Wings Of Love. KAJ say: “It made us want to play the guitar and write catchy songs. We particularly loved the Danish version of the hit. Us, as 7 year olds, trying to sing in Danish is a fond memory.”

Their true Eurovision heroes are Lordi, because their win was so monumental. The rock band took the Contest by storm in 2006, winning for Finland with Hard Rock Hallelujah. Lordi's sauna usage is, as of yet, unconfirmed.

KAJ's favourite karaoke song is Roger Pontare’s When Spirits Are Calling My Name, which represented Sweden at Eurovision in 2000, and there’s one song that always gets them up on the dance floor. It’s another Eurovision banger; Ruslana’s Wild Dances, which won the Contest for Ukraine in 2004.

In search of Swiss saunas

They’ve taken on the Nordics, and even Tokyo, and now KAJ are ready for Switzerland. They’ll be pleased to know that Basel is home to a number of saunas, and Switzerland shares the Swedish and Finnish custom of sauna nakedness. So KAJ, remember to pack your... nothing.

Once they’ve tested out Switzerland’s sauna game and got dressed again, they can’t wait to get up on stage and perform their song. Set the temperature to hot, hot, hot!

Listen out for KAJ on the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast .

You can learn more about KAJ from Sweden right here .