News - Katra’s song Tietäjä is not plagiarized | Eurovision Song Contest News - 2010 Oslo, Norway 

A neutral jury YLE put together to decide if Tietäjä composed by Risto Asikainen is a copy of Within Temptation’s Jillian has come to the conclusion it is not; YLE confirmed today. The "Katragate" exploded over the weekend after the second Finnish semi final where Katra qualified for the Euroviisut final with Tietäjä.

The song was a clear favourite by the televoters gaining 75% of the votes against her other song in the running, Vaaratar. Both songs are written by Risto Asikainen and Ilkka Vainio. The jury that consisted of four music professionals, composers and conductors compared the songs on paper and decided they are not the same song.

Kalle Torniainen - one of the jury members - said, “A song must have the same harmony and melody through the whole chorus before we can speak of plagiarism. Here it is more a question of atmosphere and same music style. Otherwise the songs are completely different.”

“The songs are all too different to call it plagiarism,” says Veikko Samuli, “Only the style is similar. That may make people who can’t read music think it is alike.”

“This is a completely different melody,” confirms Riku Niemi. “The music style and atmosphere create an illusion of being alike when they are only similar, and only in a little piece of the chorus. The rest of the melody is completely different,” concludes Pertti Haverinen.

“I have listened to Within Temptation before” says Katra, “but I was more worried 'Tietäjä' might be compared to Nightwish’s 'Wishmaster' if anything. This 'Jillian' is something totally unexpected to me. But good music awakes this kind of passion and feelings.”

Katra has been one of the most interesting singers in this year’s Euroviisut even before this small  controversy. Her rock-metal-opera leaves no-one cold, you love it or you hate it. Many who were in the Tohlhoppi studios to see her live commented that she lost half her charm when seen on the small TV screen.

Katra also denies being a well designed product. “This is me. I have designed my wardrobe myself. I have had this long hair for a long time, it’s all mine. No extensions, only the color comes from a bottle,” she says. She has been studying music for the past 15 years and at the moment studies composing and piano in Tampere. She also reads and travels a lot. “I have just been to Egypt, seen the pyramids. I also feel very much at home in Greece. I think the ancient cultures are very close to my present persona,” she concludes.

She used to sing and play keyboards in Lovex, and she currently lives with a Lovex member with whom she has a child. We can only guess what the main topic of discussion has been in that household lately. Lovex will be in the third Finnish semi final next Saturday singing Wild and violent and the super favourite Anyone anywhere.