u/Particular-Object194

Tarja was interviewed in the August issue of Kauneus ja terveys (=beauty & health) and in the article reveals what she's ashamed of and empowered by.

 
Kauneus ja terveys 8/2026

"I want to age with dignity"

 Tarja Turunen has learned to be kinder to herself, but she gets nervous when speaking Finnish.

 I’M EMPOWERED by music. It has saved me from many bad places. I channel both my anxiety and my positive emotions into music; it serves as a lifeline and an escape for me. 
I feel truly privileged: I get to make music that I love. I get to write, compose, and create it myself.
I have also discovered a new sense of peace and freedom in the creative process. I have always been free to make whatever kind of music I wanted. Perhaps with age, I have learned to be kinder to myself in my creative work. I don’t scrutinize or judge what I create; instead, I let the ideas flow.

 I HATE the feeling of waking up with a sore throat on concert days. I know then that I might be coming down with something. At that point I either cancel the show or just push through it.
I hate the burden of responsibility that falls on me when I get sick. The entire production and the people working in it rests on my shoulders. Even though getting sick is beyond my control, I am a responsible person, and I always want to do my best.
Fortunately, over the course of my career, I’ve had to cancel very few shows due to illness.

 I’M ASHAMED of my Finnish language skills. I use it quite rarely nowadays because I live in Spain with my family. In my daily life, I speak Finnish mainly with my daughter Naomi. 
Using the language is important to me because I am a Finnish woman. You can’t take away that Finnishness from me even if you tried.
However, I notice that my vocabulary has shrunk. Especially specialized vocabulary has slipped my mind. The other day I simply couldn't remember the Finnish word for chickpea. I could only recall the Spanish word garbanzo. When I finally heard the word kikherne, it sounded strange to me. Sometimes, I even feel nervous about speaking Finnish. I have done many interviews in English and Spanish. Before interviews in Finnish, I find myself wondering if I’ll be able to speak the language at all.

I’M ANNOYED when I scrutinize my appearance. I’m turning 50 next year, and I find myself wondering if I look like a 50-year-old. I’m annoyed because I know I shouldn't need to pay so much attention to such things.
My foremost thought is that I want to age and carry the years I’ve lived with dignity. However, my work does put me under some pressure regarding my appearance.

All of Tarja's clips (and Nightwish's parts) from the Kaamos documentary are now on Youtube with English subtitles!

https://youtu.be/7wtNKJwdKrc

Soundi 6/2026

 Tarja Turunen: "I have always loved musical challenges and breaking boundaries. I have had for example health-related fears in my life, but never in music.”

 Tarja Turunen's new Frisson Noir studio album features the song Against the Odds. Its title says a lot about Turunen and her career. When the adventure begins in the small village of Puhos on the outskirts of Kitee, world stardom is still very dimly visible, but luckily, dreams do not remain unattainable for everyone.

In early May, spring is in full swing in Finland, but in southern Spain it is already full summer. This becomes clear the moment you open your computer screen to the spacious home and lush yard of Tarja Turunen, her husband Marcelo Cabuli, and the couple's daughter Naomi. 
The purpose is to talk about Tarja's eventful career as well as life in general. There is plenty to talk about, as alone the list of places she has lived is impressive: Kitee, Savonlinna, Karlsruhe, Kuusankoski, Buenos Aires, Estepona and so on.
As is well known, there is no shortage of twists and turns in her artistic career. Twenty years have passed since the beginning of the solo career of a singer who rose to world fame as the frontwoman of Nightwish, and the new Frisson Noir album celebrates the even number in a powerful way: it is the heaviest-sounding milestone of Tarja Turunen's musical journey, which has reached many directions.

Frisson Noir is finished, but the world tour promoting the album won't start until autumn. What is your typical day at home like in 2026? 
- Above all, I'm a mother to my daughter Naomi. We live a pretty normal life, and I like all kinds of housework. For example, cleaning is incredibly therapeutic.
- We also have separate workspaces in our house, so life revolves around the home a lot. There's often no need to go anywhere. Except for a run of course, because exercise is still a very beloved hobby.

Do you often sing at home when you're on break from touring and recording?
- I try to sing every day. It's my job, but it's also a kind of mental lifeline. If I go a day or even a couple of days without singing, I start to feel worse mentally. It's a bit like meditation or therapy for me. I also enjoy playing the piano, for example. I just sit down at the instrument and start playing for fun. It makes me feel better immediately.

What are your earliest memories of singing? 
- I was really little when I sang publicly for the first time. We were at the church hall, and my mother lifted me up on the table to sing. I was so nervous that I forgot the words to the song Enkeli Taivaan (Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her). At the same time, I started to hike up the hem of my skirt, as if to cover my face. My mother tried to gesture to leave the skirt alone, but it didn't help.
- Music was very present in our family. We are a pretty loud group, because almost everyone in the Turunen family is a Leo in zodiac sign. All parties, and sometimes even everyday life, were full of music and singing. Thanks to my older brother, I was also introduced to heavier rock at a very early age. At home, at least Whitesnake, Scorpions, Alice Cooper and W.A.S.P. were playing.

How did you start to play the piano?
- I was probably six years old when I told my mother that I wanted to be a pianist. It wasn't easy to get such a big instrument, but luckily my uncle who lived next door had a keyboard that I could go and play. A little later I started taking piano lessons. One of the teachers was Tuomas Holopainen’s mother, Kirsti.

You've talked about being bullied in school. How did you get bullied?
- I guess I was a bit of an oddball in a small town. Music was everything to me even then, and that kind of passion was looked down on. Plus, I was the only girl in the class, I played soccer with the boys and stuff. These were the reasons why I got bullied by the girls in other classes. And it didn't help that I was terrible at saying no to anyone. In a way, I was way too nice.

Later you went to Savonlinna Art High School. What kind of memories do you have from that time?
- I moved to Savonlinna when I was 15, awfully young. It was a really great time. There were like-minded "artist hippies" at school, and I had a strong feeling that I belonged there. The days were full of music: theory, band stuff, singing lessons, and playing lessons. To top it all off, we got to go abroad when we did a European tour with the school choir.
- The time in Savonlinna was also incredibly important for my singing. I realized that I had to learn the right singing techniques or I might do irreversible damage to my voice. I started taking classical singing lessons, and that was the beginning of quite a journey of exploration, because on the classical side the voice was used in a completely different way than in pop or rock. Learning new techniques was fascinating and interesting.

Then one of the big turning points in your life happened. Do you still remember the moment thirty years ago when you were asked to join Nightwish?
- Very well. I was on Christmas vacation in Kitee when Tuomas showed up at our door with an instrumental demo. He asked me to listen to the songs and to let him know if I would like to be the singer for the project. The compositions sounded interesting, so I decided to jump in. I have always loved musical challenges and pushing boundaries. I have had for example health-related fears in my life, but never in music.

Many people might not think that Nightwish was supposed to be an acoustic project, but your vocal sound changed... everything. What are your thoughts on this?
- When Tuomas asked me to join, he probably had in mind the little girl from Kitee who sang delicately and pretty at a church concert. When we got to the studio, the truth was revealed: I had become a monster, with a classic voice that steamrolled everything. That was definitely the moment when Tuomas realized that Nightwish could be something other than acoustic atmospheric music.

Nightwish climbed on stage for the first time at Kitee’s Huvikeskus in the last moments of 1997. What do you remember about the debut concert?
- The days before the concert in particular come to mind. I had no idea what a heavy metal band singer should look like, and I went to the clothing stores in Joensuu with my mother. First we went to the usual boutiques, but couldn't find anything impressive enough. Finally we went to a sex shop and bought some black latex clothes. They were quite "rock" back then.
- The hair is its own story. My good friend Marianna Pellinen sang backing vocals at the gig, and then we dyed each other's hair with silver mascara, trying to create nice highlights. Unfortunately, the end result looked more like a seagull had pooped on my head. Perhaps the most memorable thing was that I cut my hair short and got a perm just before the gig. I still remember the guys’ goofy looks when I went to band practice. Like what the hell have you done?

Although the debut album Angels Fall First brought Nightwish to the public's attention, Oceanborn, which mixed power metal with more symphonic elements and "operatic singing", proved to be the band's breakthrough. What was the preparation of the album like?
- It was quite terrible at times. We were pretty much jumping into uncharted waters, because we didn't really have any role models. So you couldn't listen to some artist and think, "Let's do it that way." You had to figure out your own ways of doing things.
- When Tuomas composed the songs, he had my voice in mind, but he couldn't think thoroughly the technical aspects of the songs. Sometimes you’d need to take a breath... The songs were really challenging and physical for a singer anyway. Sometimes I’d cry on the studio floor when something didn't go as expected. That's why listening to old Nightwish albums is not easy for me. I mostly hear the pain and despair when we were trying to finish the songs.
- At times the concerts were also really challenging. Sometimes I couldn't hear my own voice at all when the band was playing really loud and the conditions were what they were. I was really terrified that I was destroying my voice - my own instrument - by screaming endlessly. Those states of fear were horrible, because my entire professional life was already built on my voice.

At the same time when Nightwish's popularity was starting to skyrocket, you went to study in Germany. How did you come to this decision?
- I simply wanted to learn more about singing. One of the big reasons for moving to Karlsruhe was also the way people started to view me in Finland. I had studied at the Sibelius Academy's Kuopio unit, but then I applied for postgraduate studies in Helsinki. My singing was praised there, but next they wondered why on earth I was singing in a heavy metal band. That kind of attitude was the main reason why I decided to study elsewhere.

Did the Germans have a different attitude?
- Absolutely. When I walked into the hall of the school - it was a pink castle! - for the first time, some students started shouting my name. So, people knew from the beginning that I was the singer of Nightwish, but everyone, including the teachers, thought it was just an incredibly cool thing.

You’ve later talked about Nightwish splitting into "me" and "them" camps. What was that about?
- The band's early tours were full of partying, but for me, drinking a drop of alcohol before the show was out of the question. After the show, I had to start thinking about the next concert. In a way, it would have been easier to join the party crowd, but that simply wasn't possible. That's why I often ended up alone and a bit of an outsider.
- When Marcelo came into the picture at the turn of the 2000s, the situation changed completely. He was the first man to take care of me and to take into account that there was a woman on tour, who was also the subject of the most passionate attention from the fans.

Being an enthusiastic fan sometimes goes too far, one way or another. What comes to mind about the topic?
- Years ago, some guy drove from Belgium to Finland and spent five days in front of our then Kuusankoski home. He had come to pick me up as his wife. Luckily, we weren’t there. He left a letter in the mailbox, writing aggressively about his feelings for me. I never learned the identity of this man, but I must admit that at Belgian concerts I have sometimes wondered if this guy was among the audience.
– The worst thing happened in Mexico. We were in Guadalajara in 2000 when a fan – or some crazy fanatic – got on stage and attacked me during a performance. I fell to the ground, and he strangled my neck and squeezed my breasts. My hair extension came off and my clothes were torn. The incident was over soon, but it was a terrible moment. I went backstage to calm down and returned to the stage after twenty minutes. I was sobbing and continued to finish the show. It was completely insane.

You and Nightwish parted ways in October 2005. What do you now think about those times? 
- When I got over the initial shock, I was on overdrive for a long time and there were so many tears. The months-long media coverage and digging up everything in my and Marcelo's lives - it felt really bad. But even though it was a really tough time, there were no permanent scars. I would have hoped things to have been handled differently, but they went the way they did and I survived that purgatory quite well in the end. Nowadays I genuinely think that those events are part of my colorful past.

Kuusankoski was left behind in 2008, when your address changed to your husband's home country, Argentina. Why did Buenos Aires summon you?
- Marcelo would have happily stayed in Finland, but I was in favor of moving. The fact that I found the atmosphere in my home country quite distressing due to the Nightwish baggage tipped the scales. In addition, there were fans and other curious people around our home, sometimes just outside the window, which felt very uncomfortable. Over time, it became clear to me that I needed some distance from that kind of atmosphere. And since I like challenges, we decided to move to a chaotic South American metropolis!

You lived in Buenos Aires for almost ten years, but then you moved to Spain and built a house there. What were the thoughts behind this?
- The time in Argentina was great, but gradually the unpredictable political situation in the country and the insecurity in the city started to get on your nerves, especially after my daughter was born. In Buenos Aires, it was out of the question for a child to play in the park and parents to sit with a coffee a short distance away. You had to be so close there and observe what other people were doing. After discussing the matter enough, we decided to move back to Europe. Spain seemed like a natural choice, just because of the language. Spanish is Marcelo's native language, and I speak it fluently too.
- I received quite an honor from Buenos Aires as a parting gift, because I am the guest of honor of the city. Other musicians who have received the same title include Sting and Dave Mustaine. It's pretty amazing.

How have you settled into Spain?
- The beginning was a bit challenging. When we were building the house, we were broken into a few times. The first burglary happened when we were in Finland celebrating Christmas. Luckily, there wasn't much to take. The second time was worse. I was in Serbia for a concert, and Marcelo was at home with Naomi. There were elements of danger in the air, but we managed to get through it with just a scare. Luckily, it's been really peaceful since then. Plus, we have great neighbors and the area is really lovely.

Two decades have passed since the start of your solo career, as your Christmas album Henkäys Ikuisuudesta was released in late autumn 2006. This debut, which contained borrowed songs, was followed by a heavier successor only a year later, when My Winter Storm, which contained original material, was released. What was it like making it?
- It was anything but easy. At that point, I had already had an international career for many years behind me, but as a solo artist I was on the verge of something completely new. A lot of record labels wanted to collaborate, because of course the assumption was that the former Nightwish singer's album would sell well. The downside of the interest was of course that the expectations and pressure were high, because everything I did was compared to the Nightwish days.
- One of the big problems during these times was that I hadn't yet fully figured out what my solo thing would be like. I didn't want to do the same kind of "operatic metal" as in previous years, but I also didn't dream of going down completely new paths. Another problem was that I was still in a pretty bad place mentally after Nightwish. When I look at My Winter Storm from further away, it's clear that I was still searching for an identity.

Is there an album among your solo production that seems particularly important in retrospect?
- The Shadow Self, released in 2016, is a strong candidate. I started to open myself up more and more boldly and go deeper into who I really am as an artist. At that time, I also had a great team of songwriters around me, and our mutual trust and respect was at a high level.

At the end of 2017, something significant happened: you were hired to join the Raskasta Joulua tour and you climbed on the stage in Hämeenlinna with Marko Hietala. What was it like meeting your former bandmate after a long time?
- We hadn't met each other in twelve years, and I was pretty damn nervous. We were supposed to have rehearsals and a soundcheck earlier in the evening, but Marko didn't get there until much later than planned due to scheduling issues. So after a quick hello backstage, we went on stage without any rehearsing. Later in the evening, we talked with Marko more, which was very emotional and cleansing.

You've worked together a lot in recent years. You’ve recorded together and done long tours together. All’s well that ends well?
- I'm incredibly happy that we're friends again, both professionally and otherwise. It feels amazing to be able to call Marko and ask how he's doing. I also feel like I've only really gotten to know Marko in recent years. He's completely different now than he was in the past. Of course, we've also talked about the Nightwish days, and Marko has apologized for the band's behavior at the time. His sincere apology has felt damn good.

When the end of the 2010s was in sight, your work pace and stress levels had been at a high level for a long time. However, the rush came to an abrupt stop when you had a stroke in the autumn of 2018. What was recovery like?
- Physically, I got better quite quickly, but there were more things on the mental side. For about a year I would think every night before going to bed whether I would wake up in the morning. At some point, I decided that I couldn't live the rest of my life with such fear, and slowly things started to turn around. I started taking care of my body and mind a lot better than before. Various therapies and mental things, personal trainers, energy treatments and others became part of my life. It was also clear that after the stroke, I started to take into account the limits of my own coping and stress in a completely different way.

The collection Best of: Living the Dream, released in late 2022, bundled your previous solo career into one album, and now we are at the beginning of a new era. The Frisson Noir album has ten songs, seven of which you composed yourself and three with the participation of an external writer. The end result sounds heavier than ever before. Was that also your goal?
- Absolutely. My live band of two guitarists has always sounded heavier on stage than on record, but this time the idea was to sound heavy in the studio as well. Neal Avron, who has collaborated with Disturbed, Linkin Park and Serj Tankian, was selected to mix the album and he did a great job. Frisson Noir sounds exactly as heavy as I wanted.
- I also probably succeeded better in terms of singing than ever before. Doing the vocal parts was fun, stress-free and fruitful. In my own ears, I hear above all that my voice sounds completely natural and liberated.

The lyrics of the album are also yours. What kind of thoughts did you have behind the lyrics?
- They talk a lot about daring, listening to yourself and understanding yourself. I have often been unsure about what I do, but the years have taught me to trust my own instincts. I write about the fact that you have to dare to rely on your own feelings and the signs life gives you. Among other things, the lyrics encourage both me and my listeners to live in the moment, to break your own limitations and to move forward on your own path with the power of love. Especially with the power of self-love!
- The song Against the Odds is worth mentioning. As you can guess from the name, it tells the story of how you can make it far in life even from a small village - against most odds.

A global tour promoting Frisson Noir will start in October, and there are also shows in Finland planned for early 2027. How long are you planning to tour?
- According to the preliminary plan, the tour will last a couple of years. I remember Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation recently wondering how I manage to tour so much. In addition to the actual album tours, I also do Christmas shows and other special things. But as long as I stay healthy, it's not about managing, because this is my lifestyle - I love touring. Seriously: if for some reason I didn't get to perform in front of my amazing fans, I would probably go crazy!

Zoom interview
May 5th

Tarja shared some childhood/youth photos with Soundi!
Photo 1: Not unfortunately shared how old she is here.
Photo 2: In the opera choir in Savonlinna
Photo 3: On the first European tour with the choir.

Tarja is the cover story on the newest issue of Apu magazine! 😍 Translation of the interview:

“I NOTICE I FEEL BETTER WHEN I WAKE UP IN LIGHT”

In her career Tarja Turunen has faced dangerous fans, a stroke, and painful breakups. Now she explains why it's worth letting go of old grudges.

Tarja Turunen arrived to Helsinki the night before the interview. The four-hour flight from Malaga passed pleasantly next to a retired British man.
There was plenty to talk about, children, internationality and the relation between Finnish and Hungarian, among other things. Everything two complete strangers might talk about during a long flight.
Only after the plane landed was the illusion shattered.
A few Finnish passengers came to ask Turunen for an autograph. The British gentleman watched the situation with wide eyes.
- He said, wait a minute, now I have to ask if you're a celebrity, Turunen says and laughs.
It is the end of May. Turunen is sitting at a conference room table in Helsinki’s Kulosaari and recounts the events of the flight.
A steaming sea-weed-stuffed baked potato is in front of her. The interview is being conducted during lunch due to scheduling reasons. Turunen is in Finland promoting her solo album Frisson Noir, which will be released in early June. A few dozen magazine interviews and radio and television appearances have been squeezed into a few days.
Such is the life of an international rock artist.
Turunen has been living with her family on Spain’s Costa del Sol for over ten years. Before that, home was in Argentina, the home country of her husband and manager Marcelo Cabuli.
The birth of their daughter in 2012 made the couple reevaluate their life. In Buenos Aires, publicity seemed to be invading everything, and the big city no longer seemed like an ideal place with a small child.
- Quite often, when I was walking down the street, traffic would stop and people would shout o-lee from their cars, Turunen recalls.
That's why encounters like the conversation on the plane are so valuable to her. During them, Turunen feels like just another person among others, without the mantle of a famous artist.

Turunen says that right now Spain feels like the right place for them to live.
In Marbella, you can walk past world stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, and no one has the energy to pay special attention to one Finnish singer.
Turunen still visits Finland a few times a year. In addition to work, family brings her here. Her 85-year-old father and brothers live in Joensuu. Relatives have a summer cottage in North Karelia, where they spend time when possible.
Turunen however doesn’t consider a permanent return to Finland possible. Her work constantly takes her to other parts of Europe and South America, and traveling from Spain is much smoother than from her homeland.
Another reason can be found in the sky.
- I feel so much better mentally when there’s light. It is wonderful to visit Finland in spring and summer, but the polar night period is really tough on me mentally. I notice that I feel better when I wake up in light.
The family has built a three-storey stone house in Marbella with a sauna and home studio. The neighborhood has become familiar over the years. Even her daughter's school rides are handled alternately with a friend family who lives next door.
On album covers and in music videos, Turunen often appears as an elegant and dramatic femme fatale. As a civilian, however, she is something else entirely.
Turunen describes herself as a homebody who enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and doing a bit of everything. The loveliest moments are "hugging sessions" spent with her daughter.
- I love everyday life. I'm quite a homebody, she sighs.

In a few years the situation may look different.
Turunen and Marcelo's 13-year-old daughter Naomi dreams of a career as an international actress. Her plans include studying in England.
- It will be a big change in life. We have only one child, and we are like two peas in a pod with her. We have such a good time together, even though she is already a teenager, Turunen says.
Naomi's dreams are not just a youthful whim. She speaks three languages fluently, and according to her teachers, she has talent.
Turunen believes that her enthusiasm for acting was partly sparked by the Stranger Things series. It also probably isn’t insignificant that Naomi grew up as the daughter of a performing artist.
Naomi's early years were spent touring the world. When she said she wanted to be an actress, her parents did not try to stop her, but encouraged her “at full throttle”.
- That’s her own choice. I discovered music at a really young age. It was the only thing I wanted to do since I was little. It's just wonderful that Naomi has found her own passion.

Turunen still doesn't romanticize the profession of a performer. She has seen the darker sides of the entertainment industry and fan culture.
Turunen says that she has always had passionate admirers. And there is nothing wrong with that in itself. Fan meetings are usually warm moments.
However, the line between fandom and reality is not clear to everyone. Turunen says that the number of fanatical followers has grown in recent years. She considers social media as one of the reasons.
Turunen likes to post light and humorous videos, but with them some of her followers have started to imagine that they know her personally.
Turunen says that she occasionally receives love messages from male fans who insist they belong together. For the most serious cases, she uses bodyguards on tours if necessary.
Sometimes, the staff at venues have even been given pictures of people whose behavior is feared to cause problems.
- I've never lived with fear, but there have been scary moments, Turunen says.

A few dangerous situations still come to mind. The first one is from over twenty years ago, at the turn of the millennium.
Nightwish was on a South American tour when a fan who rushed onto the stage attacked her during a concert in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- Clothes were torn and the guy squeezed my breasts and neck. I was in shock after that.
The second example is even more terrifying. About ten years ago, Turunen had started receiving declarations of love from a male admirer. However gradually the tone of the messages became darker. Eventually, they directly threatened Turunen and her family's lives.
The worst fears seemed to come true when the man showed up at a concert venue and, despite security measures, managed to get all the way to Turunen's dressing room door.
- It was serious. I had a small child with me. Luckily, my husband was with me and the situation was resolved in the end. But at that moment, I was truly scared.

Turunen has also had to face what it feels like when your own body fails you. One September morning in 2018, Marcelo found his wife in the kitchen of their home among shards. A mug that had fallen from her hand had shattered on the floor.
Turunen's speech was slurred, the left side of her face had fallen. Something was seriously wrong. In a Spanish hospital, suspicions were quickly confirmed: Turunen had suffered a stroke.
Although she eventually was left unhurt by the medical emergency, the experience haunted her for a long time. Despite extensive examinations, no clear cause for the stroke was found. According to doctors, a significant factor may have been prolonged stress.
- Every night before going to sleep, I wondered if I would wake up in the morning. Would it happen again.
Turunen understood that something had to change. She thoroughly revamped her work team, and ended up firing several people.
Nowadays, Turunen is surrounded by a network of healthcare professionals whose job it is to make sure she doesn't wear herself out on tour.
- Shitty people make life hell. I'll never do that again. I have such an incredibly wonderful work team these days. There isn’t a single diva or asshole in it.

The events of eight years ago can also be heard on Turunen's new album, which is her second album after the stroke.
According to Turunen, composing offered a way to process what had happened and served as a kind of therapy.
The album's name Frisson Noir is French and loosely translates into dark shivers or getting chills. That is exactly the feeling that music evokes at its best in Turunen.
According to Turunen, Frisson Noir is in many ways a feel-good album. The compositions were born from joy and good energy. However, the mood in the lyrics is darker.
In them, she deals with her fears, insecurity and world-weariness.
- In the lyrics, I always suffer and squirm in deep waters. I am not a surface swimmer as a person at all. Music should be felt in the depths of one’s soul.
The album features a number of interesting guests, including Apocalyptica and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
The most personally significant guest to Turunen, however, is singer-bassist Marko Hietala, with whom she shared the stage in Nightwish before the dramatic breakup.
Turunen was famously fired from the band in 2005 with an open letter. Relations between the former bandmates soured for years.
The first step towards reconciliation was taken in 2017, when Turunen and Hietala were asked to perform Ave Maria as a duet on the Raskasta Joulua tour.
The reunion made Turunen nervous. The two had not been in touch for twelve years. Yet Hietala wasn’t there at rehearsals or soundcheck. Only a few minutes before the concert there was a knock on Turunen’s dressing room door. Hietala was standing behind the door.
The moment has stayed in Turunen's mind almost in flashes. A quick hug in the dressing room, and the next moment they were already standing on stage in front of hundreds of people. After the song ended, emotions ran wild.
The real surprise was however yet to come. Before the next concert, Hietala asked the entire production team to gather.
- He apologized to me in front of everyone. A few tears did fall and not just from me. Marko cleared the table completely.

Since then, there have been many joint tours. The past has been discussed and nowadays Turunen says that she can call her former bandmate a friend.
Over the years, Turunen has also learned to look at the events of Nightwish more calmly than before.
She still doesn't accept everything, but also doesn't want to live in the past either. The reconciliation with Hietala has shown how liberating it can be to let go of old grudges.
Therefore, the question inevitably arises: could a warming of relations ever be possible with Nightwish founder Tuomas Holopainen?
Turunen says that she holds no grudge against her former bandmate. Many things have changed in the past twenty years, and she is nowadays simply happy about Nightwish's success.
We’re all adults here after all, she says. She still doesn't feel any particular need to go through the past.
Then she laughs.
- But if such a moment would come in the future, I wouldn't run away from it.