NIGHTWISH Mainman Says Singer 'Freaked Out' During Belo Horizonte Concert

November 14, 2008

NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen has commented on the band's abbreviated performance in in Belo Horizonte, Brazil Monday night (November 10) which ended shortly after the group's singer, Anette Olzon, suddenly appeared to start crying at the end of the song "The Poet And The Pendulum" (about six tracks into the group's set) and walked off stage. The rest of the band finished the song with bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala attempting to handle some of the lead-vocal parts (see video below). The group then played two more cover tracks and ended the show, explaining to the crowd that Anette was "really not up to doing this kind of heavy shit right now." (See video below.) Olzon — who joined NIGHTWISH in early 2007 as the replacement for the band's hugely popular operatic singer Tarja Turunen — has since reportedly released a statement to the Brazilian media in which she blamed the incident on "an excessive amount of smoke" inside the Belo Horizonte venue, which "was irritating my vocal cords." She explained, "When I felt my voice was beginning to go, I ended up panicking and had to leave the stage. The band tried to give me some time to recover but I had no way of coming back since I was not able to sing."

Speaking to O Povo Online about the incident, Tuomas said, "[Anette] freaked out because she couldn't handle the different mannerisms of the fans here. There were a lot of people screaming the former vocalist's name, making obscene gestures (with the middle finger). Normally she can shake that stuff off, she has good self-esteem, but it's been hard to deal with the fans and the critics. I guess it was a sudden breakdown; she just... lost her mind for a second. It's kind of scary, and we all feel for her and understand what she is going through. We hope she can put her mind at ease and make the rest of the shows. So far it's been fine; she's feeling much better."

NIGHTWISH cancelled the last four shows of its recent North American tour — September 23 in Knoxville, Tennessee; September 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina; September 26 in Baltimore, Maryland; and September 27 in New York City — due to Anette Olzon's "sudden severe illness," according to a posting on the band's web site.

Anette walking off stage in Belo Horizonte (from two different angles):

Marco addressing crowd after Anette walks off stage:

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