- published: 28 Feb 2009
- views: 197713629
Bittersweet may refer to:
Ville Hermanni Valo (born November 22, 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range, and has maintained a 4 octave range in full voice, from F1 to F5, Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
Ville Hermanni Valo was born in the Vallila district of Helsinki. His father, Kari, is Finnish and his mother, Anita, is of Hungarian descent. Soon after his birth, the family moved to the riverside community of Oulunkylä where they lived throughout his teenage years. In 1984 his younger brother and only sibling Jesse was born. In his late teens, he worked at his father's sex shop and later moved out on his own when he was 18.
As a child, Valo was exposed to the songs of popular Finnish performers such as Tapio Rautavaara and Rauli Badding Somerjoki. In various interviews he has cited his favourite artists include Tapio Rautavaara, King Diamond, Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki, Elvis Presley, Neil Young, and Dir En Grey, as well as bands such as Fields of the Nephilim, The Sisters of Mercy, Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, Kiss, and The Stooges.