Anette Olzon

Not to be confused with Annette Olson.

Anette Olzon
Anette Olzon, live in Italy 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Anette Ingegerd Olsson
Born	(1971-06-21) 21 June 1971 Katrineholm, Sweden
Genres	Symphonic Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Acoustic
Occupations	Singer, Musician
Instruments	Vocals, Oboe
Years active	1988-present
Associated acts	Nightwish, Alyson Avenue, Pain, Michael Bormann, Brother Firetribe, The Rasmus, Sweden United, Swallow the Sun

Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer from Helsingborg, best known as the second lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. She sings in the mezzo-soprano range, and was also formerly the vocalist in the Swedish AOR band Alyson Avenue. After her admission in Nightwish, Olzon played with several bands, in studio and live, including Brother Firetribe, Pain and The Rasmus.

In 2008, Anette recorded one track with Brother Firetribe on their second album, Heart Full of Fire, and the duet with The Rasmus, titled October & April, was played for the first time on 9 October 2009 on a Finnish radio and was released digitally on 11 November 2009. On 13 August, Anette sang two Nightwish songs, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan and "Meadows of Heaven", with the Stockholm Symphonic Orchestra, at the Suomi Safari, the event was in celebration of Sweden and Finland relations. During the break after Nightwish's 2009 Hartwall Arena concert, Anette has stated that she wishes to release a solo album. As of 19 October 2009, songwriting for this album has begun.

She has mentioned Carola Häggkvist, Sarah Brightman, Natalie Cole and Celine Dion as being her inspirations in singing. She has said she enjoys other metal bands, such as Sonata Arctica, Amorphis, Tarot, Within Temptation and Kamelot. She has also noted that she is a fan of The Rasmus, and was such even before she released October & April.

Anette lives with her partner, and Pain bassist, Johan Husgafvel and son Seth, born July 2001. In July 2010, she gave birth to her second son, Nemo.

On 1 October 2012, Nightwish and Anette parted ways. On 11 January 2013 it was revealed that she was pregnant at the time of her departure from Nightwish. Her third son Mio was born on 27 March, 2013 by C-section.

Early life

Anette Olzon was raised in a musical family and has been singing since childhood. Her mother also forced her to play the oboe for 8 years. She toured with her mother's band and sang with them on some occasions. Later, she started to take part in various talent shows and received laudable recognition. The first band she joined at seventeen years of age (Take Cover) was a cover band. However, it was short-lived as she took part in several bands and projects. At twenty-one, she played the leading role in the rock opera/musical "Gränsland" in Helsingborg. After that she got into the Balettakademien in Gothenburg. She sang in choirs, did studio work for various projects and occasionally performed as a wedding singer. Anette also sang a duet with Michael Bormann (ex-Jaded Heart singer) on his album "Conspiracy".

In her earlier days, Anette took singing lessons at the Copenhagen Music Conservatorie, in Helsingør, Denmark with a private teacher. Nowadays, she takes lessons from a private teacher at the Malmö Music University when needed.

Career

With Alyson Avenue (1999–2005)

Olzon then joined Alyson Avenue, at first only as a studio singer, but later as their leading lady, replacing the male vocalist. The band received huge feedback for a demo they sent out in 1999, and Alyson Avenue was soon able to contact various labels. Main composer and keyboardist Niclas Olsson gathered the band, recording a four track demo which resulted in a record deal with AOR Heaven.

In November 2000, debut album Presence of Mind was released to positive reviews. The next album Omega was released in 2003. Anette left Alyson Avenue in 2006. In May 2009, Alyson Avenue introduced Arabella Vitanc as their new lead vocalist.

With Nightwish (2007–2012)

Anette live with Nightwish in Melbourne, Australia, on 30 January 2008.

Olzon officially joined Nightwish as their new lead singer in early 2007, chosen from about 2,000 applicants of which 10 made it to prove their place in front of the band. The song on her demo tape was the 2002 single "Ever Dream". She replaced the previous singer Tarja Turunen, who was fired in an open letter in the autumn of 2005. Olzon's demo was one of the first that Nightwish received, although she was originally denied the position, as band leader Tuomas Holopainen was concerned about the fact that she had a young son. However, Olzon was persistent and sent the band a live DVD of her performing with Alyson Avenue. She was then contacted by Nightwish's manager Ewo Pohjola, which eventually led to her taking up the position in February 2007. Tuomas commented on her selection saying "we (the band) took a formal vote, but it was unanimous that she would be the one. It was a matter of heart. We felt she was right." Her identity was kept secret by various methods, including pretending to be Ewo's "Swedish cousin" at a Tarot concert, until she was eventually announced as the new Nightwish singer on 24 May 2007.

The day after this revelation, 25 May 2007, charity single "Eva" was released as the first off the album, as download only. It was originally scheduled for release on 30 May but this was changed due to a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On 13 June Nightwish released the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork to the new album on their official website, as well as the name and the cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth". "Amaranth" achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores.

Dark Passion Play was released around Europe in the last week of September 2007, in the UK on 1 October and the United States on October 2. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the number 1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States. Dark Passion Play has sold 6x Platinum worldwide up to date (over 1.5 million copies).

Anette performing with Nightwish in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, before the smoke incident which forced her to abandon the stage.

On 22 September 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn, Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called "Nachtwasser". Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv, Israel on 6 October 2007. The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The Dark Passion Play tour turned out to be Nightwish's longest tour yet, lasting from the fall of 2007 to September 2009, when ended with a concert in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki with the band Apocalyptica. For trivia, Nightwish's only other concert in Hartwall Arena was in 2005 when they ended their Once Upon a Tour. This concert was filmed for the End of an Era DVD, and it was Tarja Turunen's last show with the band. As of 1 October 2012 due to a mutual agreement Anette Olzon has left Nightwish per Nightwish.com. This announcement came days after Olzon fell ill and wasn't able to perform at a show; replacement singers were used, and Olzon later expressed her disappointment. On September 30 at Salt Lake City, Olzon appeared for the last time even though she was still ill. On 11 January 2013, Anette announced on her official blog that she was pregnant with her third child, due sometime at the end of March. Her pregnancy is believed to have contributed to her decision to leave Nightwish. She gave birth to her third son, Mio, on March 28th.

Discography

Nightwish

Studio Albums:

• Dark Passion Play (2007)
• Imaginaerum (2011)

Singles:

• "Eva" (2007)
• "Amaranth" (2007)
• "Bye Bye Beautiful" (2008)
• "The Islander" (2008)
• "Storytime" (2011)
• "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove" (2012)

EPs, Live Albums & MCDs:

• Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places) (2009)

Solo career

Studio Albums:

• Lost On Life Street (2013)

Alyson Avenue

Studio Albums:

• Presence Of Mind (2000 / Re-released in 2009)
• Omega (2004 / Re-released in 2009 as Omega II)

Singles:

• I Am (Your Pleasuremaker) (2004)

Compilations:

• Munich's Hardest Hits
• Melodic Rock
• Fireworks Magazine
• Total Frontfork

Guest Appearances

• 2006: Two Of A Kind (Michael Bormann)
• 2006: Will We Remain (Cloudscape)
• 2008: Heart Full of Fire (Brother Firetribe)
• 2008: Follow Me, Feed Us (Pain)
• 2009: October & April (The Rasmus)
• 2010: Open Your Eyes (Sweden United)
• 2011: Changes (Alyson Avenue) (Background vocals on ”Liar”, ”Into The Fire”, ”Always Keep On Loving You”, ”Fallen”)
• 2012: Cathedral Walls (Swallow the Sun)
• 2012: This Love This Time, Lay Down in My Arms (Sapphire Eyes)

External links

• Anette's official site
• Anette's new official blog
• Nightwish's official website
• Anette's Czech Fansite

http://spinefarmrecords.com/fin/

http://www.ensiferum.com/

http://www.metal-archives.com/