Aspelund had been collaborating with from 1970 and in 1975 Aspelund had her first mainstream album release with the Monica &amp; Aaron Raninen Orkesteri. The album included "Fasten Seatbelts", which was Aspelund's first entry in the Finnish national preliminary of the Eurovision Song Contest. Aspelund again competed in the Finnish national preliminary for Eurovision in 1976, with the song "Joiku". Aspelund finally won that competition in 1977, with "Lapponia", which at the Eurovision 1977 final held on 7 May 1977, was placed tenth in a field of eighteen. The song's moderate Eurovision placing did not preclude its release in twenty European countries, as well as Australia, Brazil, Israel and Turkey, via the recordings Aspelund made of the song in Dutch, English, French, German and Swedish as well as Finnish. "Lapponia" afforded Aspelund a number 5 hit in Finland and the record also reached number 20 in Sweden. Aspelund again competed in the Finnish national preliminary for Eurovision in 1978 with "Kultaa hopeaa", and with the same song in the Intervision Song Contest and also the , taking first place in the last-named competition.