Joalin

 NEW SINGLE : LA CHICA-CÁ

28TH FEBUARY

Like the waves of the ocean, Joalin is always in a flow state. The Finnish artist and dancer’s creative practice has always been inspired by movement – whether in her fluid, breathtaking pop melodies, dancing practice or the constant motion of her colourful upbringing. “I’ve always been a very creative person, but the place that always allows me to go deep is anywhere by the water,” she says. “I love being near the sea; we just have a special friendship. It’s what inspires me.”

Like her source of inspiration, Joalin’s meditations on love, heartbreak and self-trust are moving and all-encompassing. Set to an intoxicating blend of pop, R&B and reggaeton-inflected productions, she can effortlessly glide from ethereal falsettos to puckish rap-speak, from English to Spanish. “Being in Finland, writing in Spanish gives me security because nobody understands what I’m singing about,” she says. “This gives me the privacy and extra confidence to be more vulnerable in my art.”

Joalin was born in her native Finland but emigrated to Spain as a toddler with her dancer mother. At the age of ten, she moved to Mexico and stayed in the vibrant country for a decade. Though she considers herself someone who “grew up a bit everywhere”, it was her formative years spent in the charming beachside town of Playa del Carmen, where her family founded a dance academy, that helped her bloom into the artist she is now. “This is the age when you learn more about life and your own personality comes through. These are the years when I actually became who I am,” she says with a smile. “And now I’ve come into my own.”

Joalin first picked up the pen during Covid stagnation in 2021, after meeting with Finnish producer Jori Sjöroos. Though she had always been a deft performer, she “never considered herself a singer”. But during those studio sessions, something inside of her unlocked; Joalin began pouring her interior world into the mic, eventually resulting in her melodic, lo-fi dembow 2022 single, Angelito. “When you listen to my music, you can hear that it’s Latin-inspired, but also Finnish. It’s warm but cold; cosy but melancholic,” she muses. 

This eclectic, universal approach has resonated with people the world over. At just 22 years old, Joalin has amassed an impressive cache of accolades that most artists don’t achieve in a lifetime. Angelito has over 3 million streams and counting; she has co-directed and cut her own DIY-spun music videos for singles I’m the One and more recently La Chica-cá with visual artist Jean-Sébastien Degni (ENNY, Unknown T); she featured on the Spotify Equal billboard in Times Square, as well as covered Scandinavian Vogue; and her legion of devout fans – which currently sits at 3.2 million on Instagram, 3.1 million on TikTok and over 3 million views on YouTube – are always anticipating her next move. 

Joalin’s future looks poised for global stardom. With a highly-awaited project on the way, which includes her forthcoming single, the emotionally rich La Chica-cá (a play on Spanish slang that translates to ‘this girl right here’), she is reveling in the true power in her vulnerability. “I’d love for my art to reach the people that can connect with it. There’s a lot of soul and feeling in my music – like I leave a part of me in the songs,” she beams. “I’ve always had this feeling that there’s this big power inside of me that wants to get out. I want to do it all!”