Pirjo auditions for Masked Singer Suomi

Pirjo decides to have an “open-air concert” near the shed.

She starts by searching the barrel of long items outside of the shed, and is excited when she runs her fingers across the tines of a rake and it makes several different semi-musical sounds, exclaiming that it practically “plays itself”.

After setting up various items from the shed on a nearby work table – the rake, a ladder, two service bells, an old floppy disk storage container – Pirjo pulls out a lion mask from the shed, explaining that it will not actually be part of her instrument, but that she is “so ashamed” of what she has been tasked to do, that she does not want to show her face.

Pirjo explains that she has cobbled together what she claims is a barrel organ, but that instead of performing to a delighted audience, she feels that anyone watching her performance will be horrified before quickly moving on to despising her.

Pirjo dons the lion mask and gives herself a quick pep talk before starting on her performance – banging against the barrel with a sledge hammer while screaming the opening line of Ukko Noaa, then slamming the sledge hammer against a nearby wheelbarrow.

For the second half of the song, Pirjo uses two garden tools to play her “barrel organ” like a drum, clanging loudly against everything she has set up in a flourish, after she has finished singing.

She then insists that she will not remove her mask, and actually returns to the house while still wearing it.

In the studio, Jaakko makes sure Pirjo is aware that everyone knew that it was her wearing the mask. Pirjo agrees, but says that she couldn’t get through the performance (due to her feeling of shame) without it.

Jaakko assures Pirjo that her performance was incredibly rousing – that not only did it rouse emotions, but that the noise of it had roused the entire neighbourhood.

Jaakko awards Pirjo first place, as well as a bonus point for admitting on camera that her wearing of the lion mask (and subsequent refusal to remove it afterwards) was due to her embarrassment at her own performance.

(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by Karl Craven)