Tallink cruise director says stars also sing karaoke

Tallink cruise director Rami Kiiskinen says karaoke is so popular in Finland that it is like a national sport, and even performers who appear on a ship’s main stage sing in the karaoke bar, ERR reported.

Kiiskinen explained that passengers can choose from 120,000 songs by writing their name and song choice on a slip. They can also request a higher or lower key.

Artists performing on the ship’s main stage sometimes visit the pub to sing karaoke. Kiiskinen mentioned her friend Annika Eklund, whose songs are often chosen by singers.

Kiiskinen was born in Finland in 1996. Her mother is Estonian and moved to Finland in 1994, while her father is Finnish. Both parents are deaf, and the family uses Finnish Sign Language at home.

Kiiskinen enjoys singing and often opens karaoke nights with a song. She said her mother can hear a little and used to turn the car music up while driving Kiiskinen to school, so she could feel the bass and rhythm. Classmates watched as they arrived, Kiiskinen recalled.

Kiiskinen said karaoke is not about how well someone sings, but about having fun and supporting one another. The person with the best mood gets the most applause, she said.

TV host Reet Linna chose to sing the punk song “Tere perestroika” with Kiiskinen. Kiiskinen said she does not usually listen to or sing punk, preferring Finnish tangos and waltzes, so the song was a new experience for her.