NIGHTWISH Singer Scraps Solo-Album Plans

NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon has scrapped her previously announced plans to release a solo album. She writes on her official blog, "The factors [that contributed to my decision] are mainly that I want to focus on my family during this break from NIGHTWISH. I am sure I will do a solo some other time, but at this time it doesn't fit into my life and then it's better to not do it than to do it and it just won't feel good. But I hope you all will follow me and the boys in NIGHTWISH from the summer when we start to work with the new album. It will be fun!!"

Olzon spent time last fall in Stockholm, Sweden creating songs for what was supposed to be her solo CD with Swedish producers Stefan Örn and Johan Glössner. The album was slated to be co-produced by Swedish producer/songwriter Anders Bagge, who has previously worked with MADONNA, CELINE DION, JANET JACKSON and JESSICA SIMPSON, among others. He is also one of judges on the Swedish TV talent competition "Idol" and a producer of the TV series "Made in Sweden".

Olzon and MUSTASCH performed a medley of five songs which were nominated in the "Song Of The Year" category during the January 19 "P3 Guld" (Swedish radio's annual music awards) live awards ceremony broadcast from the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. The singer also appeared on August 13, 2009 with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at a special concert in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the Stockholms Kulturfestival (Stockholm's Culture Festival). Video footage of that performance can be viewed below.

NIGHTWISH played a special homecoming show in September 2009 at the sold-out, 11,000-capacity Hartwall Arena in Helsinki to mark the end of the band's colossal "Dark Passion Play" two-year world tour. Support at the gig came from APOCALYPTICA.

NIGHTWISH is not expected to play any more shows until the release of the band's next studio album in September 2011.