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The Most Famous

SINGERS from Finland

This page contains a list of the greatest Finnish Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 3,528 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 (1977 - )

With an HPI of 57.19, Tarja Turunen is the most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 51 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 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 The Shadow Self with a prequel EP The Brightest Void released on 3 June. In 2018, she released the follow-up to her first live album, Act II. Her latest album, In the Raw, was released on 30 August 2019.

2. Ville Valo (1976 - )

With an HPI of 50.75, 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. Aino Ackté (1876 - 1944)

With an HPI of 48.77, Aino Ackté is the 3rd most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 19 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.

4. Lill Lindfors (1940 - )

With an HPI of 48.66, Lill Lindfors is the 4th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

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

5. Lasse Mårtenson (1934 - 2016)

With an HPI of 47.87, Lasse Mårtenson is the 5th 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.

6. Laila Kinnunen (1939 - 2000)

With an HPI of 47.13, Laila Kinnunen is the 6th 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.

7. Marion Rung (1945 - )

With an HPI of 46.92, Marion Rung is the 7th most famous Finnish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Marion Rung (born 7 December 1945 in Helsinki) 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."

8. Olavi Virta (1915 - 1972)

With an HPI of 46.49, Olavi Virta is the 8th most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Olavi Virta (originally until 1926 Oskari Olavi Ilmén; 27 February 1915 in Sysmä, Grand Duchy of Finland – 14 July 1972 in Pispala, Tampere, Finland) was a Finnish singer, acclaimed during his time as the "King" of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions. Of his most acclaimed tangos are Punatukkaiselle tytölleni ("For My Red Haired Girl"), Ennen kuolemaa ("Before Death"; French: Avant de Mourir) and Täysikuu ("Full Moon"), while standouts from his other popular songs are Poika varjoisalta kujalta ("Boy From a Shady Alley"; Italian: Guaglione), Hopeinen kuu ("Silver Moon"; Italian: Guarda Che Luna), Eva and Kultainen nuoruus ("The Golden Youth"). He was also the second tenor of the quartet Kipparikvartetti in the early 1950s. At the beginning of his career he received three gold records for the songs Ennen kuolemaa, Tulisuudelma (El Choclo) and La Cumparsita. Virta also acted in sixteen different Finnish films, including ones of the then-popular Pekka Puupää series. When he began his career in 1939, he was marketed as the "Bing Crosby of Finland." He has also been compared to the American singer-actor Frank Sinatra.Virta was very much popular in the 1950s in Finland, however, around 1959 is when his life began to go into a bit of a sour direction. His wife Irene, whom he had three children with, left him and moved to Sweden in that year, he also began having health issues from an ever augmenting problem with alcoholism, diabetes, and a stroke. His career was officially off the ropes when it was cut short one night in 1962 when he was scandalously arrested for drunken driving in Ilomantsi, after which the press mockingly called him "The Singing Meatball." Ten years later he succumbed to alcoholism, living his final years in poverty. He was buried in the Malmi Cemetery. His influence in contemporary Finnish music has not been forgotten, and today a number of Finnish Schlager singers cite him as a particular role model or influence when it comes to the realm of music. At least one movie, debuting in October 2018 and simply called, "Olavi Virta" has been produced about his life, as well as one documentary by Finnish film director and historian, Peter von Bagh. He was one of the ten people to be chosen by the upcoming Finnish Music Hall of Fame museum due to be opened in Helsinki.

9. Tom Krause (1934 - 2013)

With an HPI of 46.36, Tom Krause is the 9th most famous Finnish Singer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Tom Gunnar Krause (5 July 1934 − 6 December 2013) was a Finnish operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Mozart roles.

10. Katri Helena (1945 - )

With an HPI of 45.96, Katri Helena is the 10th 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.

People

Pantheon has 37 people classified as singers born between 1876 and 1998. Of these 37, 29 (78.38%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living singers include Tarja Turunen, Ville Valo, and Lill Lindfors. The most famous deceased singers include Aino Ackté, Lasse Mårtenson, and Laila Kinnunen. As of April 2022, 7 new singers have been added to Pantheon including Olavi Virta, Tom Krause, and Fredi.