The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found in scripted genres such as soap operas.

The series originally followed the personal life of former Laguna Beach star Lauren Conrad and her friends' new lives in Los Angeles. After five seasons, Conrad left the series and was replaced by another former Laguna Beach star, Kristin Cavallari, beginning in the second half of season five. The sixth and final season debuted on April 27, 2010 and concluded on July 13, 2010.^[2]

Entertainment Weekly ranked The Hills 82nd on their list of "The 100 Best Shows of the Last 25 Years," stating that the series was a "New Classic."^[3]

Synopsis[link]

The Hills follows the lives of several women in Los Angeles. The series' four original starring members are Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, and Heidi Montag; Kristin Cavallari, Stephanie Pratt, and Lo Bosworth subsequently become focal points following the departures of Port, Conrad, and Montag. Despite being billed and formatted as a reality series, scripting was used for production purposes.^[4]

After MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County became one of the network's highest-rated programs, producers wanted to continue the story of one of its more popular characters, Lauren Conrad, as she moved to Los Angeles. When Laguna Beach ended, the same producers followed Conrad as she left her home in Laguna to move to Los Angeles. For the first five seasons, The Hills followed the daily lives of Lauren and friends, documenting the drama that eventually ensues.

Lauren originally moves in with her friend Heidi Montag, whom she met while attending art school in San Francisco. Lauren also attends the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and lands an internship with Teen Vogue alongside new friend Whitney Port. Soon after, the pair befriend their new neighbor, Audrina Patridge. As the series progresses, Lauren and Heidi's friendship ends after rumors of a sex tape with Lauren and her ex-boyfriend Jason Wahler surface, a feud that will continue through each subsequent season, with Audrina providing a stabilizing influence in Lauren's life. Lauren suspects that Heidi's boyfriend, Spencer Pratt, spread the rumor, whom Heidi stands by when Lauren confronts her. Lo Bosworth, Lauren's best friend, moves in with Lauren and Audrina and becomes a factor in the distance between Lauren and Audrina during the third season. Audrina was in a rocky relationship with Justin Brescia, whom Lo jokingly titles "Justin-Bobby". Lauren befriends Brody Jenner after their brief relationship, followed by a memorable trip to Paris. Stephanie Pratt, Spencer's sister, eventually becomes friends with Lauren after joining the cast in the third season, causing a rift between her relationship with Heidi and her brother. Whitney eventually moved to New York City, and Heidi and Lauren seemed to come to common terms in the fourth season, though Lauren's suspicions still hung over them.

Upon conclusion of season four, rumors were widespread that Conrad wanted to leave the series. Despite this, the producers persuaded her to film ten more episodes at the start of season five in order to settle her relationships before her exit. As Heidi and Spencer decide to marry, Heidi wants Lauren to attend their wedding. After much debate, Lauren decides to attend the wedding and makes peace with Heidi in her final appearance on the show. The episode also marks the arrival of Lauren's high school rival from Laguna Beach, Kristin Cavallari, who catches the bouquet at the wedding. The season continues with Cavallari as the series' lead. She flirts with Justin at Heidi and Spencer's honeymoon party, which leads to a fight between her and Audrina. The enmity between the girls is a major plotline over the rest of the season. Also, after their wedding, Heidi wants to start a family while Spencer doesn't; this is also a major plotline.

The sixth and final season begins with Heidi's much publicized plastic surgery procedures, as she reveals herself to her family for the first time. Kristin, Audrina, Lo, and Stephanie spend the Super Bowl weekend in Miami, though Kristin's wild partying leads to rumors about possible drug use. Heidi and Spencer alienate their family and friends to the point where no one wants to be involved in their crazy antics. Meanwhile, Brody and Kristin begin flirting again, though he starts dating McKaela Line, who is friends with Kristin's old rival, Allie Lutz. McKaela befriends Lo, but immediately clashes with Kristin, with whom she and Allie had confrontations. Audrina dates singer Ryan Cabrera. When the relationship ends, Justin tries to come back into Audrina's life, and the pair become friends. Stephanie finds it difficult to start dating after her DUI, but soon meets Josh, one of Brody's friends. Lo is happy with her boyfriend of one year, Scott, and moves in. In the final scene, it looks as if Brody is seeing Kristin off to Europe and looking on as she leaves. With the camera on Brody, the Hollywood Hills backdrop is pulled away and the camera pans back to reveal that the entire scene was filmed on a backlot. Kristin hadn't actually left for Europe and gets out of the car that hadn't really driven off to hug Brody, warranting the questioning of whether or not the show was real. Brody stated, "I think the show has always battled with what's real and what's fake, and this ending was perfect because you still don't know what was real, what was fake and it's kind of like L.A. in a sense."^[5] An alternative ending was filmed that included Lauren.^[5]

Cast[link]

This is the main cast for all seasons according to MTV. For a full list of current and former cast members of The Hills, see the list of cast members.

The main cast receives star billing in the opening credits, and are credited by their first name.

Finale[link]

The series' sixth season was announced on December 1, 2009 during The Hills Aftershow. It began filming on January 13, 2010 and debuted on April 27, 2010. On March 25, 2010 The Hills producer and creator Adam DiVello announced that it would be the final season.^[2] Filming wrapped on July 2, 2010 and aired its final episode on July 13. Despite much speculation from the cast as well as Adam DiVello concerning Lauren Conrad's possible return, the former series star confirmed she would not appear in any of season six episodes or the series finale, however it was confirmed that Lauren Conrad would be featured on a live special following the finale.^[6]

Final scene[link]

In the series' final scene, Brody sees Kristin off to Europe and looks on as she rides away. Flashbacks to the beginning of the show are shown, and the camera focuses on Brody once again before panning out, revealing the scene was being filmed on an outside set at a Hollywood film studio,^[7] confronting the common question posed by critics on whether certain elements of the show, or the entire show itself, were real, fake, or a combination of the two.

Brody later revealed that a couple different endings were filmed for the show, including one with Lauren Conrad. Of the scene, Brody said, "I [would] come back home, and basically Lauren's at my place [and I tell her about saying goodbye to a friend]. We filmed this whole lovey-dovey scene as if me and Lauren had been together this entire time." He stated he was happy with the chosen ending, however, describing it as "kind of like L.A. in a sense."^[8]

Two days after the series finale, Lo Bosworth reassured fans on her website, insisting "it wasn't fake" and "our show's undeniable production value sometimes made the validity of it all questionable [...] but the relationships with those on the show are real."^[9] Kristin Cavallari, however, stated that, "fans need to understand it's all entertainment" and "I would never put my close friends or a real relationship on a show."^[10] When asked about the matter, Brody Jenner said, "what's real and what's fake, you don't know. [...] We left it [open]".^[7] Jenner was dating singer Avril Lavigne during production of the final season.

On May 17, 2011, almost a year after The Hills ended, Kristin revealed in an interview with Ryan Seacrest that her relationships with both Justin and Brody on the show had been fake, but that she had dated Brody, "like six years ago".^[11]

Aftershow[link]

After the final episode of The Hills and the season finale of The City, a live after show, The Hills Live: A Hollywood Ending, aired to celebrate the finale.^[12] The cast members that were present at the event:

Heidi Montag and husband Spencer Pratt were not present at the event.

Reception[link]

Ratings[link]

The Hills premiered the same day as the Laguna Beach season two finale, resulting in roughly the same viewership between the programs. MTV's ratings were some of the highest for any cable network. There was a ratings dip after the season 2 finale as viewers reacted poorly to the developing story. Viewership remained relatively steady from that point on. Ratings for the season four premiere were down 9% among the 12-to-34 demographic (2.1 million) and down 5% among total viewers (3.5 million) in comparison to the show’s third season premiere,^[13] with the total season four average going down 25% from that of season three.^[14] The season five premiere back-to-back episodes averaged 3 million viewers, which is lower than the season four premiere. The finale of the season five's first half brought in 2.7 million viewers, slightly less than the season premiere yet still higher than the season four's finale of roughly 2.5 million viewers.^[15] Season five's second half had a 30% decline in ratings, premiering with 2.1 million viewers, nearly a million less than had seen the previous season's premiere. Since its premiere, the show's ratings increased a bit, with the second half's viewership averaging 2.5 million viewers per episode. The final season beat the season five, part two's premiere and equaled season five part one's finale at 2.7 million viewers.

Criticism[link]

On December 17, 2008 the Associated Press released an article titled "Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt nuptials questioned"^[16] which noted that Pratt and Montag acknowledged that their wedding in Mexico was "entirely symbolic." The article also noted that a Los Angeles Superior Court official confirmed that MTV had obtained permission to shoot in the Beverly Hills courtroom, but it was after office hours and a county court judge would not be present. The civil ceremony was inaccurately portrayed as well, because "if a judge does preside, it is typically in chambers during a break". The Associated Press also checked for marriage records, but found none filed by Pratt or Montag in Los Angeles County.^[16]

Audrina Patridge's official website biography states that she was cast in her role as a new friend for Lauren and Heidi, as she was approached by a producer to join the cast.^[17] During an appearance on Chelsea Lately, Chelsea Handler suggested that they improvised. Audrina stated, "If that's what you want to call it..." When pressed further, she replied, "We're put in situations where however we'd react and that's what comes up [on TV]." She did state that there were no scripts, and Handler joked that "if it is a reality show" that the cast has really good actors. Audrina laughed and said, "Thank you...It is a big compliment."^[18]

The apartment community that both Lauren and Heidi initially moved in together was labeled as Hillside Villas in West Hollywood, California in the show. In reality, the apartment complex they lived in was actually The Villas at The Palazzo East at Park La Brea on Third Street in Los Angeles. The neighborhood is known as Park La Brea. It is not in the City of West Hollywood, but it is close to the city boundary.^[19]

On a June 18, 2009 episode of The View, Lauren Conrad was asked how she felt about the apology she had received from Spencer Pratt involving the sex tape rumors. She responded "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't on the other line of that call...That was filmed and I wasn't on the other end...so I didn't know about it until--So, no, I never did get an apology. He's lying"^[20]

She also revealed that, during production on the fifth season, producers kept on coming up with ideas for her and Montag to reunite. Conrad revealed she no longer wished to fight on the show and was trying to put her friendship with Montag behind her. Producers did not allow for that to happen, to the point where Conrad felt producers were pushing her into directions she did not see as her own. She also revealed that during her surprise birthday party in the fifth season, upon seeing Montag, she actually left the room with producers having to calm her down before being able to continue filming. This was not aired.

Kristin Cavallari, when asked about joining the cast, stated "It’s work! And drama sells. I think that’s why they’re bringing me in, because I know what works." And later said: "Its a TV show, why not? You gotta make it fun!" Also in the interview, Kristin stated "I saw Lauren at the wedding, she was really sweet and gave me a big hug, and that's it", when on the show, it was portrayed differently.^[21]

In February 2011, Kristin Cavallari told Access Hollywood that the cast would follow a "schedule" of events to be shot that day. "We only filmed The Hills three days a week, and we did three different scenes each day and a change of clothes to film a specific scene," she said. "They were pushing it as far as they could go without an actual script… They give you a schedule like, ‘You have lunch with Heidi [Montag] at 3 to talk about the party coming up' or whatever the situation may be.”^[22]

Spin-offs[link]

• Port received her own spin-off from The Hills, named The City.^[23] The series centers around Port as she moves to New York City to work for fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg.^[23][24] The series debuted December 29, 2008 on MTV. Its final episode aired on July 13, 2010, and it was announced by Port on October 25, 2010 that the series was cancelled.
• Cutrone, PR fashion maven and mentor to Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port, had a huge presence on The Hills and The City, resulting in her own show, Kell on Earth. It debuted on Bravo February 1, 2010.^[25][26]
• Patridge and her family star in Audrina, a VH1 reality series that premiered on April 17, 2011.^[27][28]
• Conrad was supposed to star in a documentary-style reality show following her life as a fashion designer.^[29] However, in 2011, MTV dropped the series.^[30]

Episodes[link]

Syndication[link]

The Hills premiered in syndication on fall 2009 alongside parent series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.^[31] Reruns of the show also air on TV Guide Network.

DVD releases[link]

See also[link]

• Baldwin Hills (TV series)
• Fade Street
• Freshwater Blue
• The Only Way Is Essex
• Melrose Place

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Hills at the Internet Movie Database
• The Hills at TV.com

"Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. It was written by Steve Harris, the band's bassist and founding member, and remains one of their most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs^[1] and No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs.^[2] The guitar solo is played by Dave Murray.

Themes[link]

The song documents the conflict that occurred between European settlers in the New World and Native American tribes during the days of colonisation and later westward expansion.^[3][4] The song is written from both perspectives,^[5] covering the Natives' viewpoint in the first verse and the Europeans in the rest of the song.^[6]

Original 1982 release[link]

The song was released as a single on 12 February 1982 as a prelude to the album,^[7] making it Iron Maiden's debut release with new vocalist Bruce Dickinson. "Total Eclipse" was selected as the single's B-side over the song "Gangland", which in turn would appear on the initial version of the album.^[8] The band later regretted this decision, with Steve Harris commenting, "We chose the wrong track as the B-side. I think if "Total Eclipse" had been on the album instead of "Gangland", it would have been far better."^[8] The song was added to the The Number of the Beast album when it was remastered in 1998.

It is the second of three single covers featuring Derek Riggs' depiction of Satan, which debuted on "Purgatory" and later appeared on "The Number of the Beast" covers. According to Riggs, the idea behind the original "Run to the Hills" cover was based around the idea of a "power struggle in hell", in which the band's mascot, Eddie, battles Satan with a tomahawk (referencing the song's subject matter).^[9]

Other releases[link]

In 1985, a live version of "Run to the Hills", taken from Live After Death, was released as the band's thirteenth single, along with live versions of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" as its the B-sides. According to Riggs, he was asked to paint a cover illustration both "Run to the Hills" and "Phantom of the Opera" and so the artwork depicts Eddie as the phantom in a hilly landscape.^[10]

Following former drummer Clive Burr's announcement that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, "Run to the Hills" was released again in 2002 to raise money for the newly established Clive Burr MS Trust Fund.^[11] Two variations were issued, the original studio version and a live version taken from the Rock in Rio concert, with different B-sides.^[12]

Appearances in media[link]

An all-star cover version of the song is found on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast, featuring Robin McAuley on vocals, Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher on guitars, Tony Franklin on bass and Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, B'z) on drums.^[13][14] The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded the song on their self-titled debut album.^[15] Former Babes in Toyland singer and guitarist Kat Bjelland's Katastrophy Wife covered the song in their Heart On EP in 2007.^[16] The song was covered in 2008 by Sign on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine.^[17] The Swedish lounge metal band Hellsongs included a cover version on their 2008 album Hymns in the Key of 666.^[18] In 2009, the eventual Swedish Idol 2009 series winner Erik Grönwall sang it during the live shows and released it as a single in the same year, peaking at No. 23 in the Swedish Singles Chart.^[19] Progressive metal band Dream Theater covered a live version of the song, along with the entire The Number Of The Beast album, as an "official bootleg".^[20]

The song is also featured in the soundtracks of several video games, including SSX On Tour as the title's main theme,^[21] and GTA IV: The Lost and Damned.^[22] In addition, a cover version is featured in Rock Band, in which it received an 'Impossible' difficulty rating,^[23] while the original version was made available via download in June 2009.^[24]

Track listing[link]

1982 7" single (UK: EMI 5263, UK: EMIP 5263 [picture disc], Germany: EMI 1A 006-07604, Netherlands: EMI 1A 006-07604)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Steve Harris) – 3:50
2. "Total Eclipse" (Clive Burr, Harris, Dave Murray) – 4:28

1982 12" maxi (Europe: EMI 1C K 052-07 604 Z)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:51
2. "Total Eclipse" (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 4:24

1985 7" single (UK: EMI EMI 5542)

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California 14-17 March 1985) (Harris) – 3:54
2. "Phantom of the Opera" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 7:20

1985 12" single (UK: EMI 12EMI 5542, UK: 12EMIP 5542 [picture disc])

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Long Beach Arena, L.A. 14-17 March 1985) (Harris) – 3:54
2. "Phantom of the Opera" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 7:20
3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 8-12 October 1984) (Harris) – 4:14

2002 7" limited single (Europe: EMI EM 612)

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "Total Eclipse" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 4:28

2002 CD single

Part I (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7)

This version contains the studio version of the song "Run to the Hills", while the B-sides were recorded live at the Reading Festival on 28 August 1982. It also includes the Camp Chaos version of the "Run to the Hills" music video.^[12]

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "22 Acacia Avenue" (live - Reading Festival, Little Johns Farm, England 28 August 1982) (Harris, Adrian Smith) – 6:33
3. "The Prisoner" (live - Reading Festival, Little Johns Farm, England 28 August 1982) (Harris, Smith) – 5:55
4. "Run to the Hills" (Camp Chaos video) (Harris)

Part II (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7)

This version contains a live version of the song taken from the Rock in Rio live album, while the B-sides were recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London on 20 March 1982. The live video is also from the Rock in Rio concert.^[12]

1. "Run to the Hills" (live - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 19 January 2001) (Harris) – 4:59
2. "Children of the Damned" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Smith, Harris) – 4:32
3. "Total Eclipse" (live - Hammersmith Odeon, London 20 March 1982) (Burr, Harris, Murray) – 3:57
4. "Run to the Hills" (live video)

Personnel[link]

1982 studio and live recordings

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Clive Burr – drums

1985 live recordings

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Nicko McBrain - drums

2001 live recording

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
• Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
• Dave Murray – lead & rhythm guitar
• Adrian Smith – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Janick Gers - lead & rhythm guitar
• Nicko McBrain - drums

Chart performance[link]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Re-release of all four singles as part of The First Ten Years box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

Notes[link]

Tarja Turunen
Background information
Birth name	Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen
Born	(1977-08-17) August 17, 1977 (age 34) Kitee, Finland
Genres	Symphonic rock, symphonic metal, classical, classical crossover, Lied, gothic metal; Operatic metal
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, Kammersängerin
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Universal, Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast, Roadrunner, NEMS Enterprises, Drakkar Entertainment
Associated acts	Nightwish, Beto Vázquez Infinity, Noche Escandinava
Website	TarjaTurunen.com

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli (born August 17, 1977) is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves.^[1]

Turunen studied singing at Sibelius Academy and Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. She is well known as a professional classical lied 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 achieved critical and commercial popularity. 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 for personal reasons. She started her solo career in 2006 with the release of a Christmas album called Henkäys Ikuisuudesta. In 2007, Turunen released My Winter Storm, an album featuring various styles, including alternative rock and symphonic metal and started the Storm World Tour. Turunen released her third album, What Lies Beneath, in 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 April 2012.

Life and career[link]

1977–1995: Early life[link]

Tarja Turunen was born in the small village of Puhos, near Kitee, Finland. She has an older brother, Timo, and a younger brother, Toni. Her mother Marjatta Turunen worked in the town administration, and her father Teuvo Turunen is a carpenter. Her talent for music was first noted when she sang the song "Enkeli taivaan" (the Finnish version of "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") in the Kitee church hall at age three.^[2] She joined the church choir and started taking vocal lessons. At age six, she started playing piano.^[2]

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."^[2] 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".^[3] At school she had a tough time, since some girls bullied her because they envied her voice.^[2] 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.^[2] In 1993 she attended the Senior Secondary School of Art and Music in Savonlinna.^[4]

For several years Turunen performed various songs including soul music by Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin.^[5] Later she listened to songs from the classical crossover singer Sarah Brightman, especially the song "The Phantom of the Opera", and decided to focus on that genre of music.^[3] At eighteen, she moved to Kuopio to study at the Sibelius Academy.^[6]

1996–2005: With Nightwish[link]

Turunen with Nightwish at the Himos Festival in Jämsä, Finland, on June 25, 2005

In December 1996, former classmate Tuomas Holopainen invited Turunen to join his new acoustic mood music project. She immediately agreed. At the recording session for the first demo Holopainen discovered that due to her classical singing lessons, Turunen's voice had become much more powerful than he recalled from their school days. At the following band practices, Emppu Vuorinen used an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar because he felt that it gave a better accompaniment to her voice.^[7] Holopainen later explained that the band members had gradually realised that Turunen's voice had become too dramatic for acoustic mood music, they came to the conclusion that the music had to be massive too. Hence Holopainen decided to form Nightwish as a metal band.^[8]

Nightwish recorded a second demo with "more bombastic, dramatic" songs in September 1997. Holopainen used this material to convince the Finnish label Spinefarm Records to publish the band's debut album, Angels Fall First.^[9] The success of the first album came as a surprise to the label.^[10] As the album hit the top 40 of the Finnish charts,^[11] Nightwish started their tour The First Tour of the Angels.^[12] That same year, Turunen performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival for the first time, singing songs from Richard Wagner and Verdi.^[13]

Turunen with Nightwish in Kitee, Finland, on May 22, 2004

Due to her commitment to the band, Turunen was not able to concentrate sufficiently on her schoolwork and interrupted her academic studies.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16] In 2000 and 2001, Nightwish recorded Wishmaster and Over the Hills and Far Away and toured Europe and South America (the Wishmaster World Tour).^[17] During the Wishmaster World Tour, Turunen met the Argentine Marcelo Cabuli^[18] whom she married in 2003.

Turunen enrolled in 2000 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 some people at the Finnish university did not take her seriously as a classical singer due to her commitment in a metal band.^[19][20] 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.^[20]

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. After the hiatus Nightwish recorded the album Once; it was released on May 10, 2004.^[21] The album has sold platinum in Finland and Germany and was the best selling album in all of Europe in July 2004.^[22] 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.^[23] In spring 2005 she prepared the duet "Leaving You for Me", a collaboration with Martin Kesici, accompanied by a video.^[24]

2005: Breakup[link]

Turunen live during a Christmas concert in Lahti, Finland, on December 12, 2006

The first change in the line up of Nightwish was in September 2001, when bassist Sami Vänskä was fired because Holopainen was no longer able to continue working with him.^[25] In the following years the relationship between Holopainen and Turunen's husband and manager Marcelo Cabuli deteriorated. This had an impact on the relationship between Holopainen and Turunen as well. At a band meeting after the concert in Oberhausen in December 2004 Turunen announced to the band members that she wanted to leave the band, but agreed to record one more album and to participate in the subsequent tour, planned for 2006/2007.^[26] According to her husband, Turunen had further agreed not to make her decision public and to release her first solo album after the new studio album from Nightwish.^[27] After the last concert of the Once Upon a Tour on October 21, 2005 (which was released on video as End of an Era), Holopainen gave Turunen a letter signed by himself and the other band members informing her that the band did not want to work with her any more. The open letter was simultaneously published on the band's website.^[28] The media closely covered her very public separation from Nightwish, and due to references in the letter to diva-like behaviour and to greed, even Turunen's character became the subject of media discussions.^[29]

To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with those emotions have become much more important.

—Tuomas Holopainen in the open letter^[28]

Turunen responded through an open letter on her website and through some interviews in which she explained her view. She was upset that after nine years of working together, Holopainen had announced the separation via an open letter.^[29] Because of the continuing media interest, Marcelo Cabuli posted a message addressing the situation on the website in February 2006. He asked that anyone who had questions should email him. In June 2006, Cabuli posted a lengthy reply to many of the questions he had received. He answered questions related to the greed accusation by explaining that the band had agreed on the distribution of earnings in a contract at the formation of Nightwish. Based on that contract, every band member got a fixed share of 20% of the band's income.^[30] Marcelo Cabuli stated that, unlike others, Turunen had never fought for additional songwriter royalties.

For sure in her case, money is not coming first in her book of life. [...] If we would check which band member earns a lot more money than any other one in the band, you should be surprised.

—Marcelo Cabuli^[31]

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.^[32] 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.^[33][34]

Between 1997 and 2005 she had toured the world with Nightwish, playing on all the continents except Africa and Antarctica.^[35] She performed live for more than 500,000 people.^[36]

2005–present: Independent career[link]

Turunen with her support band in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 6, 2008

At the end of 2005, Turunen performed several classical concerts in Finland, Germany, Spain, and Romania.^[37] Since she expected to participate in another Nightwish album, several concerts and the release of her Christmas album Henkäys Ikuisuudesta (Finnish for "breath of eternity") were the only activities scheduled for 2006.^[38] Turunen again played at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in July 2006, this time as the main act; she 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.^[39][40] 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.^[37] She was nominated for the Finnish Emma Award as Best Soloist of 2006.^[41] The following year, Turunen recorded vocals for the track "In The Picture" on the Nuclear Blast All-stars album Into the Light.

In August 2006 she started to work on her next solo album, My Winter Storm, the beginning of her main solo project. 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.^[42] 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,^[43] and went platinum in Finland^[44] double platinum in Russia and gold in Germany.^[45][46]

Turunen live in Kavarna, Bulgaria, July 23, 2010

She was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer^[47] and an Emma for best Finnish artist.^[48] On November 25, 2007, Turunen embarked on the Storm World Tour to promote My Winter Storm. She performed 95 concerts throughout Europe, North and South America and ended the tour in October 2009 at the O2 Academy Islington in London.^[37] 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.

She also contributed three songs to the Finnish charity Christmas album Maailman kauneimmat joululaulut (Finnish for "The World's Most Beautiful Christmas Songs") released on November 18, 2009. 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.^[49]

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.^[50] 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 April 2012. Also in 2010 she supported Alice Cooper on the German leg of his Theatre of Death Tour.^[51] On July 17, 2011, she sang again at the Savonlinna Opera Festival along with José Cura and accompanied by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.^[52]

Turunen with her support band at the Wacken Open Air, August 6, 2010

On February 27, 2012 during her What Lies Beneath World Tour concert in Brussels, Turunen announced that she will be working on a new album after completing the tour. During the concert she already presented 2 new songs.

Singing style[link]

Development[link]

Along with visiting the music school in Savonlinna, Turunen began serious classical vocal training at 17.^[4] After school, she began studying music (with a specialization in church music) at the Sibelius Academy.^[6] Due to her commitment with Nightwish, she had to interrupt her academic studies.

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.^[53] 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.^[53]

As a classical singer, Turunen 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.^[54] Classical techniques helped her to play with her voice, so she decided not to pursue extra training in rock/pop singing.^[54]

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 achieved critical and commercial popularity;^{[55][56][57][29]} this symphonic metal style was soon dubbed "opera metal".^[29] 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.^[58]

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:

The scenes are very similar. There are many people who would never go to an opera and the same goes for metal. But the real fans are incredibly loyal. And both styles are bombastic and express strong emotions.

—Tarja Turunen, Metal Hammer interview, July 2002

From the first Nightwish album Angels Fall First (1997) on, critics described Turunen's vocals using adjectives such as angelic or valkyrian.^[55][59] The Valkyrie image was later fostered by the second video for the single "Sleeping Sun" in which Turunen walks on a battlefield as if she were guiding the dead warriors.^[60]

Turunen live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 26, 2009

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.^[56] "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.^[61][62]

A challenge of a different kind was the cover version of Gary Moore's "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.^[63] 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).^[64]

I feel very comfortable with Once because I have tried to change my singing style with Nightwish already since Century Child because Tuomas requested that, the songs requested that ... It has been hard work and I didn’t manage to do that on Century Child, I was not very happy with it. On Once it’s all very natural, how I’m singing and what I’m singing. But as I said, it has been really hard work because I’ve been a classical singer for the last ten years so it was hard to start over again and think of different styles. Of course I’m always singing with my classical techniques, I never sing with my poor speaking voice – I cannot do that anymore.

—Tarja Turunen, Metal Temple interview, October 2004^[64]

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.^[65][66]

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.^[67]

Tarja's classically trained voice flies bravely over orchestral sounds and brute guitars. Like a phoenix from the ashes [...] she lifts up again and again for widely arching melodies, sometimes spurred on by multi-voiced woman choirs.

—Frank Rauscher, Teleschau – der Mediendienst, review of My Winter Storm^[67]

In an interview, she explained that My Winter Storm was the first album where she had the chance to use her full vocal range.^[68]

Now that I can use the whole range of my voice, it feels very nice. I have never sung so low as I did on one of the songs on the new record and there's a song on which I sang my highest notes ever! I really have used a huge range on this album – around three octaves – because the moods are changing in every song and this reflects that.

—Tarja Turunen, Kerrang! interview, September 2007^[68]

Register[link]

Vocal range on My Winter Storm (F₃ to D₆)

Turunen's voice type is soprano (more precisely, (full) lyric soprano). Over the course of her career, Turunen has developed a vocal range of three octaves.^[1] Therefore she is also capable of reaching the mezzo-soprano, contralto and even coloratura soprano register.

This is apparent on her album My Winter Storm, where the lowest note sung is F₃ in the song "The Seer", while in another song, she sang up to D₆.^[69]

I sang a repertoire of a mezzo-soprano for many years and because of that, still today, I have rarely quite low register for a lyrical soprano. Nowadays, I see myself as a light lyrical soprano.

—Tarja Turunen – blog entry from March 1, 2009^[58]

Reception[link]

Turunen at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 3, 2007

Turunen's voice is described by critics as remarkably powerful and emotional.^[70][71][72] Sometimes it is stated that her voice is too trained or operatic for metal music, but even critics who do not like classical voices admit that her voice suits the kind of metal songs she sings unusually well.^[55][56]

Until the end of their collaboration, Turunen's singing was a trademark of Nightwish.^[65] She was known as the face and voice of Nightwish^[73] while bandleader Holopainen was the soul. Turunen was seen as a key to Nightwish's success.^[74] 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.^[75]

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 Finnish celebrities.^[18] The event is televised annually live by the state-owned broadcaster, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.^[36] 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.^[36] 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.^[76]

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.^[77][78]

Discography[link]

Solo career[link]

• Henkäys Ikuisuudesta (2006)
• My Winter Storm (2007)
• What Lies Beneath (2010)
• TBA (2013)

Singles[link]

• You Would Have Loved This (2006)
• I Walk Alone (2007)
• Die Alive (2008)
• Enough (2009)
• Falling Awake (2010)
• I Feel Immortal (2010)
• Until My Last Breath (2010)
• Underneath (2011)

Eps[link]

• Yhden Enkelin Unelma (2004)
• The Seer (2008)

Side Projects[link]

• Tarja Turunen & Harus - In Concert - Live at Sibelius Hall (2011)
• Cameo role on Yhtä Kyytiä - Mad Rush (Partners in Crime) Movie (2011)
• TBA (2012)

With Nightwish[link]

• Angels Fall First (1997)
• Oceanborn (1998)
• Wishmaster (2000)
• Over the Hills and Far Away EP (2001)
• Century Child (2002)
• Once (2004)

Notes[link]