Anna Eriksson was among Finland's most commercially successful pop singers around the turn of the century. Born April 22, 1977, in Ihode, Finland, she spent her childhood abroad in countries including Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, and India, for her father was an engineer and took his family with him as he traveled from job to job. Not only was Eriksson's family well-traveled, but they were musically inclined, a quality that was impressed upon her from childhood onward. She consequently began her professional career as a pop singer at a fairly young age, releasing her self-titled debut album in 1997. Anna Eriksson proved fairly successful, charting for 24 weeks and steadily rising to number 15 thanks to the Top Ten hit single "Kesä Yhdessä." A holiday-themed album, Anna Joulu (1998), was released as a follow-up, yet Odota Mua (1999) was her next big success, breaking into the Top Ten of the Finnish albums chart and ultimately peaking at number six. Eriksson's next album, Kun Katsoit Minuun (2001), was an even greater success, reaching number three on the album chart and spawning the title track smash hit. Though her subsequent releases, including Parhaat (2002), Kaikista Kasvoista (2003), Sinusta Sinuun (2005), and Ihode (2007), failed to match the phenomenal success of Kun Katsoit Minuun, they were all very successful nonetheless, each breaking into the Top Ten of the Finnish albums chart. ~ Jason Birchmeier
