TARJA TURUNEN: 'Being A Solo Artist Is Very Different Than' Being In A Band Like NIGHTWISH

Chad Bowar of About Heavy Metal recently conducted an interview with ex-NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

About Heavy Metal: "My Winter Storm" has been out in Europe for a few months now. What has the response been there?

Tarja Turunen: "Very nice. I'm very happy with my debut album, because the whole structure behind me is very different than when I was the singer in NIGHTWISH. All the people, including the record company, are different. All the people around me are new people. The reception of the album in Europe has been excellent. I'm very happy. We are expecting to have a gold award in Germany, and today I got the news that I got a gold award in Russia. That's the first time ever I got a gold record in Russia."

About Heavy Metal: What are your expectations for North America?

Tarja Turunen: "I am very happy to have a real release there. Even with NIGHTWISH, for many of the releases the distribution did not work well in North America. I'm happy that the album is getting a proper release through Fontana and Universal. It's a good start, and we'll wait and see what happens with the album."

About Heavy Metal: Did the end result of the album match what your musical vision was going in?

Tarja Turunen: "The basic idea, the sound concept I had in my mind was my priority when I started to imagine what kind of album I wanted to have. That sound concept is truly there. It was hard to achieve that. The whole production of the album was done in a different way than I have done in the past. There was a lot of learning, and I can be proud of it. I've learned from my mistakes and know what I need to do differently the next time to save time, save energy, maybe save some money. But it's always like that in music. I have been anxious to see what is there for me in music and if people have a place for me in their hearts. That became crystal clear to me that I can tour, I can be an artist. Being a solo artist is very different than being a singer in a band that is very successful."

About Heavy Metal: What's on your agenda between now and May, when your tour starts?

Tarja Turunen: "Preparation for the tour. I am working hard with my singing teacher to get my conditioning back. I have been learning classical singing for 15 years. I'm also working on the new album."

Read the entire interview at About Heavy Metal.