ANETTE OLZON Looks Back On Her Time With NIGHTWISH: 'I Don't Have Any Resentment Towards The Band'

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Anette Olzon spoke about her upcoming summer 2026 European tour which will be dedicated to the acclaimed albums she recorded with NIGHTWISH, "Dark Passion Play" (2007) and "Imaginaerum" (2011). Asked if her views on her time with NIGHTWISH have changed in the decade and a half since she exited the band, Anette responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes, it has, actually. I don't feel any bitterness or anger towards them. And I actually e-mailed Tuomas [Holopainen, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter] when I was on the [fall 2025 South American] tour, just saying, 'I hope it's fine that I sing these [NIGHTWISH] songs.' No, I feel really good."

She continued: "I think when I came out, it was such heavy years to tour that heavily as we did. And the ending was not nice for either of us. But now it's been so many years and I don't have any resentment towards the band. I hope we can see each other one day and just, like, 'Okay, we had good times too.' So, for me, no, I just feel no anger at all."

Anette added: "You have to move on. You shouldn't be holding a grudge, I think. And I think the older you get, you know that. So you should just forgive and forget."

Asked what the future holds for her after the European tour, Anette said: "Well, I can say that THE DARK ELEMENT [project with former SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Jani Liimatainen], Jani moved to Brazil, and I haven't heard from him. I know that he's fine, so I just wanna say, because I have friends there. But I think he doesn't wanna do music at the time. So, we'll see. When he wants to do it, I will be there. [The third album from] ALLEN/OLZON [the collaborative project with SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen] is actually recorded, so it will be out. I don't know exactly when, but it's been mixed and stuff. So maybe this year. Solo, I haven't planned anything because I think I will focus on singing live now. So it's the Europe tour for a month, and then it's South America with an orchestra in October, doing some new countries there. And then maybe next year USA. And, yeah, I would like to go to Japan too. And maybe some festivals, if there will be someone who wants us next summer. So, yeah, I'd say that [the next] two years I will play live, because I'm getting older too. I'm 55 this year. But as long as it's fun and the family agrees with me going away, I will do it."

Last fall Anette celebrated the two albums she recorded with NIGHTWISH on a special tour of Brazil. The trek marked the first time Anette performed live, as a solo artist, the iconic songs from her era of NIGHTWISH.

The Swedish-born singer originally joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 and recorded two studio LPs with the band before being dismissed in 2012 in the middle of the group's North American tour. She was replaced by former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman Floor Jansen.

Olzon previously reflected on her time with NIGHTWISH in a 2021 interview with Chaoszine. Asked how she looked back on the entire five-year experience, she said: "Well, it's mixed emotions. It was a hell of a ride. You know how it was with the media in Finland. And for me, I didn't understand what was happening because I didn't know how big the band was, since I don't live in Finland. So it was really fun the first years with everything and also crazy. I wasn't home a lot. They did their heaviest touring when I joined. All of a sudden, they wanted to do so many long weeks [on the road]. I remember just that I had a five-year-old son [and] I came home after five weeks. I was home one week. I didn't almost have time to unpack my bags before I went off again for four weeks. So I don't remember everything, to be honest. There are so many things that I don't remember. And also, of course, the last years where it wasn't such a nice atmosphere between us. And I had my third child, and things happened.

"So I remember it both with really happy, happy feelings, but also with very, very negative and sad feelings," she explained. "But, of course, it was an amazing experience, and it was my dream that came true to be a full-time singer in an amazing big band. And they are a super-good band. So I bless the albums that we did and will always cherish that time, of course."

Not long after Olzon was fired from NIGHTWISH 15 years ago, she claimed that an argument arose between her and NIGHTWISH when she asked for an Australian tour to be postponed during her pregnancy. Holopainen suggested that Jansen should front the band on a temporary basis, but Olzon said no.

Anette explained in a 2014 interview: "I would have been too pregnant to go to Australia, so I wanted to push the dates back, but Tuomas didn't want that. Discussions about a substitute came up, and at first, I was, like, 'Yeah, well, okay.' But when they mentioned Floor, it was an automatic 'no' from me. I didn't think it was a good idea, because I knew what would happen — I knew the fans would love Floor, because she's a metal singer and I'm a pop singer, and I wanted to keep my job."

A year after NIGHTWISH fired Olzon, the band released a statement denying that she was dismissed because of pregnancy or illness. "We discovered her personality didn't fit this work community, and was even detrimental to it," the group said. NIGHTWISH went on to say that Anette was initially receptive to the idea of hiring a temporary replacement if she couldn't "manage everything," but that she later "took back her decision, and the difficulties really started. Fear of losing money and position seemed obvious." The band also insisted that "Anette and her company" were "paid a fifth of everything that was done during her time" with NIGHTWISH.

Since the end of her stint with NIGHTWISH, Olzon also formed THE DARK ELEMENT with Liimatainen. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2017; a follow-up, "Songs The Night Sings", came out in 2019.

Olzon and Allen released a collaborative album under the moniker ALLEN/OLZON titled "Worlds Apart" in March 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl. A follow-up LP, "Army Of Dreamers", arrived in 2022.

Anette's third solo album, "Rapture", came out in 2024.