Katri Helena is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 singer who has been performing since the 1960s. She has been married three times (Turunen, Kalaoja, Rajala) and is now living as a single mother.

In terms of commercial success, Katri Helena is one of the most popular singers in Finland. During her career, she has sold a total of over 630,000 certified records, which makes her the second-best-selling female soloist in Finland behind Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 and places her also among the top 20 best-selling music artists in the Finnish market.

Katri Helena has had various hits, including "Puhelinlangat laulaa", "Katson sineen taivaan

Katson Sineen Taivaan

"Katson sineen taivaan" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Finnish by Katri Helena...

" and "Syysunelma". She has twice represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

: in 1979

Eurovision Song Contest 1979

The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 31 March 1979 in Jerusalem, Israel. The presenters were Daniel Pe'er and Yardena Arazi, and the event was staged at the International Convention Center. Representing Israel, Gali Atari and Milk and Honey were the...

 with her song "Katson sineen taivaan

Katson Sineen Taivaan

"Katson sineen taivaan" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Finnish by Katri Helena...

" ("I'm Looking at the Blue Sky") and 1993

Eurovision Song Contest 1993

The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 15 May 1993 in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. The presenter was Fionnuala Sweeney. Niamh Kavanagh was the winner of this Eurovision for Ireland with the song, "In Your Eyes"...

 with her song "Tule luo

Tule Luo

"Tule luo" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, performed in Finnish by Katri Helena. This was Katri Helena's second Eurovision entry, in the 1979 contest she sang "Katson sineen taivaan" , placing 14th in a field of 19.The song was performed seventeenth on the night "Tule...

" ("Come to me") from album "Katri Helena on spuge". She also took part in the International Sopot Festival in 1969, singing "Valssi" during the Polish day.

In the search for the 100 Greatest Finns of all time

Suuret suomalaiset

Suuret suomalaiset was a 2004 television show broadcast in Finland by YLE , which determined the 100 greatest Finns of all time according to the opinions of its viewers. The viewers were able to vote during a programme which lasted from October to December 2004...

, voted in the summer of 2004, Katri Helena placed 43rd.

Katri Helena has 3 children, 2 girls and a boy, with her husband Timo Kalaoja who died of a heart attack in 1988. His death affected her so much that she withdrew from public view and stopped performing and recording albums for four years. Her only son, Juha Kalaoja, also died of a heart attack at the age of 33, on April 29, 2009.