From a stint on Survivor to rubbing shoulders with Harry Styles, our latest digital cover star Joalin has some surprising stories to tell
Born in Turku, Finland but raised under the balmy Mexican sun, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter Joalin Loukamaa first rose to fame when she was invited to join the ultra-popular international dance group Now United. Today, Joalin is forging her own successful solo career as an artist, with music that is becoming quickly known for angelic vocals and dreamy, Latino, and reggaeton beats that transport you somewhere under the palm trees.
But aside from her infectious bops and suave moves that dominate our social media feed, what else has Vogue Scandinavia’s latest digital cover star gotten up to? Ahead, we shed light on three things about Joalin you might not have been aware of.
She has tried her hand at reality TV – twice
Joalin in the Survivor. Photo: Banijay Finland Oy
In 2021, Joalin ventured into reality TV and participated in the Finnish version of the mega-hit show Survivor. Competing against 15 other celebrities, the group headed up north to the chilly temperatures and barren wilderness of Finnish Lapland – the opposite of the hot and humid tropics the series is usually set in. But Joalin did not let the cold and wet circumstances slow her down, as she almost made it to the grand finale and placed third in the competition.
A year later, with her sights set on the top prize, Joalin was back on the show, which this time was filmed in Malaysia. However, the artist’s journey was cut short this time as she was “voted off the island” in only the second episode. Viewers and fans alike were immensely disappointed to see Joalin leave the show so early, and many took to social media to air their thoughts on the injustice.
She appears in Harry Styles’ music video
Not many of us can say that we have danced up against Harry Styles – yes, we are talking skin-to-skin – but Joalin can add that to her resume as well (not that we are jealous at all). Appearing in Styles’ music video for his song ‘Lights Up’, which the British artist released in 2019, Joalin can be spotted in the front, right next to Styles, bopping to the mellow beats of the pop hit.
Unpacking the surreal experience to Finnish publication Seiska, Joalin explains how the dancers, her included, had no idea who they were performing with until everyone’s phones were taken and Styles rocked up to the set. Joalin also says she made it her mission to be in the front because she wanted to show everyone that “look, I got this.”
She has published an audiobook titled Mun Polku Unelmiin (Catching Dreams)
Giving her fans a detailed and honest view into her life, in 2021, Joalin published an audiobook titled Mun Polku Unelmiin (Catching Dreams). Written by Johanna Loukamaa, her mum and manager (or “momager” as Joalin calls her), the book delves into the ups and downs of Joalin’s journey to stardom. Joalin’s family’s struggles in a single-parent household, the duo’s new life in Mexico, being bullied at school, joining Now United and leaving the group all are topics that are touched on in the book. Joalin also speaks openly about a horrifying drug cartel extortion case that led her family to flee Mexico and return to Finland in 2020.