From a pop rock band to Eurovision, TV presenting, politics, a cookbook and now Algarve real estate, Katrin Siska’s life story is as full of key changes, pyrotechnics and glamour as a Eurovision song entry. Sophie Sadler met the glamorous Estonian to find out more about her journey.
Katrin is the only person I have interviewed over a morning coffee to arrive with a bottle of sparkling wine as a gift. I obviously like her instantly! Maybe her need to make big gestures derives from the fact that she hails from one of the smallest countries in the world – Estonia. Siska was born in Estonia’s capital city Tallinn: “I collected photos of famous actors, athletes, supermodels and singers, and wished to become one myself.”
Katrin was a member of a school choir and started playing the piano when she was seven years old. While she was in high school, she met Piret Järvis, a fellow musician. In 2002, they started a pop rock band in school, wearing torn jeans and metal chains that they bought from a pet shop!
The duo heard that the Estonian music producer Sven Lõhmus was looking to create a girl group. The plucky girls met with him to audition, and, although he was looking for a dance style, they persuaded him to go for pop-rock. “We wanted to have attitude, and wear torn clothes and sneakers,” laughs Katrin. Sven put them together with two other girls, Maarja Kivi and Lenna Kuurmaa, who had been friends in a different high school.
Sven was, and still is, one of the best songwriters and music producers in Estonia. He wrote the hit songs that would propel them to stardom. In 2003, the group participated in the Estonian Eurovision Song Contest preselection Eurolaul. Performing the song ‘Club Kung Fu’, the group proved to be by far the most popular in the phone polls, but, unlike other countries, Estonia used a jury to decide the song for Eurovision instead of the televote. The jury, which included figures such as Michael Ball, did not share the televoters’ enthusiasm and placed the girls joint bottom of the ten entrants. However, the TV show made the girls famous overnight in their home country and the popularity of the song created a buzz before the release of their debut album. Vanilla Ninja was released in May of that same year, featuring the original version of the song ‘Club Kung Fu’, along with a drum and bass remix, and 13 new pop-rock tracks in English and Estonian. The album proved to be a success in Estonia and launched the girls into the national mainstream.
Vanilla Ninja toured Estonia that summer, however they had greater ambitions. They turned their eyes to Europe and employed a new international manager who introduced them to a talented German songwriter and music producer, David Brandes. With this new management, the girls moved to Germany, where they produced several albums. A promo tour to Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria and Japan followed. They made history as the first band to break through outside of Estonia.
Despite their rising popularity in Switzerland, no one expected the shock announcement that Vanilla Ninja would represent the country in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. This decision by the Swiss selectors was met with backlash from some, who believed the group should represent their home countries instead. The Swiss selectors had been scarred by a number of bad results and nil pointes and were hopeful that this internationally renowned girl band could bring a turn-around of their fortunes. The song ‘Cool Vibes’ was written by David Brandes, who, although living in Germany, was Swiss. The controversy was further fueled by the replacement of member Maarja Kivi, who was pregnant, with Triinu Kivilaan, who was only 15 years old at the time.
Doubts were raised about Kivilaan’s eligibility due to age restrictions, jeopardising Vanilla Ninja’s contest participation. However, the Swiss selectors decided to stand by the group, as Kivilaan would turn 16 before the contest, allowing them to compete. Despite the controversy surrounding their selection, Vanilla Ninja was a huge success, coming 8th in Kyiv and making waves both on and off the stage. “All of Estonia voted for us,” says Katrin proudly.
Katrin has many happy memories of her years of musical fame. The group travelled to glamorous locations to film music videos, and one in Mallorca stuck in her mind when they had to ride horses on the beach. “We had to stay on a farm for two weeks to learn to ride. Our teacher was Bryce from Texas, who wore a big cowboy hat. After intensive training on the saddle all day, we couldn’t sit down and the horse camp smelled so strongly of horse poop that we could hardly smell anything else! Finally, when we went to the beach to film, we discovered that the beautiful white horses were not used to sand, so one reared and Piret fell off. Luckily, she fell on her tailbone without any serious injury.”
When they introduced their album in Japan in 2004, Katrin remembers that people on the street already recognised them as four tall blond girls who really stood out in Tokyo. She remembers they ate sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and after that, she couldn’t eat it again for 10 years. She also laughs, remembering their Japanese tour manager who drank one beer and was so drunk he couldn’t walk, while the girls who were used to Estonian vodka were downing sake with no side effects!
During their time in the media spotlight in Germany, they performed on the prime-time Stefan Raab Show. “Stefan was very cool and funny,” remembers Katrin. “After the show, he invited us to perform at a party he used to throw at a ski resort. As a result, we were invited to try the bobsleigh course. We were rushing down at 100km/h, and my elbow was a bit out of the sleigh. On one of the curves, I hit it hard against the ice when the sleigh spiralled in the ice tunnel. I was lucky that no serious damage was done. But, it was a crazy experience that I will never forget.”
These high-profile appearances opened many doors for them, and they parted ways with David to sign with EMI, which also had Robbie Williams on its label. At the height of their fame, there were even Vanilla Ninja Barbie dolls. In their native Estonia, they still have ice creams named after them with their faces on the packaging. After moving back to Estonia from Germany in 2006, the band still gave concerts around the world.
In 2009, they performed their biggest gig at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile. The show was aired all over Latin America, and they won the prize for Best Artist. During their time touring, they also shared a stage with Lenny Kravitz, Pink, Enrique Iglesias, Gwen Stefani and many more.
Katrin remembers, “It was amazing how down-to-earth these artists were. We were starstruck, but they were so warm and welcoming. I particularly remember Pink and Enrique Iglesias, who talked to us like they were friends. I remain a big fan of theirs. And Lenny Kravitz once approached us backstage, entered our dressing room and chatted with us like a bestie. He was super hot and sexy (we melted under his eyes!).”
But then came the economic crash, and with much of their success built on tours and festivals, bookings dried up, so the girls returned home. “At this stage, we were the most famous and successful group in Estonia, but no one could afford to book us.”
Their deal with EMI also didn’t elevate them in the way they had hoped. They had a suspicion all the label’s resources were being driven to Robbie Williams at that time.
In 2010, the girls decided to take a break from the band. Katrin went to university and graduated in law. She is fluent in Estonian, Russian, English, German and Finnish.
Katrin then worked as a TV host and music producer and had an interior design TV show. She was also a keen yogi and interested in health before she took the unlikely course of going into politics. She explains, “As a celebrity, I knew a lot of people and as I loved yoga, I wanted to start the first yoga centre in Tallinn, so I approached the mayor and one of the most powerful and legendary Estonian politicians of all time, Edgar Savisaar. He must have been impressed with my persuasive skills because, instead of granting me permission for a yoga centre, he asked me to work for him.”
In this new role, Karin organised big music events all over Estonia, before it was suggested that she might secure votes as a political candidate. In August 2009, Siska joined the Estonian Centre Party and became an elected politician. With this elevated status, she applied to be the director of a big cultural centre and got the job in 2010, tripling its revenue. “When I worked as a director of the cultural centre, it was the biggest challenge of my life. I had to manage 20 employees despite being the youngest of them all. But we ended up all as great colleagues and good friends.”
Her personal life was also in a good place. She met her partner Kristjan in 2007 when Vanilla Ninja was touring. He joined them at many of the concerts backstage to party together afterwards. They welcomed their son Alexander in 2013 and Katya left the cultural centre after three years in that role.
Katrin has always been interested in healthy eating and wellness, so she started planning a book with her tips on how to lose baby kilos. In 2017, she published Joy from Food, a guide to healthy eating with menu plans. “This book was born out of my great passion for cooking and photography. I prepared all the meals myself in my home kitchen and took the pictures on our family’s surfboards.”
While her son was still young, she and Kristjan, a businessman, started travelling together. They visited Portugal many times before they decided to put down roots here. “I’m amazed at how beautiful the Algarve and Portugal are. I am so happy to discover nature and meet friends. I love the stories of the people here. And I love the international feel of the community. It is so different from Estonia and very interesting. Wherever I go, I’m always thinking ‘wow!’ The Algarve has everything you need.”
In 2021, Katrin made a comeback with Vanilla Ninja. They filmed several new music videos in Berlin and Tallinn for the new album and released a book and several singles. But a year later, Katrin and Triinu decided to leave the band. With Katrin living in Portugal and Triinu in Switzerland, along with the other two girls in Estonia, the logistics were too complicated. Katrin decided that after years of being in a girl band, she wanted to spend her weekends with her new band – her family. She tells me that while all her former bandmates are very different, they still get on well and remain friends.
Katrin is now using her charm, model good looks and joie de vive to sell properties in the Algarve. After living some time in Alvor, she moved with her family to Lagos and decided to dive into the real estate business in the Algarve. She joined Villas Key in Lagos. “I am truly happy with my career as a real estate agent here in the all-year-sunny paradise Algarve.”
So, for now, Katrin is saying ‘thank you for the music’ and bowing out of the limelight, but she would like to write a new book about the Algarve. She also just got engaged to Kristjan this summer after 17 years together. And with her dazzling smile and ’cool vibes’, there is no doubt she will continue to be a ‘ninja’ in everything she does in the future.
