Lenna Kuurmaa
Lenna Kuurmaa (born September 26, 1985 in Tallinn ) is an Estonian singer , presenter and actress . Kuurmaa was the front woman of the girl group Vanilla Ninja and has been working as a solo artist since the end of 2009.
Career
Beginnings
Kuurmaa has been singing in the choir since she was five and learned to play the violin for six years. She began her singing career at the age of four with the choir of the Estonian television station Eesti Televisioon , of which she was a member for several years. She spent her school days at a German grammar school in Tallinn, where she also learned German. Before joining the band, Kuurmaa played in the musicals The King and I and The Sound of Music .
In the Fizz Superstar 2002 competition , the Estonian edition of Deutschland sucht den Superstar , she reached the semi-finals. Through the program, the Estonian music producer Sven Lõhmus became aware of Kuurmaa and made her part of the band Vanilla Ninja .
2005 to 2008
In 2005 Kuurmaa sang the ballad Picture , a cover of Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock, with the Estonian musician Tanel Padar . In 2006 she was a member of the Valge Gospel ( White Gospel ) association, which sang in various churches. She also sang the song Isamaa ilu hoieldes with other Estonian musicians such as Ivo Linna and Gerli Padar at various state events, such as the reception of the British Queen or the Japanese Emperor .
Kuurmaa worked as a songwriter on Vanilla-Ninja's fourth studio album Love Is War . As with some of the songs on the third album, Blue Tattoo , she brought in her ideas. Together with her bandmate Piret Järvis and Michelle Leonard , a songwriter for the EMI record company , she wrote the first track on the CD, Kingdom Burning Down . Kuurmaa tried some tracks on the album without Järvis. For example, she wrote the first single Dangerzone with Leonard and Flo Peil . She also worked on The Band that Never Existed and Pray .
In December 2006 she played in the musical Snoopy . Also in 2006 Kuurmaa was elected singer of the "Unituste Bänd" (dream band). The Estonians chose the perfect band line-up for them. With this band Kuurmaa sang the song SexyBack , a cover of Justin Timberlake in January 2007 .
Kuurmaa broke new ground when she starred in the 2007 Estonian drama Kuhu põgenevad hinged ( Where souls go ). In the film, she plays Maya, an 18-year-old girl who is new to a class and meets the main character Ann, who has problems with her family. The theme song of the drama is her song Saatus naerdes homse toob , for which a music video was shot. The song was also released in an English version called Think Idly . In July 2008 she took part in a concert tour entitled Valjamõeldud lood , during which she toured many cities in Estonia with the Estonian stars Dagö and Chalice.
2009–2011: Moderation and participation in the Eesti Laul
At the end of 2009 Kuurmaa decided to work solo. As a debut song she recorded Like a Kid , then she initially focused again on Estonian songs. Kuurmaa took part in the Eesti Laul 2010 , the Estonian preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 . With her title Rapunzel she was defeated by Malcolm Lincoln & Manpower 4 in the final. On June 5, 2010 Kuurmaa released her first solo album Lenna in Estonia , which made it to number one on the Tele2 album download charts. In February 2011 Kuurmaa moderated along with her bandmate Piret Järvis the Eesti Laul 2011 .
In October 2011 Vaiko Eplik produced the song Hüvasti, maa! For Kuurmaa . , which is also the title song of the Estonian film Täitsa lõpp . Kuurmaa plays a supporting role in the film. Hüvasti, maa! was released as a single in Estonia in October 2011. On November 3, 2011, she started a tour through Estonia with Märt Avandi. To promote the tour, Kuurmaa was a guest on the Estonian TV show Terevisioon , in which she also sang the song Tule kui leebe tuul .
2012–2013: Mina jään, love in Finnish and second album Teine
In 2012 Kuurmaa also took part in the Eesti Laul 2012 . Your entry was titled Mina jään (Estonian for I stay ), and reached second place in the final of the preliminary round. With this song she also appeared at the Estonian Music Awards 2012 , which she hosted together with Mihkel Raud. Mina jään stayed at number one in the single charts in Estonia for four weeks.
On February 3, 2012, Kuurmaa was seen in the Finnish movie Love in Finnish as Viivi . She also sang the theme song that was filmed for a video. In June 2012 Kuurmaa released a new song with Märt Avandi called Öö Valge on Õnn (White Nights Are Luck). In March 2013, Kuurmaa had a daughter. On November 5, 2013, Raud Meedia released her second studio album Teine , in which she took part in the production.
2014: Supernoova and third studio album Moonland
On March 1, 2014 Kuurmaa, after 2010 and 2012, returned to the Eesti Laul . With the title Supernoova , for which a music video was shot, she reached fourth place.
On September 23, 2014, Kuurmaa's third studio album Moonland featuring Lenna Kuurmaa was released by Frontiers Records . For the first time since the vanilla ninja era, it includes English pop-rock songs. Kuurmaa previously stated in an interview that Vanilla Ninja have broken up. ("After we finished with Vanilla Ninja, I started my solo career.") For her three personal favorite songs on the album, Heaven is to be Close to You , Live and Let Go and Open Your Heart , music videos were filmed on the official YouTube page of the record company Frontiers Records . The album was released in Japan on September 24, 2014 with an acoustic version of Live and Let Go as a bonus track .
2017–2018: Slingshot , Dance Alone and fourth studio album 3x
On February 11, 2017, Kuurmaa took part in the Eesti Laul 2017 , the Estonian preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 . With the English title Slingshot , which Kuurmaa wrote together with Nicolas Rebscher and Michelle Leonard , she reached the final, which took place on March 4th. She took eighth of ten possible places there.
The EP Dance Alone was released digitally on November 24, 2017 and contains the title track, Human and Helium . The publication took place via Janedoe Music .
On December 3, 2018, Kuurmaa's fourth studio album was released 3 times . She was involved in the production of all ten titles.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
|||
| 2010 |
Lenna Mortimer Snerd |
- |
Initial release: June 5th, 2010
Republication: 2012 |
| 2013 | Teine Raud Meedia |
- |
First published: November 5, 2013
|
| 2014 | Moonland Frontiers Records / Avalon (Japan) |
- |
First published: September 23, 2014
|
| 2018 | 3 × Made in Baltics |
- |
First published: December 3, 2018
|
EPs
- 2017: Dance Alone
Singles
- 2010: Sellel ööl (Violina feat.Lenna Kuurmaa)
- 2010: Sinuni (with Ott Lepland )
- 2011: Hüvasti, maa!
- 2012: Mina jään Teine
- 2014: Supernoova (Eesti Laul 2014)
- 2014: Heaven is to be Close to You
- 2014: Live and Let Go
- 2014: Open Your Heart
- 2016: Õnnega koos
- 2017: Slingshot ( Eesti Laul 2017 )
Filmography (selection)
- 2007: Kuhu põgenevad hinged
- 2011: Täitsa lõpp
- 2012: Love in Finnish (Vuosaari)
Web links
- Lenna Kuurmaa in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lenna at Kuhu põgenevad hinged ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed October 30, 2011)
- ^ Theme song by Kuurmaa (accessed October 30, 2011)
- ↑ Think Idly (accessed November 5, 2011)
- ↑ Eurovisioonile sõidab Malcolm Lincoln ( ERR on March 12, 2010. Estonian, viewed on May 12, 2011)
- ↑ Kuurmaa at number one on the Tele2 album download charts ( Memento from February 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Lenna Kuurmaa on tour with a new song in November 2011 ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed November 5, 2011)
- ↑ Kuurmaa: start number two at Eesti Laul 2012 (accessed on February 24, 2012)
- ↑ Ott Lepland wins the preliminary decision ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ MyHits. Retrieved July 2, 2019 .
- ^ Vuosaari. Retrieved July 2, 2019 .
- ↑ New Song: Öö Valge on Õnn (accessed July 10, 2012)
- ^ Raud Meedia (accessed March 9, 2017)
- ↑ Booklet of the album Teine
- ↑ Teine on discogs.com (accessed March 9, 2017)
- ↑ Moonland Feat. Lenna Kuurmaa EPK Official 2014 on YouTube. (accessed on March 9, 2017)
- ^ Frontiers Music srl
- ↑ Japan version of Moonland on discogs.com (accessed March 9, 2017)
- ↑ Dance Alone (accessed March 9, 2018)
- ↑ 3x on discogs.com (accessed January 27, 2019)
- ↑ Heaven is to be close to you
- ↑ Live and Let Go
- ^ Open Your Heart
- ↑ LENNA SINGEL “ÕNNEGA KOOS” SAI VIDEO (accessed March 9, 2017)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kuurmaa, Lenna |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Estonian singer, front woman of the girl band Vanilla Ninja |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 26, 1985 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tallinn , Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic , Soviet Union |