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Biography
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli (IPA: ['tɑrjɑ...'turunen]) (born August 17, 1977), known as Tarja for her solo career is a Finnish soprano and songwriter, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish, which she founded along with Emppu Vuorinen and Tuomas Holopainen in 1996. After severing ties with the band in October 2005, Tarja Turunen is now devoting her time to her solo career under the stage name of Tarja. She is married to Argentine businessman Marcelo Cabuli. Tarja has also appeared in various Finnish television programs, and was a guest judge on "Idols" on 27 March 2007.
Born in Kitee, Finland, Turunen began to study music at the age of six, and moved to the city of Kuopio at the age of eighteen to study at the Sibelius Academy. She became a founding member of Nightwish in 1996 when her classmate Tuomas Holopainen invited her to join his new musical project. That year Turunen also performed with the Savonlinna Opera Festival. However, she did not become internationally famous until the release of Nightwish's successful follow-up album, Oceanborn, in 1998.
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