Tarja Turunen

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born August 17, 1977) is a Finnish singer-songwriter better known as Tarja Turunen or just Tarja. She is a soprano with a three-octave vocal range.

Turunen attended the Sibelius Academy and the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe to study singing. She is a professional classical lied singer, but she is best known as the former lead vocalist of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which she co-founded in 1996 with Tuomas Holopainen and Emppu Vuorinen. Their harsh and rapid guitar riffs, along with Turunen's dramatic, "operatic" lead vocals, immediately gained critical and commercial acclaim. Their symphonic metal approach quickly called "opera metal" influenced a slew of subsequent metal bands and singers.

Turunen left the band in 2005 and was replaced by Anette Olzon. Turunen went on to have a successful solo career. Unlike her work with Nightwish, her music is mostly created by herself and spans a wide range of genres, from classic to symphonic metal to alternative rock. Turunen's solo albums are frequently experimental, incorporating elements and styles that are not typically connected with the rock and classic genres.

Awards:

• Echo Award for Best International Newcomer (Nominations: 2008)