Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the original bassist, Sami Vänskä, has been replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist part; previously male vocal-parts were done by Tuomas or guest singers.

Although Nightwish has been prominent in their home country since the release of their first single, “The Carpenter” (1997) and debut album ''Angels Fall First'', they did not achieve worldwide fame until the release of the albums ''Oceanborn'', ''Wishmaster'' and ''Century Child'', which were released in 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively. Their 2004 album, ''Once'', which has sold more than 1 million copies, led to the broadcast of Nightwish video clips on MTV in the United States and inclusion of their music in US movie soundtracks. Their biggest US hit single, “Wish I Had an Angel” (2004), made it onto three US film soundtracks as a means to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for the album, as well as “Sleeping Sun”, from the 2005 “best of” compilation album, ''Highest Hopes'', prior to vocalist Tarja Turunen’s dismissal.

In May 2007, former Alyson Avenue frontwoman, Anette Olzon, was revealed as Tarja Turunen’s replacement, and in the autumn, the band released a new album, ''Dark Passion Play'', which has sold almost 2 million copies, with their big single, "Amaranth", being released one month before. The supporting tour started on October 6, 2007 and ended on September 19, 2009. A new E.P./live album, ''Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)'', was released in March 2009 as a MCD/DVD, and a seventh studio album, titled ''Imaginaerum'', is in production, set for release in late 2011.

Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and the third-best-selling musical entity in Finland with sales of over 827,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band abroad with more than 7 million records sold worldwide, and having collected over 60 gold and platinum awards.

Biography

Formation

He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen to play acoustic guitars, and the classical vocalist Tarja Turunen, who shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov. The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo in the winter of 1996. The name “Nightwish” was derived from their first song together, and the demo also included the song “The Forever Moments”, and an early version of “Etiäinen”.

After recording the ''Nightwish demo'', Holopainen realized that Turunen’s operatic voice was too powerful for an acoustic band, and decided to incorporate heavy metal elements, including electric guitars and drums.

Debut album and first tour

The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, entitled ''Angels Fall First''. As a precursor to their debut full length album of the same name, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records in May 1997. The label signed Nightwish to a two album deal, and the band returned to the studio to re-record songs from their second demo. The full length album ''Angels Fall First'' was released internationally in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single “The Carpenter” reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart. “The Carpenter” single was released as a split with label mates Children of Bodom and Thy Serpent; the album also is one of the two releases which features keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen's vocals, appearing on four of the album's eleven tracks, alongside vocalist Tarja Turunen.

Even with a mixed critical reception, the band, in December 1997 after over a year of existence, made their live debut in their hometown Kitee. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was also a sessional live member on an additional keyboard and was a sessional backing vocalist for Tarja; there were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording ''Oceanborn'', so they asked Sami Vänskä to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Gråt. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because of Nevalainen and Holopainen’s obligatory Finnish military service, and Turunen finishing her schooling.

Nightwish then returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece, to record their follow up album for Spinefarm records.

International success

On October 7, 1998, Nightwish released their second full length album, ''Oceanborn'', in Finland only. Adopting a more technical and progressive sound than ''Angels Fall First'', ''Oceanborn'' saw the band abandon much of the ambient and folk elements present on their debut release, with the only exception of "Moondance". In contrast to the female vocals of Turunen, the album also featured guest growling vocals by Tapio Wilska (ex-Finntroll), since Tuomas did not want to sing again. Wilska is also a former member of Nattvindens Gråt.

''Oceanborn'' was better received than the previous CD, with Allmusic writing that the album “(...)as a whole works great(...)”, with songs that are “(...)very strong(...)”. ''Oceanborn'' was an instant success in Finland, reaching number 5 on the Finnish album charts. The album’s first single, “Sacrament of Wilderness”, hit number 1 on the Finnish singles charts, where it stayed for several weeks. The album’s release was initially limited to Finland, but because of the success of “Sacrament of Wilderness”, Spinefarm released ''Oceanborn'' internationally in the spring of 1999. In May 1999, Nightwish recorded the single “Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse)”, in one month the single sold 15,000 copies in Germany alone. Following the band’s first international success, Nightwish was added as opening band for Rage’s 1999 European tour. Both the album ''Oceanborn'' and the singles “Sacrament of Wilderness” and "Walking in the Air were certified gold in Finland in August 1999.

While in the studio in early 2000 working on their third album, Nightwish was accepted in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sleepwalker”. Despite winning the public vote, Nightwish eventually finished in second place, with the jury choosing local gospel singer Nina Åström to represent Finland.

In 19 May 2000, Nightwish released their third studio album ''Wishmaster'' which debuted at #1 on the Finnish album charts, and following three weeks at number one, was certified gold in Finland. Critical response to the album was mixed, with Allmusic citing the album as repetitive, and saying “as a whole album, it can be a little annoying, even frustrating”. However, German magazine ''Rock Hard'' declared ''Wishmaster'' “Album of the Month”, despite competing against long-awaited May releases from Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi. Following the release of ''Wishmaster'', Nightwish embarked on their first world tour, playing dates in South America, Mexico, Canada, and the first headlining European tour with Sinergy and Eternal Tears of Sorrow. In the summer the band returned to Europe, appearing at the Wacken Open Air festival and the Biebop Metal Fest.

New bassist and change of style

In 2001, Nightwish recorded a cover of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” together with two new songs (“10th Man Down”, unreleased from Oceanborn, and “Away”, unreleased from Wishmaster) and a remake of “Astral Romance” (from the ''Angels Fall First'' album) with Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) singing Tuomas' part. This new material was released as their first (and until 2009 the only) EP, "Over the Hills and Far Away".

The record also included guest performances by Tapio Wilska once again on "10th Man Down". They also released (as VHS, DVD and CD) their live album, ''From Wishes to Eternity'',recorded during a show in Tampere, Finland, on December 29, 2000. Nightwish’s version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" was well received by fans, becoming a frequent part of the band’s live performances, but the songs never had a great break-through and have not been re-released, with the exception of a live performance of "10th Man Down" on the "End of Innocence" DVD with Marco Hietala (current bass player and male vocalist).

Soon after the release, Nightwish met what's been described as one of their hardest points as a band. The problem mostly relied on the bassist, Sami Vänskä who had started misbehaving towards the band, according to Holopainen, by missing appointments and failing to take gigs as seriously as the other members did. After the band discussed of his behaviour with Vänskä several times, without getting any change, everyone simply stopped caring and tensions grew. Meanwhile, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen had started complaining about his role in the band, feeling like "a hired gun who would only do what he's asked to". According to their music teacher, Plamen Dimov, he and Holopainen have totally different characters, and thus difficulties were expected to arise. But Vuorinen was told to stay cool and "bite the bullet", and the problem was never addressed again.

Later, Holopainen confessed that, at that time, he seriously started thinking about breaking Nightwish up. After a gig in Russia, he sent a text message to fellow musician Tony Kakko of metal band Sonata Arctica, telling him that he did not think he had a band any longer, and asking him what plans he had for next year. After Nightwish's last gig for the ''Over the Hills and Far Away'' tour in 2001, Holopainen called Drakkar and Spinefarm, unofficially declaring Nightwish was over. He told them he might produce another album, but he'd never perform another show with the band. The same message was also written on the band's message board.

Straight after the last gig, Holopainen went on a week-long hiking trip to Lapland with Tony Kakko. During the hiking trip, they talked about the band and Holopainen decided he could not break up Nightwish that easily. When he returned from Lapland he immediately received a phone call from Ewo Pohjola offering himself to become their manager and help him straighten things up, and Holopainen agreed. In order to continue with Nightwish, Holopainen decided some changes were in order. Beside choosing Ewo as their new manager, he also decided to ask Sami Vänskä to leave the band, and Marco Hietala (Tarot) was asked to join the band, effectively leaving his previous band Sinergy. As well as playing bass guitar, Hietala would also perform male vocals. Holopainen has since said publicly that he and Vänskä still keep in touch, contrary to rumours saying that they have not met since. However, they are not interested in making another project together.

In 2002, Nightwish released ''Century Child'', along with the singles “Ever Dream” and “Bless the Child”. The main difference from previous albums is the use of a live Finnish orchestra on the tracks “Bless the Child”, “Ever Dream”, “Feel For You” and “The Beauty of the Beast”. An enduring favorite of fans, though, is the band’s version of “The Phantom of the Opera”, from the famous musical of the same name by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The song was repeatedly played on concerts until vocalist Tarja Turunen was replaced with Anette Olzon, whereupon the band announced that they would never play the song live again.

''Century Child'' was certified gold two hours after its release, and platinum two weeks afterwards. It set a record on the Finnish album charts as well; never before had the second been so distant from the first place. After the “Bless the Child” video, a second one was recorded, without any single support. The chosen track was “End of All Hope”. The clip contains pieces from the Finnish movie, ''Kohtalon kirja'' (English: ''The Book of Fate'').

In 2003, Nightwish released their second DVD, entitled ''End of Innocence''. The DVD tells the story of the band in Holopainen, Nevalainen and Tapio Wilska’s words for two hours. The documentary also features bits of live concerts, exclusive footage, etc. Vocalist Tarja Turunen also got married during the summer of 2003, and there were rumours that the band was about to be dissolved. These rumours were, at the time, proven to be false, as the band continued to play concerts for another year and released another album. Tarja’s marriage later played a part in her dismissal from the band in the autumn of 2005.

Consecration with ''Once'' and Tarja's dismissal

A new album entitled ''Once'' was released on June 7, 2004, along with their first single, "Nemo" (Latin: “No one”), from that album. The single topped the charts in Finland and Hungary, and reached the charts in six additional countries. “Nemo” therefore remains the band's most successful single release to date. With ''Once'', Nightwish started to produce orchestral versions of some of their songs. Songs that have been produced as orchestral versions include "Nemo", "Ghost Love Score", "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" and "Creek Mary's Blood".

''Once'' utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album. Unlike ''Century Child'', Nightwish decided to look for an orchestra outside of Finland this time, choosing the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, “Kuolema tekee taiteilijan” (English: “Death Makes an Artist”). ''Once'' has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, and Gold in other 6 countries, it also reached #1 in the Greek, Norwegian and German album charts, and charted the Top 10 in France, Hungary and Sweden. The following singles were: "Wish I Had an Angel" (featured on the soundtrack of the film ''Alone in the Dark''), "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (released only in Finland and Japan) and "The Siren". Besides the commercial success, ''Once'' was also well received by critics, with many positive reviewers drawing comparisons with ''Oceanborn''. The success of the album allowed them to perform the ''Once World Tour'', taking them to play in many countries the band had never visited before. Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, held in Helsinki, highlighting the acclaim the band had gained. A “best of” album was released in September 2005, containing songs from their whole discography. The compilation is entitled ''Highest Hopes'', also featuring a live cover of Pink Floyd’s song "High Hopes" (from the album ''The Division Bell'') (sample). Besides ''High Hopes'', a remake of "Sleeping Sun" (from ''Oceanborn'') was included on the album and it was also released as a single. A new video for "Sleeping Sun" was shot, featuring a medieval battle, and can be found on the German release of the single and as a separate DVD released by Spinefarm.

After the recording in the Hartwall Areena (Helsinki) on October 21, 2005, of the new live DVD ''End of an Era'' (released June 2006), the four other members of Nightwish decided that it was best to continue Nightwish without Tarja Turunen, a feeling they expressed through an open letter which was given to Turunen by Tuomas Holopainen after the concert, and afterwards posted on the band’s website. It was written by Holopainen but signed by the other three band members. The main justification given in the letter for Turunen’s dismissal was that the band felt that both her husband Marcelo Cabuli (an Argentine businessman) and commercial interests had changed her attitude towards the band.

Turunen responded to the incident twice, during a press conference in Finland and in Germany, saying that her dismissal came entirely as a shock to her, given that she had not been notified before the letter was given to her. She felt that the personal attacks on her husband were unwarranted, and that playing the issue out in public was “senselessly cruel”. She expressed these feelings through her own open letter, which was published on her personal website, and through various TV, magazine, and newspaper interviews.

Hiatus and new lead singer

In September 2006, the band entered the studio to record their sixth studio album, entitled "Dark Passion Play". In order to find a replacement for Turunen as the female vocalist of the band, on March 17, 2006 the band allowed vocalists interested for the position to send in demo tapes as an audition for the spot. During this time, speculation began to emerge about who would eventually be chosen, and the band stated on their website that fans should not believe any source other than the band itself for information regarding the new vocalist; and on Thursday 24 May, the 35-year-old Alyson Avenue's ex-lead singer, Anette Olzon, from Sweden, was announced to replace Turunen. Holopainen has said in interviews he did not wish to reveal her identity until new material was available because he did not want fans judging her by nothing more than a picture, or past work. The day after this revealing, May 25, 2007, charity single "Eva" was released for download only as the first offering from the new album. It was originally scheduled for release on May 30, but the date was changed because of a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On June 13, Nightwish revealed the title, ''Dark Passion Play'', and artwork for the new album on their official website, as well as the name and cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth"; it was released in Finland on August 22 and included a bonus track entitled "While Your Lips Are Still Red" written by Tuomas as the main theme track for the upcoming Finnish feature film “Lieksa!”. the single achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores. ''Dark Passion Play'' was released around Europe in the last week of September, 2007, in the UK on October 1, and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number 1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States.

In this album, male vocalist Marco Hietala has more freedom in the use of his voice: he sings back up in the songs "Cadence of Her Last Breath" and "Sahara", lead vocals in the songs "The Islander", "Master Passion Greed" and "While Your Lips Are Still Red", and chorus in the songs "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "7 Days to the Wolves". He also sings one part in "The Poet and the Pendulum", besides singing back up in the chorus. Before the band found the new singer and the album was recorded, Marco sang on all the demo versions. Tuomas Holopainen sang also on the demo versions of "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Master Passion Greed" but these songs have never been released.

On September 22, 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn, Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called “Nachtwasser”. Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 6, 2007. The ''Dark Passion Play'' tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The third single of the album was "Erämaan viimeinen", a previously unreleased vocal version of the instrumental song "Last of the Wilds”". It was released in Finland only on December 5, 2007; On this song, Jonsu of the Finnish pop and rock band Indica performs the Finnish vocals. "Bye Bye Beautiful", the fourth single, was released on February 15, 2008, and concerns the 2005 dismissal of Turunen, as does one other songs on the album (Master Passion Greed). The single includes yet another bonus track, "Escapist", which is also included on the Japanese version of Dark Passion Play. Within a week after the release, the fifth single was announced to be "The Islander". "The Islander" single features an orchestral version of the epic ballad "Meadows of Heaven" and also includes an instrumental version of "Escapist" and a new edit version of "The Islander" itself. It was released over a month after the release of its music video, shot in late 2007 in Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland. The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to September 2009 when it ended with a concert in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki with the band Apocalyptica. For trivia, Nightwish' only other concert in Hartwall Arena was in 2005 when they ended their Once world tour. This concert was filmed for the End of an Era DVD, and it was Tarja Turunen's last show with the band.

On March 6, 2009, Nightwish released a new live MCD/DVD entitled ''Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places)''. The eight live tracks were recorded during the "Dark Passion Play World Tour" in 2007–2008, and the album also includes one b-side from the "Bye Bye Beautiful" single, one b-side from the "Amaranth" single, a previously unreleased demo version of "Cadence of Her Last Breath", and a bonus-DVD with three music videos as well as a 37 minute documentary called "Back in the Day is Now".

New album and promo movie

On February 1, 2010, Olzon stated on her blog that Holopainen had nine songs ready for the new album. She also stated that the band will be meeting in the summer to make a demo, and fans should not expect anything any earlier than fall of 2011. On ''Nightmail'' in April 2010, Holopainen revealed that he has now finished writing songs for the album, and on June 2, it was announced that he had finished recording the pre-production demo.

The band announced in late 2010 that more information of the album's actual content would be released in late January, but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that because of the schedule changes he can't yet give away as much details as he would have wanted, but more information will be out after a couple of months. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton-Gaiman-Dali - amusement park we are about to enter"; In the same statement it was revealed that the album will be a theme album and "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before", and the orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff". In the Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs will not get any orchestrations at all, differing from their latest album on which all songs had major background orchestra.

On February 10, 2011 Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title will be ''Imaginarium''. They also declared that the band had been preparing a movie based on the album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for "The Islander". On August 22, 2011, it was announced on their official website that the album of ''Imaginarium'' would be released already at the end of the year.

On August 31, Nightwish announced on their website their decision to change Imaginarium title to Imaginaerum "In order to avoid mix-ups with various things named 'IMAGINARIUM'".

Music

Lyrical themes

In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote on mythological and fantasy themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". For example, the song "Elvenpath" is about fantasy in general with references to traditional stories as well as Tolkien. Through the years the lyrics became more personal. On ''Wishmaster'', the title track is still a "tribute to Tolkien and all the other fantasy writers", and "FantasMic" is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences. However, with "Dead Boy's Poem", the album also includes a very emotional piece, which Holopainen calls his "legacy and [...] testament for the whole world. [...] I wanted to do this song before I die, because I wanted to tell the whole world what I think and feel. It expresses a lot of myself." "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (eng. "Death Makes an Artist") from the ''Once'' album describes the experience of loss and its impact on art, "Nemo" deals with the feeling of being lost, while "Dead Gardens" deals with a bout of artist's block Holopainen suffered from. Other songs also contain many references to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Stephen King, but the album also features a return to the fantasy theme with songs such as "Sahara", "Whoever Brings the Night" and "7 Days to the Wolves". The 2004 song Creek Mary's Blood also featured a poem read in Lakota, originally written in English and then translated by guest singer John Two-Hawks. Songs like “Beauty of the Beast” (from ''Century Child''), “Ghost Love Score” (from ''Once'') and “The Poet and the Pendulum” (from ''Dark Passion Play'') are examples of this influence. Other songs, such as “Bye Bye Beautiful” (from ''Dark Passion Play''), and “Wish I Had an Angel” (from ''Once'') have elements of industrial metal, and some others, like “The Islander” and “Last of the Wilds” (from ''Dark Passion Play''), “Creek Mary's Blood” (from ''Once''), and the ''Angels Fall First'' album have elements of folk metal. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music he listens to for leisure. He likes, for example, the musical scores to The Village, ''Van Helsing'' and ''Crimson Tide'', and practically everything written by Hans Zimmer. Bands stated as influence include Children of Bodom, My Dying Bride, Tiamat and The 3rd and the Mortal.

Fantasy novels are also a big influence on Nightwish’s music. Many of the lyrics make fairly clear references to fantasy novels, especially the ''Dragonlance'' series and J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Songs such as “Wishmaster,” "Elvenpath," and “Wanderlust” seem to be heavily influenced by the novels. References to The Kharolis Mountains, 'Shalafi' and Krynn, as well as 'Elbereth,' the 'Rings of Power' and 'Gray Havens', can be found in these songs. The music of “7 Days to the Wolves” is inspired by Stephen King’s ''The Dark Tower'' series. Ex-singer of symphonic metal band Visions of Atlantis, Nicole Bogner, also acknowledged that Nightwish had greatly inspired them for their first album. Sander Gommans of After Forever said that Nightwish “will certainly influence us in creating new songs”. Power metal band Sonata Arctica’s lead singer Tony Kakko has explained how much of an influence Nightwish is to him.

Musical style

The band is also known to be complex and multi-layered. Their approach is epic, theatrical and operatic. Critic Chad Bowar notes that the music is "always very melodic with memorable choruses and a lot of hooks." Some would also list Nightwish as heavy metal.

The usage of a female vocalist has become a sort of trademark, though less so since the outbreak of new female fronted metal bands in the mid-2000s with the popularization of bands such as Evanescence, Within Temptation, Leaves' Eyes, and several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Tristania, Epica and the early Within Temptation. but this is not a view shared by all members of the group, including band composer Tuomas Holopainen. Nightwish was perceived to shift from their trademark power metal style for a more "commercial" gothic sound on their albums ''Century Child'' and ''Once''. The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano Tarja Turunen, a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of ''Once''. Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums.

While the music of Nightwish is centered around a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release ''Angels Fall First''. This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album ''Oceanborn''. Their 2007 release ''Dark Passion Play'' featured a return to folk metal territory with the songs "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds".

Line-up

Current members

Former members

Discography

See also

Further reading

Consulted Bibliography

References and sources

External links

Category:Article Feedback Pilot * Category:Finnish gothic metal musical groups Category:Finnish power metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1996 Category:Musical quintets Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Finnish symphonic metal musical groups

She is well-known as a professional classical (art song) singer but best known as the former lead vocalist of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which she founded with Tuomas Holopainen and Erno Vuorinen in 1996. Their combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with Turunen's classical lead vocals quickly aroused the enthusiasm of critics and audiences. Their symphonic metal style, soon dubbed "opera metal", inspired many other metal bands and singers.

Turunen was dismissed from the band on October 21, 2005. She started her solo career in 2006 with the release of a Christmas album called ''Henkäys Ikuisuudesta'', which was supported by a classical tour in Finland and Russia. In 2007, Turunen released ''My Winter Storm'', an album featuring various styles, including alternative rock and symphonic metal. Her Storm World Tour supported this album. Turunen released her third album, ''What Lies Beneath'', on September 1, 2010. She performed several concerts in Europe, playing in metal festivals including the Graspop Metal Meeting and the Wacken Open Air, before starting the What Lies Beneath World Tour, scheduled to last until the end of 2012.

Early life

At comprehensive school, Turunen performed as a singer for several projects. Her first piano teacher Kirsti Nortia-Holopainen remembered that “Tarja was in a school that had some very musical people. Even then she got to perform a lot. I think she sang in every school function there was.” Her music teacher, Plamen Dimov, later explained that “If you gave Tarja just one note, she immediately got it. With the others, you´d have to practice three, four, five times”. At school she had a tough time, since some girls bullied her because they envied her voice. To solve that problem, Dimov organized projects outside school. At fifteen, Turunen had her first major appearance as a soloist at a church concert in front of a thousand listeners. In 1993 she attended the Senior Secondary School of Art and Music in Savonlinna.

For several years Turunen preferred to perform soul music, like her biggest childhood idols, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. Later she listened to songs from the classical singer Sarah Brightman, especially the song ''The Phantom of the Opera'', and decided to focus on that genre of music. At eighteen, she moved to Kuopio to study at the Sibelius Academy.

Musical career

With Nightwish

In September 1997 Nightwish recorded a second demo with "more bombastic, dramatic" songs. Holopainen used this material to convince the Finnish label Spinefarm Records to publish the band's debut album, ''Angels Fall First''. The success of the first album came as a surprise to everyone. As the album hit the top 40 of the Finnish charts, Nightwish started their tour The First Tour of the Angels. That same year, Turunen performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival for the first time, singing songs from Richard Wagner and Verdi.

Due to her commitment to the band, Turunen was not able to concentrate sufficiently on her schoolwork and interrupted her academic studies. In 1998 Nightwish published their second album, ''Oceanborn''. This album lacked the earlier elements of folk and ambient music, and instead focused on fast, melodic keyboard and guitar lines and Turunen's dramatic voice. In addition to the Oceanborn Europe Tour (1999), Turunen sang solo in Waltari's rock-themed ballet ''Evankeliumi'' (also known as ''Evangelicum'') in several sold-out performances at the Finnish National Opera. In 2000 and 2001 Nightwish recorded ''Wishmaster'' and ''Over the Hills and Far Away'' and toured Europe and South America (the Wishmaster World Tour).

In 2000 Turunen enrolled at the German music university Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe to gain a professional qualification as a soloist with further specialization in art song. In addition to the good reputation of the university, Turunen chose to go to Karlsruhe because her increased profile in Finland meant that some people at the Finnish university did not take her seriously as a classical singer due to her commitment in a metal band. At Karlsruhe she was accepted as a classical singer who also sang in a metal band. In particular, her professors did not think of it as a flaw. While there, she recorded vocals for Nightwish's 2002 album ''Century Child'' and for Beto Vázquez Infinity. As with the other albums, Holopainen wrote the pieces and sent Turunen the lyrics and a demo recording of the prerecorded instrumental tracks by mail. Using the demo, Turunen designed her vocal lines and the choral passages.

In 2002 Turunen toured South America, performing in the classical Lied concert ''Noche Escandinava'' (''Scandinavian Night'') to sold-out houses. Following this and an exhausting world tour in support of ''Century Child'' (the World Tour of the Century), Nightwish took a hiatus and Turunen returned to Karlsruhe to finish her studies. In 2003 she married the Argentine Marcelo Cabuli, whom she had met on tour while staying in Buenos Aires in 2000. After the hiatus Nightwish recorded the album ''Once''; it was released on October 5, 2004. The album hit No. 1 on the European Top 100 Albums. The band performed in the supporting Once Upon a Tour throughout 2004 and 2005.

For Christmas 2004, Turunen released her first solo single, titled "Yhden Enkelin Unelma" (One Angel's Dream), which sold gold in her native country of Finland. At Christmas 2005 it made a reentry at position one in the Finnish Charts. In spring 2005 she prepared the duet "Leaving You for Me", a collaboration with Martin Kesici, accompanied by a video.

Breakup

Despite the circumstances of the separation, Holopainen's appreciation of Turunen as an artist remained. He explained that he did not search for a similarly trained singer as a successor for Turunen because he considers her to be extraordinarily good in her genre and therefore irreplaceable. He said that one day he would like to reestablish the friendship. In October 2007, Turunen said in an interview that she is very proud of her career with Nightwish. She considers the remaining band members extremely talented and wishes all the best for them and their subsequent lead singer Anette Olzon.

Between 1997 and 2006 she had toured the world with Nightwish, playing in all the continents except Africa and Antarctica. She performed live for more than 500,000 people.

Independent career

In July 2006 Turunen again played at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, this time as the main act; Turunen sang alongside Finnish tenor Raimo Sirkiä, supported by the Kuopio Symphonic Orchestra. Turunen performed classical arias like "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" by Verdi and some songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber—"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Phantom of the Opera"—among other songs. In November she performed at the charity concert “Tomorrow's Child” with the Tapiola Choir as a benefit for the UNICEF Children's Fund. On December 6, 2006, Turunen performed a big concert at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland; it was broadcast live by the Finnish channel YLE TV2 for 450,000 viewers. She was nominated for the Finnish Emma Award as Best Soloist of 2006. Also in 2006, she recorded vocals for her brother Timo Turunen's debut album.

In 2007 Turunen recorded vocals for the track "In The Picture" on the Nuclear Blast All-stars album ''Into the Light'' In spite of speculation to the contrary at the time, Turunen did not focus entirely on classical music after the separation of Nightwish. Since August 2006 she worked on her next solo album, ''My Winter Storm'', the beginning of her solo projects. It was the first time that Turunen had written songs. She was supported by some professional songwriters. The choir and orchestral arrangements were written by film music composer James Dooley.

Turunen released ''My Winter Storm'', an album featuring various styles, including symphonic metal with classical “operatic” lead vocals, in November 2007. The album took the number one spot on the Finnish charts, and went platinum in Finland and double platinum in Russia. In late 2007 Turunen was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer and an Emma for best Finnish artist.

On May 9, 2008, Turunen embarked the Storm World Tour to promote ''My Winter Storm''. She opened the tour by performing at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig and ended the tour in 2009 at the O2 Academy Islington in London. In December 2008, the EP ''The Seer'' was released in the UK and the new extended edition of ''My Winter Storm'' released on January 2, 2009.

On November 18, 2009, the Finnish charity Christmas album ''Maailman kauneimmat joululaulut'' (Finnish for "The World's Most Beautiful Christmas Songs") was released; three songs feature Turunen's vocals. In December 2009 she recorded her vocal part for the song "The Good Die Young", a duet with Klaus Meine which is included on the final Scorpions album ''Sting in the Tail''.

Turunen recorded her third album, ''What Lies Beneath'', in 2009 and 2010; it was released on September 1, 2010. The album combined metal with classical “operatic” elements in an out of the box approach. She started the What Lies Beneath World Tour performing in several festivals, including the Wacken Open Air and the Graspop Metal Meeting, with special concerts at Miskolc Opera Festival and at the Masters of Rock, when she performed accompanied by a full orchestra. The tour is scheduled to last until the end of 2012. Also in 2010 she supported Alice Cooper on the German leg of his tour.

On April 12, 2011, Turunen announced that she was planning to record a Classical album live in a church in Finland with the finnish organist Kalevi Kiviniemi. On July 17, 2011, she is scheduled to sing again at the Savonlinna Opera Festival as the main act, accompanied by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.

Singing style

Development

From 2001 to 2003 she studied at the music academy Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, where she trained as a soloist with further specialization in art song. Turunen originally applied to train as a choir singer. At the audition she attracted the attention of professor Mitsuko Shirai, who encouraged Turunen to apply for soloist training.

As a classical singer, Turunen always sings with classical vocal technique. She explained that in the early days of Nightwish, it was difficult to combine classical technique with the metal sound in a way that gave her liberty of action without damaging her vocal cords. Classical techniques helped her to play with her voice, so she decided not to pursue extra training in rock/pop singing.

Towards the turn of the millennium, the combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with classical female lead vocals attracted a great deal of attention in the metal scene. The new music style of Nightwish quickly aroused the enthusiasm of critics and audiences; this symphonic metal style was soon dubbed "opera metal". Turunen does not see herself as an opera singer. She has sung excerpts from operas at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, but she stresses that singing opera cannot be performed as a side project. She would need special training to perfectly sing an entire opera without a microphone.

When asked how the association between the opera and metal genres may have arisen, Turunen said that despite the obvious differences, the two music styles have some similarities:

From the first Nightwish album ''Angels Fall First'' (1997) on, critics described Turunen's vocals using adjectives such as ''angelic'' or ''valkyrian''. On the following albums the singing was technically more complex. On the Nightwish album ''Oceanborn'' (1998), her classical vocal training was much more noticeable. For the song "Passion and the Opera", Turunen performed a staccato coloratura reminiscent of the aria "Hell's vengeance boils in my heart", sung by the soprano role Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. "Sleeping Sun" required a well trained breathing technique. Turunen explained in an interview that when they recorded ''Oceanborn'', she had serious doubts, fearing that she was not yet advanced enough in her studies to have mastered the required techniques.

A challenge of a different kind was the cover version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" (2001), as it required a deeper voice, far below the vocal range of an average soprano. In an interview with ''Breakout'' magazine, she reported that in the studio, the band members were shaken by a paroxysm of laughter as she tried to warm up for the vocal lines. As a side benefit of her efforts, Turunen gradually expanded her vocal range considerably into the lower range, which manifested even more on the following albums.

For the album ''Century Child'' (2002), she experimented with a more "rock" sounding voice, where she maintained the classical singing technique, but, for example, sang with less vibrato. Turunen was not satisifed that she had successfully transitioned to this new style until the album ''Once'' (2004).

This deeper "rock"-sounding voice on ''Once''—as well as on the song "In the Picture" of the album ''Into the Light''—was welcomed by critics as a refreshing change.

Her first solo album ''My Winter Storm'' (2007) contains rock and metal songs as well as songs that resemble classical songs. Turunen uses both her classical singing voice and a rock-sounding voice. In many songs she starts with a rock voice, and then switches for widely arching melodies into a distinctly classical singing voice.

In an interview, she explained that ''My Winter Storm'' was the first album where she had the chance to use her full vocal range.

Register

Reception

Until the end of their collaboration, Turunen's singing was a trademark of Nightwish. She was known as the face and voice of Nightwish while bandleader Holopainen was the soul. Turunen was seen as a key to Nightwish's success. She is respected by other musicians of the metal genre and is an influence on their work; for instance, Simone Simons names her as her inspiration to study classical music and apply that vocal style to a metal band.

The media closely covered her very public separation from Nightwish, and Turunen's character became the subject of many media discussions. The band members stated that she had become greedy.

Marcelo Cabuli answered fans' questions related to this topic, stating that the band had agreed on the distribution of earnings in a contract at the formation of Nightwish. Based on that contract, other members got a higher share of royalties, which Turunen has never regretted.

Turunen receives most of her media attention in her homeland of Finland. In December 2003 she was invited by Finnish president Tarja Halonen to celebrate the Finnish Independence Day at the Presidential Palace together with other local celebrities. The event is televised annually live by the state-owned brodcaster, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. In December 2007 she performed different versions of the Finnish national anthem "Maamme" (Finnish: "Our country") accompanied by the Tapiola Sinfonietta, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Finnish independence. The concert was televised by the Finnish Broadcasting Company for 2 million Finnish viewers. During her solo career, Turunen has sold over 86,000 certified records in Finland, which places her among the top 50 of best-selling female soloists.

In Europe, her popularity is mainly limited to the hard rock and metal scene. She had a broader exposure on November 30, 2007, when she was invited to open the farewell fight of Regina Halmich. Her performance of "I Walk Alone" was televised live by the German television station ZDF for 8.8 million viewers.

Discography

References

External links

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kitee Category:Female heavy metal singers Category:Finnish female singers Category:Finnish heavy metal singers Category:Finnish singer-songwriters Category:Finnish sopranos Category:Women composers Category:Nightwish members