Ever since Erika Vikman participated in the Finnish preselections, UMK 2020 with “Cicciolina”, she has become the new pop and disco queen of Finland and one of the country’s most popular artists with several hits in her catalogue already.
On the 2nd July, the timing for her concert was perfect just before the end of the Pride Week in Helsinki. The audience was truly enjoying their time at Allas Sea Pool, a seaside open air venue just next to the market square. It was a hot and sunny summer night, and Erika was dressed in cool sunglasses, glittery belt and cowgirl trousers, standing on the red stage. “Happy Pride week! Let’s party! Love is a human right!”, she declared.
Gig packed with hits and songs for Erika’s upcoming album
Erika performed all of her own hits so far – “Cicciolina”, “Syntisten pöytä” (“Table of sinners“), “Häpeä” (“Shame“) and this year’s safe sex song, recorded with her songwriting partner Arttu Wiskari, “Tääl on niin kuuma” (“It’s so hot here“). They all sounded like real bangers on stage and got the audience to sing along. We also heard many of Erika’s so far unreleased songs, which most likely will be included on her forthcoming album. The titles are “Ei rakkaus kulu käyttämällä” (“Love is not worn out by using it“), “Amorin siivet” (“Wings of Amor“) and another song getting its lyrical inspiration from religious themes: “Pyhä Erika” (“Saint Erika“).
As there is always a bit of camp and retro elements in Erika’s performances, she also sang some hits by the 80’s and early 90’s Finndisco star Kikka. The sultry “Sukkula Venukseen” (“A shuttle to Venus“), originally Kikka’s 1990 entry to the Finnish music contest Syksyn sävel, has become a classic and was perfectly re-interpreted by Erika.
After the long pause in concert events, Erika as well as many more artists have their calendars fully booked with summer gigs – and that’s what we music fans have been waiting for!