Tarja became the icon of the gothic symphonic metal as the frontwoman of Nightwish. With "My Winter Storm", Tarja remains true to her trademark, but beats new roads at the same time. She will play live on the 18th of December in Zurich. We have met her for an interview.

hitparade.ch: We are very late, but we want to wish you a happy birthday. There are lots of places here where women, who are not married, have to clean door handles on that day, to show that they would be good housewives. Do you have customs like that in Finland?
Tarja: This is interesting but I don't know about any customs like that in Finland. I remember that there was a media hype about how cool and great it is to be single. But I really don't know how you can prove that you are a good housewife. That sounds really interesting, but I don't think I have ever heard about anything like that in Finland. We do our own things. We even have a woman president as the head of the country. Finland was also the first country to have a woman as the president.

How did you spend your birthday?
Tarja: Oh, we filmed the video of "I Walk Alone" in Berlin. But that was the first time ever that I filmed a video on my birthday and the director was one I had worked with before. We filmed the last Nightwish video on my 28th birthday. The director gave me roses, but we didn't actually party.

You are married since four years. Did you ever wish to tour less and spend more time at home?
Tarja: No. I want to go in tours, I like traveling and promoting my music. I have really missed the concerts and the traveling. This is actually my life as an artist, as a singer. The fact that I am married makes no difference. My husband travels with me, works with me, we love each other and everything works fine.

Your star sign, Leo, stands for a warrior by nature. How far do you want and how far did you want to approach your rude expulsion from Nightwish?
Tarja: I am a person who wants to enjoy life and to be happy up to a certain point. I am very emotional and sometimes I do feel very bad. And it's the same when I am happy; I am very sensible and emotional. I am really happy today. I can do things that I enjoy and I can be glad because of them. The same goes with music. Music is a force that helps me feel well.

What do you think now about the way you were kicked out of Nightwish (open letter on the website)?
Tarja: This is something that I still can't understand. I mean I still can't comprehend the way the did it. But almost two years have passed by now. They have their place in music and I have mine. That's the reality.

What do you think now about the nine years you have spent with Nightwish?
Tarja: For me they were nine really unbelievable years of musical excitement and musical development - as an artist, as a singer and as a woman. These years were really important. I am very proud of these years with Nightwish. Those years have showed me so many new things, not only in relation to music, but also about life in general. I have grown up to a woman. I was just a young girl as I came to this band and everything was so exciting, so new to me. Through these years with Nightwish I have visited so many cities, I have been to so many countries, I have learned about so many differnt cultures, and that's why I appreciate them so much.

How do you feel when you hear their songs on the radio?
Tarja: To be honest, it feels so characteristic. The music is actually still the same. It is a wonderful music, and I am happy that they have so much success. I wish them the best for the future. But I don't keep contact with any of them anymore.

If you had any contact to the band, what advice would you give to the new singer, Anette Olzon?
Tarja: I don't thing that I'm the right person to give her any advice (laughs). Every singer is different. We also play different instruments. We all have to find our own way. I wish them the best and a lot of luck.

Your new single, "I Walk Alone" will be released on the 26th October - is the title a hint to your new solo career?
Tarja: Many people have asked this, but the title can't be seen as a statement about my solo career. Even though it actually sounds like that. It has another meaning for me. This title has given me the idea for the name of the album. The actual question is what means "my winter storm" for me. And the answer is the fans, the people, who have been supporting me for so long. The text from "I Walk Alone" goes like this: "My winter storm holding me awake, it's never gone". The people who have been supporting me, who are staying behind me, these people are keeping me awake, but they were never gone, they were there for me all the time. This is the background, this was the inspiration for my first solo album, and I am forever thankful to them.

Talking about your fans, how do think die-hard Nightwish fans react to your music? Will they still support you and your music too?
Tarja: We are talking about music. There will always be different opinions, there will always be discussions about this. Even just because I am not a part of the band anymore and people still want to know what I do, and of course, what is happening with Nightwish. As an artist you have to know that you can't please everybody. There are surely some people who like my music, and of course some who don't. Maybe there are even some who like both my music and Nightwish or some who can't stand either of them. There are no other possibilities. But of course I hope that, some people who have liked me as the singer of Nightwish will also like something from my new album. Maybe they can find something interesting, something that touches them, but I have to wait and see how they respond to it.

How does it feel to record an album without any compromises between you and your band mates coming into play?
Tarja: It is obviously something different. Now it is that, everybody who has contributed to this album has worked for me. Of course I was in charge of everything and I had to make my sight clear to everybody. I can make people happy with my music. I have written some songs myself, and co-written others. It really is something new for me. It is really exciting that the people can begin to know my own personality through this music. It feels very differently than recording an album with a band.

Where there any deliberations to accept only Finnish songs from now on?
Tarja: No, not only. I also had a wish. I wanted to compose a song by myself, and its name is "Oasis". That is my song, the only one in Finnish from the whole album. This wasn't even planned, but we thought why not have a song that tells a story in Finnish. There are many people who are generally interested in Finland and its culture. It sounds so interesting and enchanting to them.

You have already performed duets with Schiller and Martin Kesici - does the new album include one or is any duet planned?
Tarja: I have really thought long about this, that it would have been really nice to include a duet on this album, but I haven't found the perfect song for this. I have planned a cover though. And while I was driving my car in Finland, the song "Poison" by Alice Cooper was played about five times in one day on the radio so I decided that I want to cover this song. So after I had this duet for my album I decided not to have a duet. But hopefully I will record one in the future. My brother will sing with me in the live shows, so you will have the chance to hear a duet then.

You are a trained classical opera singer - do you want to prove this ability on an opera stage too?
Tarja: I have to correct something. I am not a trained opera singer, just a classical one. There is a difference. But to be honest, if someone would ask me to perform on an opera stage, I would thank them because that would be fantastic. But for that I would need to take five years off so that I could concentrate on that singing technique and only on opera concerts. I honestly haven't had time the to record classical music yet. I know that this is one of my interests and I love this kind of music, but it doesn't show the overall picture. I wouldn't be happy only with this music. The techniques help me sing, and I can play with my voice that way. You can notice that on "My Winter Storm" too. Sometimes it sounds like a child is singing, you can do so many things with your voice. I think it is important to perform a Christmas concert or any Christian one though, because there is always something very intimate, very personal with the people. It is just nice to be able to combine these two kinds of music.

What can we expect from you in the future, will there be any concert in Switzerland?
Tarja: Yes, I will have a concert in Zurich, on the 18th of December. I am so happy about it, I almost can't wait. The "warm-up tour" - that's how I call this tour - will begin on the 25th of November in Berlin and there will be in total 10 concerts in Europe. I will have some wonderful company. Doug Wimbish, who has also played on the album will be the bass player, Alex Scholpp the guitar player, Mike Terrana the drummer, Maria Ilmoniemi the keyboard player, there will be two cello players and my little brother. He will play a few instruments and also sing with me.

In the end we will show you the Top 10 of Switzerland. Can you comment the songs?
50 Cent feat Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology
Tarja: I have watched once one of Timberlakes' concerts and it was really unbelievable. The lights, the performers, the dancers - he really makes an awesome show. I haven't seen any of 50 cent's concerts, but I might one day.

Eros Ramazzotti & Ricky Martin - Non siamo soli
Tarja: I had no idea that they did a duet together. I only know that Eros Ramazzotti has just released or will release a new album soon. But I had no idea about the duet.

James Blunt - 1973
Tarja: James Blunt became known a few years ago with the song "You're beautiful". That was a real hit. I have listened a few times to "1973", it sounds interesting. I wish him a lot of good luck.

Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
Tarja: It's unbelievable how good this woman looks (laughs). The video for "Umbrella" is great. It's so cool. I really like it a lot. It is actually one of my favorite videos.

Alicia Keys - No One
Tarja: I think I have seen this video this morning. She looks so nice.