Nightwish is a 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 Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.
Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM. Influenced by the likes of KISS, Black Sabbath and Type O Negative, Valo began his career playing bass and drums in various bands around his hometown of Helsinki. In 1991, he formed HIM, which would go on to become one of the most successful Finnish bands of all time, and the first to receive a gold record in the United States. He performed as the band's lead singer and chief songwriter from their inception until their dissolution in 2017. Known for his deep, crooning bass-baritone voice, Valo is also credited as the creator of the heartagram, the band's trademarked symbol which nonetheless has achieved great popularity outside of the band's fanbase.
Tony Christian Halme was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician. Halme was also known by the pseudonym Viikinki, which he used while appearing in Gladiaattorit, a Finnish version of the TV game show Gladiators, in the 1990s. He was also a professional wrestler best known for his appearances with Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Ludvig Borga; a mixed martial artist and the first fighter from the Nordic countries to ever compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC); and a professional boxer who held the Finnish heavyweight title.
Hawksley Workman is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full-length albums throughout his career. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and sings on his records, often switching between those instruments when playing live.
Heikki Veikko Harma is a Finnish singer-songwriter who has also distinguished himself as a translator of song lyrics, but has written popular lyrics of his own too. To the public he's better known by the name Hector, which he has used since the release of his 1965 debut single "Palkkasoturi", a Finnish translation of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier". His 1974 album Hectorock I became the fastest selling record in Finnish history, selling 50,000 units within a few months. Hector was at the height of his popularity in the first half of the 1970s, but his steady string of recordings provided occasional hits well into the 1990s. In the 2000s, he made strong comeback to popularity with his album Ei selityksiä. That album became one of his most successful albums. In 2007 he made a farewell tour on big arenas, but has performed occasionally after that too. In 2011 he made a massive comeback tour and released a new album Hauras (Fragile) in 2014, ten years after his previous album.
Finnish: Jumala or Estonian: Jumal or Mari: Jumo means "god" in the Finnic languages and those of the Volga Finns, both the Christian god and any other deity of any religion. The word is thought to have been the name of a sky god of the ancient Finnic-speaking peoples. Jumala as a god of the sky is associated with the related Estonian Jumal, Mari Jumo and Bjarmian Jomali and is thought to stem from an ancient tradition of the Finno-Ugric peoples. A related term appears also in the Mordvinic languages, jondol "lightning", literally "fire of Juma".
Eric Singer is an American hard rock and heavy metal musician, best known as a member of Kiss, portraying The Catman originally played by Peter Criss. He has also performed with artists such as Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Badlands, Brian May and Gary Moore as well as his own band ESP. In his career, Singer has appeared on over 75 albums and 11 EPs.
Janne Viljami "Warman" Wirman is a Finnish musician; he is the former keyboardist for the Finnish metal band Children of Bodom from 1997–2019 and currently collaborating with Warmen.
Eric M. Bazilian, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters and for writing "One of Us," made famous by Joan Osborne in 1995.
Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto, Olli Tukiainen, Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen, Jani Snellman (bass), Jaska Mäkinen, and Jari Salminen.
Mike Inez is an American rock musician best known for his role as the bassist of Alice in Chains since 1993. He is also recognized for his work with Ozzy Osbourne from 1989–1993. Inez has also associated with Slash's Snakepit, Black Label Society, and Heart. He is of Filipino descent.
Ben Lummis (born Isileli Junior Brown on is a New Zealand R&B/Pop/Gospel recording artist who rose to musical fame as the winner of the First season of New Zealand Idol in 2004. He is of Māori and Pākehā, Tongan & Samoan descent. He is very close to his family, and has five siblings
Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari, known professionally as simply Anna Abreu, 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.
Jerrod Lee Niemann is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one single for Category 5 Records (2006), three albums for Sea Gayle Music/Arista Nashville: Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury (2010), Free the Music (2012), and High Noon (2014), and his current single "God Made a Woman" for Curb Records. These albums have produced a combined ten Top 40 entries on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the Platinum Number 1 singles "Lover, Lover" and "Drink to That All Night" and Gold Top 5 single "What Do You Want". He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks: the chart topping Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy", as well as "That Girl Is a Cowboy" and "Midnight Sun". Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Blake Shelton, Colbie Caillat, Diamond Rio, The Cadillac Three, Mark Chesnutt, John Anderson, Neal McCoy, Christian Kane, and Julie Roberts have also recorded Niemann's songs. Niemann has also appeared as a guest artist on The Doobie Brothers’ 2014 album, Southbound. As a singer and songwriter, Niemann has sold over 20 million albums and downloads.
Sami Sirviö was the lead guitarist of the now discontinued Swedish rock band Kent.
Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed and splitting up in 2019, the final line-up of the group consisted of Alexi Laiho, Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Seppälä, Janne Wirman (keyboards), and Daniel Freyberg. The band released ten studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD.
Karri Timo Mikael Sirén, professionally known as Karri Koira, is a Finnish rapper, R&B artist and producer.
Monsp Records is a Finnish record label founded by Keijo "Kepe" Kiiskinen in 1997 and owned by Warner Music Group since May 2019.
Paavo Rintala is a Finnish novelist and theologian. He also wrote theatre pieces, radio plays and prose.
Jon Korhonen is a Finnish rapper of Nigerian origin.
