Kari Kuivalainen (born 1960) is a Finnish singer-songwriter, best known for his participation in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest. Kuivalainen was primarily a composer rather than a singer, and in 1985 he submitted his song "Haaveissa vainko oot mun?" ("Am I Only Dreaming You?") to the Finnish Eurovision selection, where it was performed by Finland's 1981 Eurovision entrant,

Riki Sorsa Richard Esko "Riki" Sorsa (26 December 1952 – 10 May 2016) was a Finnish pop singer. He started his career in 1974 as the lead singer in the band The Zoo. He represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the entry " Reggae OK", a r ...

and finished second. In 1986, he entered another song, "Päivä kahden ihmisen", which was originally intended for singer

Kaija Koo Kaija Kokkola (born 10 September 1962), better known by her stage name Kaija Koo, is a Finnish singer. Kokkola began her career when she was 17 years old, as a member of a band Steel City, later known as Kaija Koo Band, until it broke up and Kai ...

. However, she declined the chance to participate, so Kuivalainen decided to perform the song himself at the National Final, where he was the choice of the jury (by a margin of only one point over former Eurovision participant

Kirka Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin (22 September 1950 – 31 January 2007) was one of the most commercially successful Finnish musicians. His career spanned from the late 1960s until his death in 2007. Previously associated with Ilkka Lipsanen's The Isla ...

) to go forward to represent Finland at the 31st Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the contest, Kuivalainen changed some of the lyrics to the song, and although it was sung in Finnish, the title was changed to " Never The End", which appeared on screen on the night of the contest and is the name by which the song is commonly known. The 1986 contest took place in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on 3 May, with "Never the End" finishing in 15th place of the 20 entries. Kuivalainen subsequently became a member of band Menneisyyden Vangit, alongside another Eurovision veteran,

Vicky Rosti Virve Hannele "Vicky" Rosti (born 10 November 1958, Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer of popular music. Her most famous songs include "Kun Chicago kuoli" (the debut single from 1975, a Finnish language cover version of "The Night Chicago D ...

.Biography at YLE
(Finnish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuivalainen, Kari 1961 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1986 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Finland 20th-century Finnish male singers