Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son, Ronia the Robber's Daughter, and The Brothers Lionheart. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In January 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author, and the fourth most translated children's writer after Enid Blyton, Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. Lindgren has so far sold roughly 165 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality."
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.
Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Gira. One of few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner is the second daughter of King Olav V of Norway and his wife, Princess Märtha of Sweden. She is the older sister of King Harald V of Norway and younger sister of the late Princess Ragnhild.
Anneli Magnusson, known by her stage names Pandora and United DJs vs. Pandora, is a Swedish Eurodance artist. She was most popular during the mid-1990s in the Nordic countries and in Asia and Australia in the end of 1990s to mid-2000s.
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli, known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer-songwriter. She is a soprano with a three-octave range.
Hanna Helena Pakarinen is a Finnish pop and pop-rock singer who rose to fame as the winner of the first series of the Finnish singing competition Idols in 2004. Since then she has represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 on homeland, and has sold over 91,000 certified records in Finland, which places her among the top 50 best-selling female soloists in her home country.
Marit Elisabeth Larsen is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She began playing violin at age of 5 and played it until the age of 8. She gained international fame during her teenage years as a member of the pop duo M2M with childhood friend Marion Raven. She then pursued her own music career, releasing her debut solo album Under the Surface in 2006. Her second album, The Chase, was released in Norway in October 2008. Her third album, titled Spark was released in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland on 18 November 2011, and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 16 December 2011. Her fourth studio album When the Morning Comes was released on 20 October 2014. Larsen toured in its support within Norway with her own concerts, played songs from the album in Germany and Switzerland at public festivals and was the opening act at two of Johannes Oerding's concerts in November 2015.
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen is a Norwegian cross-country skier and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She skis with the IL Heming club in Oslo, near Holmenkollen. Her greatest achievement is winning the gold medal in sprint at the 2007 World Championships. On 22 April 2020, she announced her retirement from cross-country skiing in favour of medical studies.
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in the US. It is the first album without original vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was dismissed in 2005, as well as the first album involving future member Troy Donockley on uilleann pipes and tin whistle. It is the first of only two albums with vocalist Anette Olzon, who was eventually dismissed in 2012 after the release of the band's subsequent album, Imaginaerum. Tuomas Holopainen has referred to this album as the "album that saved his life".
Astrid Gunilla Margareta Thors is a Member of the Finnish Parliament since 2004. A Finnish-Swedish politician, formerly of the Swedish People's Party, Thors is a Candidate of Law and held several senior jobs before becoming a Member of the European Parliament in 1996 where she worked until 2004. From 2005–2007 she chaired the Swedish Assembly of Finland.
Anette Ingegerd Olsson, known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish classic rock band Alyson Avenue, and of the Finnish heavy metal band The Dark Element.
Jarboe La Salle Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe, is an American singer-songwriter who came to prominence as a member of the New York City-based experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two constant members of the group until it broke up in 1997.
Vendela Astrid Young is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of journalist, sportswriter, and novelist Scott Young and his second wife Astrid Carlson, and the half-sister of fellow musician Neil Young, who bought her her first amplifier in the 1970s. After a brief run with 80's Glam metal group Sacred Child, she went on to record backup vocals on several albums through most of the 80's and 90's. Her vocals appeared on Neil Young's albums Unplugged, Road Rock Vol. 1 and the Grammy-nominated Harvest Moon. In 2002, she performed lead vocals and played the bass guitar on rock band iST's album Pokalolo Paniolo. Young has also released three solo albums, Brainflower in 1995, Matinee in 2002 and One Night at Giant Rock in 2014, which was co-produced by Victor DeLorenzo. In addition to writing a Canadian bestselling book, Being Young, Young has also co-written music with many fellow musicians, including Nancy Wilson, Lisa Dalbello and the late West Arkeen.
Astrid Peth is a fictional character played by Kylie Minogue in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is a one-off companion of the Tenth Doctor who appears in the episode "Voyage of the Damned", which was first broadcast in the UK on 25 December 2007. Minogue's casting in the role was a major coup for Doctor Who, her fame attracting much publicity for "Voyage of the Damned". Subsequently, much of the episode's success in terms of viewing figures was attributed to Minogue's appearance in the role.
Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari, known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the third series of the Finnish singing talent show Idols in 2007. Her music has been described as pop with influences from genres such as R&B, dance, and Latin. Since her participation in Idols, Abreu has become one of the best-selling former Idols contestants in Finland, and one of the most successful Finnish female singers. She has certified record sales surpassing 190,000 copies, which places her also among the 100 best-selling music artists of all time in Finland.
The Beatles experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, but record companies in the United States did not immediately follow up with releases of their own, and the Beatles' commercial success in the US continued to be hampered by other obstacles, including issues with royalties and public derision toward the "Beatle haircut".
Axel Ehnström is a Finnish songwriter and musician. He is known for writing songs for artists such as Phoebe Ryan, Lost Frequencies and Alle Farben. He participated as Paradise Oskar in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.
Soliti is a Finnish indie record label based in Helsinki. The label was founded in 2011 by Nick Triani. Soliti is the Italian word for usual. The first artists to join the label were Astrid Swan, Big Wave Riders, Black Twig, Cats On Fire and The New Tigers.
Astrid Smeplass is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. In 2013, she placed fifth in the Norwegian version of Pop Idol, entitled Idol - Jakten på en superstjerne. In 2020, she released her debut studio album, Leave It Beautiful, through Universal.
