My friends, my beautiful Tormenta en America tour is already over.

Still I would like to share some beautiful moments from the tour with you.

It was great to return to Santiago de Chile. I met many people who had heard me in Noche Escandinava concert in 2002 last time. 

The feeling was breathtaking when the curtain dropped in the first song “Boy and the Ghost” and I got to see all the audience screaming and singing right in front of me!

Thank you Chile!

We also filmed a video for the new song called “Enough” in Santiago, day before my concert. The filming took us a complete day and at the moment I am just waiting to see the results. We used only green screen in the shooting, so even though I have experienced that kind of working in my past, now the video is completely based on animated material. So it can end up looking in too many different ways… 

Some fans were invited to the video shootings!

 Carlos Toro, the director of the video. 

I just happened to get very sick in Santiago. The weather was so much cooler than in Brazil and with a lack of sleep, I couldn’t handle it anymore. Since the concert in Chile, I was fighting to get better for the last show in Buenos Aires.

I guess there were some angels helping me, because the day before the concert I was sure we would need to cancel the show.

BUT the concert in Buenos Aires was the best ending for the tour I could have dreamed of. To get a chance to make a concert in my hometown was one thing that I had been waiting for so long.

It felt very special to me to be able to sing, especially in that condition. I got very emotional. What a great thing to remember!

This tour was just an amazing experience for me once again. On my journey through different countries I got to meet lovely Latin American people who gave me so much love, support and hope. I deeply want to thank you all that were there for me. I wish to see you soon again.

My band’s and crew’s support and unconditional care also made me very happy. I love you people!!!!!!! Thank you for making my dream come true. 

The last photo of the band backstage right after the show in Buenos Aires. All of us happy, but sad at the same time…

Day after the last concert, we went with the whole band to the studio to record the song “Enough”. I will sing my parts when I feel better. Anyway, the song sounds already excellent and all the musicians gave their best for the song! You’ll hear it soon

I guess the record company will announce soon officially everything concerned the song and video. I don’t want to interfere with their work

Now it is time for me to rest from touring, but I am writing new songs all the time… 

Europe can wait another “storm” to appear very soon.

With all my love, Tarja

Touring has been very good so far.

The band and crew have had on our off-days enough time to see places and to do other activities, such as visiting local artist’s concerts.

I have been busy promoting my album and the tour.

It has been nice to meet many of my fans and get to know their opinion about my work.

Latin American people are giving me a lot of strength to go on with this “merry go round”.

Show in Bogotá was just great. Everything worked out fine and people were happy

Next day we all went up the hill called Montserrat with a cable car.

We found a beautiful church and couple of old and charming restaurants. It was nice to be literally upon the clouds.

We had lunch there and got to see the city of Bogotá a bit more before rushing to the airport.

Now we are in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and we just returned from our show tonight.  It feels good to be back in here and the audience was awesome!

This time I am not sick, as it has been the case before in the last two times I had concerts here. It seems that when I am happy, my body functions better too

Finally I could offer the local people a great show!

I cannot forget to mention that it was also wonderful to visit Fortaleza for the first time. The hotel was located just in front of the ocean, so the beach and the sound of the sea were enchanting. I love to be close to the sea. It is making me relax immediately.

Well, the local people as well as the weather were HOT.

The concert was very emotional and people seemed to enjoy it a lot. I heard that it has been very difficult for Fortaleza to get international artists/bands performing there.

I hope this will change in the future.

All the other concerts in Brazil went all just fine too. We have had best time together as a band and group of lovely people.

I am still thanking God every day for giving me these nice people to work with and to spend nice time with.

Things couldn’t be better.

With love, Tarja

The three shows in Mexico went really well. It was a great success and I was happy to be able to perform for Mexican people. Also it was nice to return to Guadalajara and to have great show there on my birthday. People were so kind to me everywhere. Thank you Mexico! I hope to come back soon again.

I got to tell you what happened to us on our way to Colombia though. It was really strange and scary experience for all of us. We were supposed to take a plane from Mexico City to Bogotá, which we did, BUT… first we took off one hour late. After being on air for half on hour, the captain announced that we needed to return back to Mexico City because we lost one of our engines and we were flying only with one… Well, the people were still quite calm, but it was very awkward situation indeed for everybody. We landed fine and then got to know that there were many other problems detected on the plane. They tried to fix these problems while we still needed to stay inside the plane! It took some while when finally the pilot informed us that we were not flying on the same day to Bogotá at all. We needed to stay in a hotel in Mexico City that night. The wake up call was already at 03:00 am, because the new scheduled flight to Bogotá was going to leave already at 06:00 in the morning. We woke up early and again got to the plane. We waited and waited until something strange happened AGAIN. The plane was the same than the day before, but they assured us they have fixed the problems and it was safe to fly. Anyway suddenly before taking off, all the lights went off so did the engine!!!!! Half of the people in the plane stood up and instantly started to run towards the front door. They were willing to get out of the plane! The thing is that nobody can force people to stay inside the plane if one is not willing to. SO, we who were willing still to stay, needed to wait inside while the other people left and their luggage were removed from the plane. This took again other 2,5 hours. Finally we took off and the flight was calm and safe. We arrived to Bogotá 15 hours late, but safe.

Sometimes I really hate flying. But thanks to God, we are safe.

Yesterday I got to meet many of my fans in a signing session I had here in Bogotá. I was very pleased to see many happy faces in front of me. Also something really nice happened after we had a beautiful dinner in a traditional Colombian restaurant later in the evening. There were around 7 guys waiting for me outside the restaurant and when I got out, they started to sing to me. They also had a cake with 1 candle prepared to me!!!!! I am sure that tonight’s show will be just amazing because Colombian people really are wonderful.

I’ll leave you some photos of the events I told you before. Now is funny to see the progression of our faces through the hours. It was not so funny then…

before boarding

the plane

arriving to Mexico City after we have left from … Mexico City

waiting…

our flight after most of the people decided to get off the plane instead of flying.

but we made it and we are in beautiful Bogotá.

even in time for a signing session.

Today we got the information about very sad news from Spain where a plane crash and many people died. All the band and crew would like to send our condolences to their families.

It could have been us…  

Just remind us how fragile we are and that things can happen to anyone of us at any time. So better to live your dreams every minute, every day and enjoy of the loved ones.

I’ll write to you soon again.

With love, Tarja

We have been rehearsing with the band in Monterrey, Mexico for couple of days.

Everything went perfect with the help of the local promoter and some friends. And we are ready to Rock tonight!

It was really nice to meet the people of the band again and to see how well Kiko has understood my music and the spirit of it.

I am truly happy to have him on board and it seems that the rest of the people are happy too.

This is the beginning of one of my dreams getting real. I have been waiting my Latin American tour for several years and it feels really fantastic to be able to perform like this on my own. I am a very lucky girl…

The sun is shining in Monterrey and I am sure that tonight will be a very “hot” show.

Here some pictures of the rehearsals and also of the in store in DF few days ago.

See you soon in the concerts!

With love, Tarja

Here is winter while in Finland is summer. This is no news, but it is still very weird when you travel frequently and change the continents that the climate changes dramatically and you need some time to adjust to it.

I am preparing myself for the South American tour, which is going to start pretty soon. This tour is something that I’ve been waiting for so long. It is no lie to tell that it is one of my biggest dreams to be able to perform in this continent.

Local people here are very emotional and passionate and they want to show their love for music and the artists.

Soon the rehearsals for the tour will take place in Mexico. I am looking forward to see how Kiko and the rest of us will get the ball rolling and rocking. I am very excited! So take your camera with you to the concerts, to capture the unique atmosphere and performance of this group of people. You never know when this is going to happen again.

One of the personal highlights of the tour will be definitely the return to Guadalajara, Mexico. As some of you might know, some nasty, bad things happened there to me many years ago while performing on stage.

Because of this, specially, I wished to get an opportunity to go there again. I want to get a nicer memory of the city and its people and to heal my scars. In the end, I can’t blame all the audience for one stupid man’s behaviour. I miss my fans in Mexico and I will be very delighted to sing for you again.

Before the tour still, next week I am going to spend it in Los Angeles. There I will meet some familiar people from film music scene that were already working with me earlier. And also I am looking forward to meet very interesting and great composers for the first time. Let’s see what kind of songs we are going to create together! I am sure it will be a great experience for me to write with them.

I am continuing doing promotion for the first album, even though my thoughts are already in the next one. It is good to know that there is still a lot of work to do for My Winter Storm, since the touring keeps on going.

At the moment, I am writing new songs, alone, here at home. A sort of déjà vu that reminds me of the beginning of the process of My Winter Storm.

The biggest difference is that now, songs are flowing constantly and I am very anxious to start the production and recordings once again.

I have already told you the name of one new song: “The Crying Moon”. Not a ballad as most of you wrongly guessed

Here goes another name of a song we composed in Antigua with Michelle and Kiko: “Enough”.

You won’t need to wait too long to listen to it. I decided to perform it live in South America

So, I’ll let you know more from the tour next time. Jippyy…

With love, Tarja

I have been spending a couple of weeks writing new songs with my friends here in Antigua, in the beautiful island surroundings.

The result is telling of the great and inspiring atmosphere we have had.

I mean, the songs are REALLY amazing. I feel that the process of writing songs this time is much easier than it was for My Winter Storm.

Might be that the songwriters already know me and there is not such a pressure on us than we had with a debut album.

Luckily the time is also on our side since we have still quite some time to come up with more killer songs.

I also found the courage to come up with my own songs and ideas, which is making me very, very happy. 

Last time, during MWS process, I was telling you the name of the songs and some parts of their lyrics. It was very nice and motivating to read your comments and wild guesses about the meaning of the songs.

So, this time I will do it again. Here goes the first title:

“The Crying Moon”

This new song we did with Michelle and Kiko and we borrowed a wonderful riff from Mr. Doug Wimbish that I heard during the last tour and that I loved deeply. 

I am still searching for a title for the album, but little by little, all the pieces are falling into the right place and the idea is already turning in my head. 

The island of Antigua is again making me happy. I guess even more than on my last visit here, even though, this time the reason to come was only work. Still we have been able to enjoy the nature and the beauty of it. 

Few nights ago we went with Angela, Adrian and Torsten to Bird Island where we ate a great barbecue and slept overnight.

Find few more photos with Michelle and Kiko and with Angela and Adrian.

And once again with Torsten adding some arrangements to the music.

I discovered one of the boats used in Pirates of the Caribbean movies, just walking distance to the place where we are staying. Don’t get confused with the new colours!

So that’s all for now. I’ll write to you soon! Bye.

With Love,

Tarja

My friends,

First of all I want to thank you all for giving me the chance to perform on the Storm tour in Europe 2008. 

It was an amazing experience for me personally and professionally. I got to meet many nice people, see beautiful cities, have so much fun with my band and crew and get remarkable memories.

I will never forget my last month on the road in Europe. 

Everything went fine and we all returned back home tired but happy. I will miss my band members so much.

Thanks a lot also to Janne and Harriet and Passionworks that were with us most of the time.

At the backstage after the gig in Stockholm I met Dani Vorndran, the winner of the Tour Book Photo contest. Thanks Dani for so lovely photos.

The last concert in Helsinki was the perfect ending for the tour. Some people told me after the show that they had been waiting my concert in Helsinki for 3 years! And it was worth to wait in their words. 

Here you have still some last shots from the tour.

I want to show you some nice pictures we took from the tour bus, which was our traveling home for a month.

Our driver Gunnar drove us safely everywhere, many thanks to him.

The other photos are from the ferry that we took from Stockholm to Helsinki.

In few days I’ll go for a promo trip to England. I will visit my fans in Download festival and make interviews for the local media.

Soon after England, I’ll travel again to Antigua. There I will write songs for my new album with my friends Michelle, Kiko, Torsten, Angela and Adrian. I am sure that the sun and warmness of Antigua will help us to come up with beautiful melodies.

Maybe I’ll have some time for diving too…

After Antigua I will travel to USA for my first promo trip there and next time you’ll see me on the tour in South America! I am really looking forward to meet my fans over there. Can’t wait! 

So there will be no worries about what to do in this summer…

This is the last photo taken from all of us together. Right after the last show of the tour at the backstage in Tavastia, Helsinki.

A group of people giving their best on stage and out of it.  No faked smiles or tears.

With my love,

Tarja

Second to last concert on this tour is ahead of us tonight. I am already getting a bit sad that this leg of my Storm in Europe 2008 tour has to end so soon.

The Scandinavian shows have been quite challenging for me. I have realised that there is still a lot of work to do here for my record company and me in order to get my album available for my listeners.

The concerts have been very nice though. Fans have been telling their thoughts about my music and performances and they have made me feel that it has been a good decision that I came here now. Of course, I am really looking forward to have a new chance to return as soon as possible. Hopefully with more enthusiasm from my working partners.

I want to thank my Scandinavian fans for their patience and support.

I was very glad to meet again Marjut and Ingvild from Noche Escandinava in Oslo. We are always planning the next concerts of “Noche” every time we see each other

In Gothenburg we enjoyed a day off and decided to visit the amusement park Liseberg. We had SO much fun!

We went to all sort of crazy rides together and I survived without screaming my voice away! Before we entered the park, I made some jokes about cancelling the show next day, because I would loose my voice But I managed to bite my lips and it worked.

It was a great, funny afternoon and when we got back to the hotel, we all felt very tired of the long, exciting day.

Yesterday I met my friends, the Swedish composers Mattias and Anders. We discussed about my next album and how we should proceed with it. I hope we will make some great songs together again. Having done that already, I am sure we can manage to create some killer songs for my new album. So brainstorming waits for us later this year!

Today the sun is shining here in Stockholm and it really feels like summer now.

With Love,

Tarja

We have spent the last 2 days in Malmö. I have had a chance to go to the movies, walk the city a bit and relax. Streets here are clean, not so many people around and it feels that the atmosphere is calm. I like it.

Yesterday evening I had the last dinner of this tour with lovely VIP guests. I am looking forward to hear their thoughts again tonight after the concert.

At the moment that I am writing these lines, I am waiting for the sound check to start. Before I have to run to the stage, I want to tell you a bit what has been going on since I wrote you last time.

We had a great concert in Milano. Italian fans really showed us their love. For me it was again very nice experience as it was my first concert in Italy on my own. I got to write quite many autographs after the show. The band, crew and the bus driver were waiting for me to get in the bus to be able to leave…

Well, I hope that at least my Italian friends were happy that I stayed that long with them

Filderstadt is a small city near Stuttgart. We spent a day there just walking around and relaxing. Every shop was closed, since it was holiday in Germany on that day

Next morning I had a great jog around the area and some fans were cheering to me when they saw me passing near the concert hall. It was funny though.

The venue in Filderstadt was very nice. The stage was big and the backstage area was also very comfortable. I would love to have a concert there again in the future. Also I heard from the local people after the concert that the reception from the audience had been better than normally in that area. I can’t tell if this is true…

The last concert in Germany took place in Hamburg. On the same night there was the Eurovision song contest party going on just in the street outside of our venue. People said that around 40.000 crazy Eurovision fans were following the happening!

Instead of following the contest, I was having fun with my audience and we played the best concert so far on this tour.

I was so happy to see the place packed with people in the last German show of this part of the tour. Some of those people came again from very far just to the concert. I appreciate that!

Everything worked very well and this time the lucky stars were upon us…

Let’s see what Sweden has planned for us.

With love,

Tarja

I want to start this post by telling you about the show in Munich.

Something very strange happened to us there… 

It seemed that all the bad luck and dark clouds were upon us during this concert. Never we have had that many technical problems before. Actually we didn’t have any major problems during this tour or during the Warm up Concerts last year.

The sound check went fine as it usually does.

At the beginning of the concert, I just walked to the stage and missed my first line in the song Lost Northern Star. The click that helps us and that we can hear from our monitor system was not there!

After that, it was chaos

In some songs we heard nothing coming in our in-ear monitors, or what is even worse, we heard a double clicking that was only making us to play in a wrong tempo.

We were forced to stop in the middle of the song of I Walk Alone and to start it all over again just because everything sounded so wrong.

Computers are the best friends… when they work!

No human mistake from band or crew, just things got out of hands. Maybe some power issues or who knows what, but ghosts were playing tricks on us that night

And when you think that nothing can go worse, there we go…

I was wearing for the first time jewellery that I got from a friend day before the concert. When I entered the stage after change over and banged my head for the first time, this jewellery flew away!

I thought, “ups” and continued singing and soon after forgot the whole thing.

But when I went to play Oasis alone with my piano, I realized that the jewellery has fallen upon it and changed the sound settings into some ridiculous electric piano sound. 

As you can imagine, I didn’t notice that early enough to change it… So there I was playing Oasis with a funny electric piano sound!

And in the encores, during Die Alive, the computer decided to go crazy again leaving us in a state of chaos and shock that only made us laugh during the song. But my band is great and we pulled through it without hassle. I hope

I think that was enough trouble for only one gig. 

Anyway, the show was just great and the fans that I got to talk after the show were saying that they really liked the show.

Next day we performed in Zurich and once again we had amazing show there.

It was a sold out show and the place really felt rather too small for the people that showed up. The whole band was very happy with the crowd, so we ended up playing one more song after the normal set.

It came as a surprise for the audience as well as for the band and crew when I decided to add the song. Maria had to run to the backstage to pick up her in-ear monitors… 

It was fun though. 

The city of Graz is beautiful. So many old buildings and houses. I had a pleasant walk in the city day before the concert and took some photos.

Then it started to rain and it kept on going. It was challenging for us and for our fans too, who needed to wait in the rain to get in. For me it was great to have my first concert in Austria. The people were happy to see us on stage and I guess they enjoyed the show quite a lot. At least it seemed so. I wish to have another chance to return there some day soon. 

Now we are in Milan starting the sound check in 5’. The crew is preparing everything ready at the moment. Find here some photos of the Sound check in Munich. 

We have done half of the shows in this leg of the tour and my condition to sing is still great. I am very happy about that

I can’t wait to have fun together with the Italian audience tonight!

Some fans were already waiting at our arrival. Together with some bootleg t-shirts stands…

With love, Tarja