page_title: Anette Olzon
section_title: With Nightwish (2007–2012)
hierarchical_section_title: Anette Olzon / Career / With Nightwish (2007–2012)
caption_attribution_description: English: Nightwish take a bow at the end of a concert at The Palais in Melbourne, Australia, in January 2008. Русский: Музыканты группы Nightwish кланяются после выступления в Мельбурне, Австралия, январь 2008.
context_page_description: Anette Ingegerd Olsson, known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish classic rock band Alyson Avenue, and of the Finnish heavy metal band The Dark Element.
context_section_description: Olzon officially joined Nightwish as their new lead singer in early 2007, chosen from about 2,000 applicants of which 10 made it to prove their place in front of the band. The song on her demo tape was the 2002 single "Ever Dream". She replaced the previous singer Tarja Turunen, who was fired in an open letter in the autumn of 2005. Olzon's demo was one of the first that Nightwish received, although she was originally denied the position, as band leader Tuomas Holopainen was concerned about the fact that she had a young son. However, Olzon was persistent and sent the band a live DVD of her performing with Alyson Avenue. She was then contacted by Nightwish's manager Ewo Pohjola, which eventually led to her taking up the position in February 2007. Tuomas commented on her selection saying "we (the band) took a formal vote, but it was unanimous that she would be the one. It was a matter of heart. We felt she was right." Her identity was kept secret by various methods, including pretending to be Ewo's "Swedish cousin" at a Tarot concert, until she was eventually announced as the new Nightwish singer on 24 May 2007.
  The day after this revelation, 25 May 2007, charity single "Eva" was released as the first off the album, as download only. It was originally scheduled for release on 30 May but this was changed due to a leak on a British music download site. This was the first published song to feature Olzon. On 13 June Nightwish released the title, Dark Passion Play, and artwork to the new album on their official website, as well as the name and the cover of the second single (this time CD), "Amaranth". "Amaranth" achieved gold status in Finland after less than two days in stores.
  Dark Passion Play was released around Europe in the last week of September 2007, in the UK on 1 October and the United States on 2 October. It was awarded double platinum in Finland the second day after its release and took the No.1 position on the charts of Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia and got in top 100 in other 16 countries, including the United States. Dark Passion Play has sold 6x Platinum worldwide up to date (over 1.5 million copies).
  On 22 September 2007, the band hosted a secret concert at Rock Café in Tallinn, Estonia, disguising itself as a Nightwish cover band called "Nachtwasser". Their first official concert with the new singer was in Tel Aviv, Israel on 6 October 2007. The Dark Passion Play tour thus started, visiting the United States, Canada, most of Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Dark Passion Play World Tour is Nightwish's longest tour to date, lasting from October 2007 to September 2009. The tour ended with a concert at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, with the band Apocalyptica.
  In October 2010, Nightwish began recording for the album Imaginaerum, with Olzon recording her vocals for the album in April 2011 at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki. The album was released on 30 November 2011 and was followed by the Imaginaerum World Tour, beginning on 21 January 2012. Olzon, along with the rest of Nightwish, starred in the film Imaginaerum, which featured music from the band.
  On 1 October 2012, Nightwish and Olzon went their separate ways. Olzon's final performance with Nightwish was on 29 September, at The Complex, Salt Lake City. She later revealed in an interview that she was, in fact, fired from the band, because she revealed to them she was pregnant. Nightwish made a subsequent statement about Olzon's termination, denying that this is the reason, saying they were all congratulative to her, but that "[t]he split with Anette wasn't because of pregnancy or illness. We discovered her personality didn't fit this work community, and was even detrimental to it."
caption: Olzon live with Nightwish in Melbourne, Australia, on 30 January 2008
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