Erika Vikman
Erika Vikman (born 20 February 1993) is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Beginning her career as a Finnish tango singer, Vikman first received recognition after winning Tangomarkkinat in 2016. She later received further nationwide attention following the release of the single "Cicciolina" in 2020, which became her first top five hit in Finland. Early life and education. Vikman was born on 20 February 1993 in Tampere. She later grew up in Lempäälä and Pori. Her mother was also a singer, who sang Finnish tango music and competed in Tangomarkkinat. She has a sister named Jennika, who also is  a singer. Vikman began singing as a teenager, and won the girls' division in the 2008 Junior Tango Competition. She later also participated in the 2010 Tampere Springboard Competition. Vikman attended Tampere Coeducational High School, and graduated with her upper secondary school diploma in 2013. Afterwards, she also studied pop-jazz vocals at Pirkanmaa Music College. Career. 2013–2019: Tango career and Tangomarkkinat 2016. Vikman began her professional career in 2013, after she was selected to be a contestant in season seven of the Finnish version of "Idols". She was selected as one of the twelve finalists, and was later eliminated  during the 7 November 2013 episode, placing ninth. She later was brought back as a wildcard on the 28 November episode, but was eliminated again that week, ultimately placing seventh. Following her departure from "Idols", Vikman established herself as a Finnish tango singer. She competed in Tangomarkkinat in 2015, where she finished in second place. Vikman later returned to the competition the following year and won, being crowned the Tango Queen of Finland for 2016. Following the competition, Vikman later signed with Sony Music, and released her first single with the label, "Ettei mee elämä hukkaan", in 2017. The song  saw Vikman experimenting more with electropop music. 2020–present: "Cicciolina" and mainstream success. In 2020, Vikman signed with Warner Music Finland and was confirmed by Yle to be competing in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020, the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. In the competition, she performed the song "Cicciolina", written about the Hungarian-Italian pornographic actress Ilona Staller, who performed under the stage name Cicciolina. Vikman competed in the competition final on 7 March 2020 in Tampere, where she placed second; she received the most votes from the Finnish public, but the professional jury ranked her only  third. Despite only placing second, the song went on to become a hit in Finland, becoming her first top five single. Following the success of "Cicciolina", Vikman later released the follow-up single "Syntisten pöytä", which became her second top five hit, and later first number one radio hit. Also in 2020, Vikman placed third in season one of "Masked Singer Suomi", competing as "The Wasp". Personal life. From 2016 until 2020, Vikman was in a highly publicized relationship with Finnish musician Danny. The relationship was controversial due to their wide age gap, with Danny being 51 years Vikman's  senior. They resided together in Kirkkonummi until their separation.