The Most Famous

SINGERS from Finland

This page contains a list of the greatest Finnish Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 4,381 Singers, 37 of which were born in Finland. This makes Finland the birth place of the 19th most number of Singers behind Denmark, and Poland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Finnish Singers of all time. This list of famous Finnish Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Finnish Singers.

1. Tarja Turunen (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 57.63, Tarja Turunen is the most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 52 different languages on wikipedia.

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. Turunen studied lyrical singing at Sibelius Academy and Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. She is a professional classical lied singer with a three-octave vocal range, and founded symphonic metal band Nightwish with Tuomas Holopainen and Emppu Vuorinen in 1996. Their combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with Turunen's dramatic, "operatic" lead vocals quickly achieved critical and commercial popularity. Their symphonic metal style, soon dubbed "opera metal", inspired many other metal bands and performers. Turunen was fired from the band on 21 October 2005 (just after the performance of the band's End of an Era concert) for personal reasons accompanied by an open letter from the band. She started her solo career in 2006 with the release of a Christmas album called Henkäys ikuisuudesta. In 2007, Turunen released My Winter Storm, an album featuring various styles including symphonic metal, and started the Storm World Tour. She performed several concerts in Europe, playing in metal festivals including the Graspop Metal Meeting and the Wacken Open Air, before releasing her third album, What Lies Beneath, supported by a tour, which lasted until April 2012. Her first live DVD Act I was filmed during this tour on 30 and 31 March 2012 in Argentina. Act I was released in August 2012. Turunen started the Colours in the Dark World Tour in October 2013 to promote her new album Colours in the Dark. Her second live DVD was filmed during the events of Beauty and the Beat with Mike Terrana and was released in May. In September 2015, Tarja Turunen released her first classical studio album, Ave Maria – En Plein Air. In August 2016 she released her sixth studio album The Shadow Self, with a prequel EP The Brightest Void released on 3 June. On 17 November 2017, she released her second Christmas album, From Spirits and Ghosts, putting a dark orchestral twist on various classic holiday songs. In 2018, she released the follow-up to her first live album, Act II, which was filmed during her world tour for The Shadow Self. Her eighth studio album and her fifth metal album, In the Raw, was released on 30 August 2019. Turunen's third Christmas album and the follow-up sequel to From Spirits and Ghosts, entitled Dark Christmas, was released on 10 November 2023.

2. Ville Valo (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 52.06, Ville Valo is the 2nd most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Ville Hermanni Valo (pronounced [ˈʋilːe ˈʋɑlo] ; born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM. Born and raised in Helsinki to a Hungarian mother and Finnish father, Valo began his career playing bass and drums in various bands around the city. In 1991, he co-founded and became the lead singer and main songwriter of 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. Outside of HIM, Valo has collaborated with various other bands and artists during his career, including Agents, The 69 Eyes, and Apocalyptica. In 2020, Valo embarked on a solo career under the moniker VV. His debut album Neon Noir was released in 2023. He is also the creator of the heartagram, HIM's trademarked symbol, which has achieved great popularity outside of the band's fanbase. Valo has received several accolades in the music industry and has been regarded as a sex symbol by several publications.

3. Lill Lindfors (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 51.92, Lill Lindfors is the 3rd most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Maj Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors (born 12 May 1940) is a Swedish singer who has performed in Scandinavia since the 1960s.

4. Aino Ackté (1876 - 1944)

With an HPI of 51.30, Aino Ackté is the 4th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Aino Ackté (originally Achte; 24 April 1876 – 8 August 1944) was a Finnish dramatic soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field.

5. Marion Rung (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 49.83, Marion Rung is the 5th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Marion Rung (born 7 December 1945) is a Finnish pop singer. She is known for having represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 and 1973. Her 1962 Eurovision song placed 7th, and in 1973, she managed to bring Finland's second best result in the contest until 2006 by finishing in 6th place. She also won the Grand Prix of the Sopot International Song Festival in 1974 and the Intervision Song Contest 1980 with "Where is the Love."

6. Matti Salminen (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 49.64, Matti Salminen is the 6th most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure and height (6' 5"), a cavernous, heavy, dark voice with an expansive upper register, and an expressive face. According to one reviewer, in his prime Salminen was "... simply the largest bass voice in captivity. It is not just its roar in powering over Wagner's maximum orchestra, but the way he carves the sonority and forms the color." Salminen has a special gift for playing menacing, threatening characters. He performed as Fafner and Hagen in the PBS video broadcast Ring Cycle from the Metropolitan Opera, for the largest viewing-audience of the Ring in history.

7. Katri Helena (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 48.95, Katri Helena is the 7th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Katri Helena Kalaoja (née Koistinen; born 17 August 1945) is a Finnish singer.

8. Lasse Mårtenson (1934 - 2016)

With an HPI of 48.39, Lasse Mårtenson is the 8th most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Lars Anders Fredrik "Lasse" Mårtenson (24 September 1934 – 14 May 2016) was a Finnish singer, composer, actor, and theater conductor. Mårtenson was born in Helsinki. He performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 with the song "Laiskotellen" ("Idling"). He placed 7th with 9 points. He is best known in his home country as the composer of "Maija from the Storm Skerries", a lyrical tune arranged primarily for piano. His hits include the Finnish version of the song "Jackson" in duet with Carola Standertskjöld, which was included in the list of the songs played in the 2003 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships during the breaks. In 2011 he published his memoirs, Vågspel, in the Swedish language, and they were translated into Finnish in 2013. Lasse Mårtenson was married to Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist. He died in 2016, aged 81.

9. Timo Kotipelto (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 47.86, Timo Kotipelto is the 9th most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto.

10. Laila Kinnunen (1939 - 2000)

With an HPI of 47.71, Laila Kinnunen is the 10th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Laura “Laila” Annikki Kinnunen (8 November 1939, in Vantaa – 26 October 2000, in Heinävesi) was a Finnish singer. She was one of the most popular Finnish singers of the 1950s and 1960s, and represented Finland at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, the first time Finland participated in the contest. She spent her childhood in Sweden as a refugee from the Second World War, returning to Finland at the age of ten. Her first album, released in 1957, was a success, and she continued to release music until 1980. From the 1970s she suffered from severe alcoholism. Her daughter is Finnish singer Milana Mišić.

People

Pantheon has 41 people classified as Finnish singers born between 1876 and 1998. Of these 41, 33 (80.49%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Finnish singers include Tarja Turunen, Ville Valo, and Lill Lindfors. The most famous deceased Finnish singers include Aino Ackté, Lasse Mårtenson, and Laila Kinnunen. As of April 2024, 6 new Finnish singers have been added to Pantheon including Matti Salminen, Seija Simola, and Käärijä.