In the summer karaoke hits, many of the same classics seem to recur, but one song returns to people's lips over and over again: "Vielä on kesää jäljellä" (There's still summer left). A good karaoke song evokes emotions—and this song is truly either loved or hated. It can be sung seriously with nostalgia or with tongue in cheek, depending on when it is belted out.
We decided to conduct valuable and entirely relevant research over the past three years on how the progression of summer affects the singing sessions of this enduring favorite.
We created a chart of the singing sessions for the song "There's Still Summer Left" in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The blue line represents perhaps the "normal" result from these three summers, as during that time, we were not yet aware of the existence of COVID-19. Oh, those times. However, during the COVID-19 summers of 2020 and 2021, the song surprisingly held its ground, and the singing sessions rose to almost the same levels as in the summer of 2019, as can be seen from the image below.
Already in June, the number of singing sessions has seen a significant increase, but the highest figures are clearly concentrated towards the end of summer. The peak numbers are expectedly situated between mid-July and the end of August.
Towards the end of September, there's still a faint hope among the singing crowd that summer might linger. Right after the beginning of September, a touch of everyday reality seems to set in, but towards the end of the month, there's still a glimpse of optimism before the arrival of October.
Vielä on kesää jäljellä ("There is still summer left") – this saying has secured its place in Finnish coffee table discussions and is annually featured in news headlines covering weather reports. It has also sparked a lot of humor, finding its way into memes and other comedic visuals.
Vielä on kesää jäljellä is a music track by the Mamba band, recorded and released in the spring of 2002. It became one of the most played songs on the radio that year, earning the title of the summer hit of 2002. The track was featured on the album "Meille vai teille," released in the same year.
The song was composed and written by the band's frontman, Tero Vaara, with producer Juha Immonen overseeing the production. When the initial draft of "Vielä on kesää jäljellä" needed a fresh perspective, Warner's Pete Eklund suggested turning to Immonen. Immonen's vision and expertise were instrumental in creating a surefire summer hit. Special thanks to Pete for his role as a mentor, idea bank, and troubleshooter in various turns of events at Warner.
In June 2002, the single 'Vielä on kesää jäljellä' was released. The first raw drafts already raised expectations for the success of the summer single. Upon its release, the song stayed at the top of the playlists and request lists of Radio Suomi, Radio Nova, and KissFM for a long time.
In 2021, Mamba is alive and well. The band's latest single, "Kun tavataan," can be streamed on platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, and Deezer.
There are also live performances scheduled for August, provided that the COVID-19 situation allows. Check out the band's concert schedule at http://www.mamba.fi/keikat.