Anette Olzon
FULL NAME: Anette Blyckert (nee Olzon)
NATIONALITY: Swedish
HOMETOWN: Katrineholm, Sweden
DATE OF BIRTH: 21st June, 1971
STAR SIGN: Gemini
EYE COLOUR: Green
HAIR COLOUR: Dark brown (naturally blonde)
Biography
Born into a musical family, Anette started singing when she was a child. She also played the oboe. She toured with her mother's band, sometimes singing on stage. When she was 13 she began to compete in talent shows. She later went on to study music and vocal studies at a music conservatory in Helsingor, Denmark and then in Balettakademien, a professional dance school in Gothenburg, Sweden. So far she has been in several bands and choirs and has done a lot of studio work and wedding performances, and claims that she has sung practically every genre of music.
She joined a cover band called Take Cover at the age of 17. At 21 she landed the main role in Gransland, a rock opera/musical. She was also a guest singer on the album Conspiracy from Michael Bormanns (previously of the rock band Jaded Heart). In 1999, at the age of 28, she became a permanent member of the band Alyson Avenue after impressing them on a demo recording. Prior to this, the band had been going since 1989 with a male vocalist.
With Anette in their line-up, Alyson Avenue sent out some demos which gained great feedback and ultimately resulted in a record contract. They released their debut album, Presence of Mind, in November 2000. This was followed by Omega in 2003.
Joining Nightwish
In mid-2005, Anette discovered Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish through her niece and instantly liked their music. In October of that year, Nightwish fired their lead singer, Tarja Turunen, with an infamous open letter. At this time, Anette was in an ABBA cover band and the band's sound engineer encouraged her to apply to be Nightwish's new frontwoman.
Anette recorded a version of Nightwish's Ever Dream, having never practiced the song before. She sent the demo to Nightwish and was contacted a week later by Tuomas Holopainen, the band's keyboardist, founder and main songwriter. He was very positive about her demo and asked her to sing a few more songs from an instrumental version of Once, Nightwish's last album. Anette recorded Nemo, Higher Than Hope and the Finnish Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan.
In March 2006, Nightwish started openly advertising for demos from other candidates. Anette contacted the band to ask if she should send in a third demo and received a reply stating that she probably wouldn't get the job. She didn't give up, however, and sent Nightwish a DVD of a live performance from her band, Alyson Avenue. She received a reply from Nightwish's manager, Ewo Pohjola, and was invited to meet the band in September. At this meeting, she sang several of Nightwish's older songs and went to the studio the next day to sing newer material. On the way home, she received a text message from Ewo saying that he and the band liked her a lot and wanted to invite her back the following month.
So, in October, Anette returned to Finland, this time to Tuomas's island near his hometown of Kitee. There, over the next six days, Anette and the band had some test photographs taken and went to the studio to record the songs that Anette had been given to practice. Upon returning home, Anette received an e-mail from Tuomas stating that he was going to wait until 2007 to make a final decision.
At last, on January 30th 2007, Tuomas contacted Anette to say that he and the band had chosen her as their new lead singer. Altogether there were over 2000 applicants of which 10 got so far as singing in front of the band. Nightwish finally announced to the public that Anette was their new lead singer on May 24th 2007 and the next day they released the Internet single Eva, the first single from their 'new era' with Anette.
Personality and Hobbies
Anette describes herself as an emotional person who follows her heart and her instincts. She feels the need to be herself around the people that she cares about. She likes to be around other people but also enjoys having some time on her own to reflect. She likes to listen to other people, help them, guide them and give them advice when they want it. She says that it's easy to make her laugh. In general she is a positive and determined person who believes that anything is possible and any dream is achievable.
Anette enjoys working out, reading and long, countryside walks. She enjoys lots of different food, from Mexican to sushi. Her favourite TV shows are Desperate Housewives and Friends, but she says that she doesn't watch much television. On tour she expects that she will spend her free time reading, watching movies and playing games. She takes private singing lessons from a teacher at Malmo Music University when she feels the need.
Rotation
Disclaimers
This site is XHTML 1.0 Transitional and should work in all browsers. I am not affiliated or in contact with Anette Olzon, Nightwish, their associates or record company. This is just an unofficial fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended.