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Karaoke Nation

© Juuso Westerlund

Karaokekansa (A Karaoke Nation), is a photographic account of Finnish karaoke. The story is a concise period piece on contemporary Finns in the framework of karaoke. It is an account of taciturn people, who are not even able to take their eyes from their own toes while conversing with one another, yet who want to sing about their joys and sorrows to unknown people in the limelight of their local, night after night.

Is karaoke a phenomenon that reached Finland during the 1990's depression and took hold of the people like cigarette smoke after night out, or are we just continuing our ancient Kalevala (national epic of Finland) folk song tradition into the third millennium?

A book Karaoke Nation was published in 2007.

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