Antti Joonas "Jone" Nikula (born 30 March 1970) is a Finnish television and radio personality and a jack-of-all-trades in the music industry. He became well known as a judge in the TV show Idols. [1]
Before his TV popularity, Nikula has – among other things – been a host on the Finnish radio station Radio City, and marketing manager of EMI Music Finland. Since 2007, Nikula and Kotiteollisuus frontman Jouni Hynynen have hosted Äijät, a TV show about the professions and (in the second season in 2008) hobbies of "real men". He has written a history book about Finnish heavy metal music, Rauta-aika (Iron Age), and worked as the tour manager of Finnish glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. Starting early 2007, he has been hosting evening and daytime shows on Nelonen Media's rock music radio station, Radio Rock. [2] [3]
Nikula is a Captain in reserve in the Finnish Defence Forces. [4] His father is former Chancellor of Justice of Finland Paavo Nikula, and his mother is art historian Riitta Nikula. He was a competitor in the first season of the Finnish version of Dancing with the Stars , called Tanssii tähtien kanssa in 2006, finishing third. Nikula was a judge in the fifth season of Tanssii tähtien kanssa. [5]
Krisse Salminen is a Finnish stand-up comedian and television talkshow hostess. She is the daughter of game show host Reijo Salminen. Her shtick is to present herself as a cow-eyed and stuck-up, self-centered blonde girly girl, speaking an exaggerated, urban, Helsinki-style nasal accent. She is one of the central figures of the burgeoning Finnish stand-up scene.
Antti Tuisku is a retired Finnish pop singer. He finished third in the 2003 Idols talent show, the Finnish version of Pop Idol. Tuisku has sold over 300,000 records during his career in Finland.
Idols is a Finnish reality-television singing competition that airs on Nelonen. It debuted in the summer of 2003, and went on to become one of the most popular shows on Finnish television. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
Mikko Johannes Leppilampi is a Finnish actor, musician, and TV host. He is the son of Jukka Leppilampi, a Finnish gospel musician. Leppilampi is considered to be one of the most promising stars of Finland's movie industry in the new millennium. He shot to fame as a result of his debut movie Helmiä ja sikoja, for which he also won a Jussi award.
Jaana Pelkonen is a Finnish politician and television presenter.
Mari Liisa Pajalahti, also known by her stage name MC Mariko, is one of two lead singers of hip-hop music group Kwan. She has also acted in a Finnish TV soap opera called Salatut elämät in the role of Virpi Hurme from 1999 to 2000. In addition, she has played the lead role in the musical Dakota.
Jimi Constantine is a Finnish musician and actor. He was previously the vocalist and guitarist of the band Technicolour and has also played with the bands Tyrävyö, Cliché, and Kalle Päätalo. His previous artist name was Jimi Pääkallo. Constantine is also an actor, having appeared in the films A Long Hot Summer (1999), Pearls and Pigs (2003), and 8 Days to Premiere (2008), as well as the TV series Kallio (2010) and Salatut elämät (2000–2011).
Arto Kalevi Nyberg is a Finnish journalist working for Yleisradio. He hosts his own talk show called Arto Nyberg. Before getting his own show, Nyberg worked as a journalist and host on the Finnish morning television programme Aamu-TV.
Kristiina Elstelä was a Finnish actress, who acted in many TV shows and movies. She also had a long career in theater and was a cabaret artist.
Viivi Pumpanen is a Finnish actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Finland 2010, the official representative of Finland to the 2010 Miss Universe pageant.
Jarno "Jarppi" Leppälä is a Finnish television personality and a member of the stunt group the Dudesons.
Vappu Marjaana Pimiä is a Finnish radio personality and television hostess. She has been awarded as the best female television personality at the Kultainen TV Awards in 2009 and 2010.
Tanssii tähtien kanssa is a Finnish version of the British reality TV competition Strictly Come Dancing and is part of the Dancing with the Stars franchise. The show has run on MTV3 since 3 March 2006, on Sunday evenings. The twelfth season was aired in the autumn 2019.
The fifth season of Finnish Idol premiered on February 3, 2011 on MTV3. Nina Tapio and Jone Nikula returned as judges, and Sami Pitkämö replaced Patric Sarin as a judge. Heikki Paasonen returned as the show's host, but his co-hosts from the previous season did not return as they were replaced by Niina Herala.
Jannika Wirtanen better known as Jannika B is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Her professional music career began when she took part in the music competition Idols in 2007 and 2008, followed by the Finnish X Factor in 2009.
Riku Nieminen is a Finnish actor and dancer. He is best known for having appeared in the first five seasons of the sketch comedy television show Putous and for his character Munamies ("Eggy"). Nieminen also appeared as one of the judges on the seventh season of Tanssii tähtien kanssa, a Finnish version of the British television series Strictly Come Dancing.
Jukka "Jugi" Rasila is a Finnish actor and voice actor.
Sami Henrik Hedberg is a Finnish stand up comedian and actor. Hedberg became famous after winning the Get up, stand up competition on Sub TV in 2005. This victory caused him to become one of the most popular stand up comedians in Finland. Hedberg has his own company, The Showhouse OY, founded in 2005.
Katja Koukkula is a Finnish dancer and dance teacher, who has won several Finnish championships with her dance partner Jussi Väänänen. On August 25, 2007, they were elected to represent Finland in the first Eurovision Dance Contest, which took place on September 1, 2007 in London. They won the competition with 132 points, performing the Rumba and Paso Doble. The couple have won seven national titles as amateurs and came 4th in the European Championships. They've also won the British Open Rising Star contest in 2000.
Ali Jahangiri is an Iranian-born Finnish stand up comedian and media presenter. He often makes jokes about the prejudice the Finns feel towards immigrants.