Sanna Laura Voutilainen (born May 17, 1975 in Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...

), is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 popsinger.

Career

Voutilainen's debut single was called "Muuttanut oon maailman" but her breakthrough came with the 1993 single "Kerran" which reached the Top Ten of the Finnish charts in January 1994. Also in 1994 the singer's debut album Laura Voutilainen was released selling in excess of 120,000 units; Voutilainen was consequently honored as Finland's top female vocalist with the Emma Award

Emma-gaala

The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990....

 for 1994, an honor she again earned for the year 1996. Voutilainen has released a total of six albums and since 1999 she has hosted a TV show of her own.

Voutilainen participated in the Finnish national preliminary round for Eurovision 2002

Eurovision Song Contest 2002

The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place on 25 May 2002 at the Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....

 with the song "Addicted to You

Addicted to You (Laura Voutilainen song)

"Addicted To You" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, performed in English by Laura Voutilainen who was billed in the contest as "Laura"....

". With 46 points awarded by the jury and 36% of the public vote "Addicted to You" easily won the right to represent Finland at Eurovision 2002

Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

Finland was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia, after being relegated from the 2001 contest.The Finnish national final was held at the Kaleva Centre in Tampere on 26 January 2002, hosted by Maria Guzenina and Simo Frangén....

: despite heavy promotion - reportedly the most ever afforded a Finnish Eurovision entrant - and high expectations for its Eurovision placing, "Addicted to You" finished Eurovision 2002 in twentieth place out of a field of twenty-four and failed to reach the Finnish Top Ten, stalling at #11.

In 2007 Voutilainen made a bid to again represent Finland at Eurovision participating in Euroviisut 2007

Euroviisut 2007

Euroviisut 2007 was the show in which Finland chose its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Finland hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, after Lordi won in 2006.-Overview:...

 the Finnish national preliminary for Eurovision 2007

Eurovision Song Contest 2007

The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...

. Voutilainen was one of twelve contenders at Euroviisut 2007 each of whom sang two songs in the semi-finals with one of each contender's songs being advanced to the final: of Voutilainen's two semi-final numbers: "Kosketa Mua" and "Take a Chance", the last-named advanced to the Euroviisut 2007 final where it placed fourth.

Discography

• Laura Voutilainen (1994)
• Kaksi karttaa (Two Maps) (1996)
• Lumikuningatar (Snowqueen) (1997) - Christmas album
• Etelän yössä (In the Southern Night) (1998)
• Puolet sun auringosta
  Puolet sun auringosta
  Puolet sun auringosta is a 2001 album by the Finnish singer Laura Voutilainen.This album was reissued in 2002 and included Laura's Eurovision song "Addicted to You", along with a remix of this song and a remix of another song "Katala kaipuu" which was already on the album.Funnily enough, even...
  
  (Half of Your Sun) (2001 / Eurovision edition 2002)
• Päiväkirja (Diary) (2003)
• Tässä hetkessä (In This Moment) (2005)
• Lauran päiväkirja (Laura's Diary) (2006) - collection
• Kosketa mua (Touch me) (2007)
• Palaa (Come back) (2008)
• ((Sydänjää)) (Heart Ice) (2009)

External links

• Official homepage of Laura Voutilainen