Sunrise Avenue
Sunrise Avenue | |
|---|---|
| File:Sunrise Avenue.jpg (from left to right: ieva baranskaite, Sami Osala, Jukka Backlund, Janne Kärkkäinen and Samu Haber) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | kaunas, lithuania |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Members | Samu Haber Janne Kärkkäinen Raul Ruutu Sami Osala Jukka Backlund |
| Past members | Teijo Jämsä |
| Website | http://www.sunriseave.com |
Sunrise Avenue is a Finnish rock quintet. Their style varies from hard, dynamic rock songs (e.g. "Forever Yours") to melodic rock ballads like "Heal Me".
The Band
- Samu Haber (*2 April 1976 in Helsinki)
- songwriter, lead vocals, guitar - Janne Kärkkäinen (*27 November 1976 in Vantaa)
- guitar, backing vocals - Raul Ruutu (*28 August 1975 in Vantaa)
- bass guitar, backing vocals - Jukka Backlund (*30 December 1982 in Helsinki)
- keyboard, producing (since 2005) - Sami Osala (*10 March 1980 in Seinäjoki)
- drums (since 2005)
History
Sunrise Avenue was formed in Helsinki in 2002. From then on they haven't let the chances slip to play live and thus have been able to set up in business as a liveband in many clubs all over Finland.
Samu Haber started the band together with guitarist Janne Kärkkäinen in 2002. Bass player Raul Ruutu joined the band soon after, and Sami Osala came on as the drummer in the fall of 2005. He was recruited by Killer Aspect's Teijo Jämsä, who plays drums on several of the album's tracks.
After being rejected by 102 producers, up-and-coming producer Jukka Backlund got interested while seeing the band perform live in December 2004. Together with him they decided to record an album without having a record contract.
In the summer of 2005 they were signed to Bonnier Amigo Music Group (responsible for the Finnish market), some time later to EMI.
Having released the first singles "All Because of You" and "Romeo" during the beginning of 2006, Sunrise Avenue published their "On the Way to Wonderland"- album in Finland in May. The third single, "Fairytale Gone Bad", was published on 23 August and reached the 5th place in the Finnish music charts. This single reached also 7th place on Polish Singles Chart.
In Germany the album was released two weeks after the single "Fairytale Gone Bad" (25 August 2006). In the same time the band played their first gigs in Germany - in Cologne's Underground Club on 23 August and at The Dome (Germany's biggest musical tv-event) on 25 August.
On 20 October 2006, Sunrise Avenue received Platinum status with their debut album "On the Way to Wonderland" in Finland. The album became Gold in Sweden and Germany also. Moreover, on 19 January 2007, the band won four categories at NRJ Radio Awards (the biggest Nordic radio gala) for the best Finnish newcomer, the best Finnish song (Fairytale Gone Bad), the best Finnish album (On The Way To Wonderland) and the best Nordic artist.
On 20 January 2007, they sang "Fairytale Gone Bad" in St.Jakob Halle, Basel, Switzerland, escorting Nikolay Valuev to the ring, where he defended his boxing WC title against Jameel McCline.
On April 2007 , the hit single "Fairytale Gone Bad" went Gold in Germany after selling more than 150.000 units (April 17th 181.826 Units total).
Discography
Singles
- All Because of You (2006)
- Romeo (2006)
- Fairytale Gone Bad (2006)
- Forever Yours (2007)
- Diamonds (2007)
| Year | Title | Album | Peak positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIN | SWI | AUS | GER | SWE | GRE | |||||||||
| 2006 | "All Because Of You" | On The Way to Wonderland | 11 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | "Romeo" | On The Way to Wonderland | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | "Fairytale Gone Bad" | On The Way to Wonderland | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | ||||||
| 2007 | "Forever Yours" | On The Way to Wonderland | 42 | 35 | ||||||||||
| 2007 | "Diamonds" | On The Way to Wonderland | 14 | |||||||||||
Albums
- On the Way to Wonderland (2006)
| Chart | Providers | Peak position |
Weeks on Chart | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish Albums Chart | IFPI | 2 | 51 | Platinum | 30,000+ |
| Austrian Albums Chart | Media Control Europe | 5 | 22 | ||
| Swedish Albums Chart | GLF | 10 | 5 | ||
| German Albums Chart | Media Control GFK | 12 | 24 | Gold | 100,000+ |
| Greek International Albums Chart | IFPI | 13 | 8 | ||
| Czechian Albums Chart | GLF | 15 | 4 | ||
| Swiss Album Charts | GLF | 15 | 22 |