Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress. She is a member of the girl group
Vanilla Ninja
Vanilla Ninja is an Estonian all-female rock band which enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Estonia, Germany and Austria.
The group formed in 2002 and released their self-titled debut album '' Vanilla N ...
, but after the band's hiatus since 2009, continued to work as a solo-artist. She also formed a band with the name "Lenna" who released the debut album ''Lenna'' in June 2010.
Musical career
From 1990 to 2002, Lenna Kuurmaa was a member of the ETV Lasteekraani Muusikastuudio and performed together with the choir in many festivals internationally (in Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Israel, the United Kingdom, Spain, USA and Russia). She studied violin in Tallinn Music School from 2000 to 2006 under teacher Urvo Uibokand. She received vocal training from Ester Lepa and Ludmilla Issakova 1997–2002. In 2002 she took part of televised singing contest ''Fizz Superstar'', where she made it to the quarter-finals. In the same year Kuurmaa, together with 3 other girls, formed the rock band
Vanilla Ninja
Vanilla Ninja is an Estonian all-female rock band which enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Estonia, Germany and Austria.
The group formed in 2002 and released their self-titled debut album '' Vanilla N ...
. After Vanilla Ninja's hiatus in 2009, Lenna Kuurmaa started working as a solo-musician with the artist-name ''Lenna''. In June 2010, she released her debut album ''Lenna'' under Mortimer Snerd. All of the songs were written together with and produced by
Vaiko Eplik
Vaiko Eplik (born 1 August 1981) is an independent Estonian pop-composer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist.
Eplik was born in Rapla, Estonia, into a music-loving family. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialisin ...
, who is also the owner of the record label. Her band also performed at the
2010 Shanghai EXPO
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...
.
Eurovision Song Contest
Lenna Kuurmaa has taken part in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
and its national preselection contests with varying success.
* In 2003, with Vanilla Ninja, the song "Club Kung-Fu" was placed at the last position by an international jury at the national preselection contest
Eurolaul
Estonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times since making its debut in 1994. Its first appearance would have taken place in 1993 but a qualification round was installed for seven former Eastern Bloc countries hoping to make t ...
, even while having a strong popular support.
* Again together with Vanilla Ninja, she represented
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
with the song "
Cool Vibes
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Cool Vibes" written by David Brandes, Jane Tempest and John O'Flynn. The song was performed by the band Vanilla Ninja, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcast ...
" in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
, where they finished 8th.
* In 2007, Vanilla Ninja participated in Eurolaul 2007 with the song "Birds of Peace", and placed fourth.
* In 2010, Lenna Kuurmaa participated as a solo artist at the national contest Eesti Laul 2010 with the song "Rapunzel", which was co-arranged by
Vaiko Eplik
Vaiko Eplik (born 1 August 1981) is an independent Estonian pop-composer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist.
Eplik was born in Rapla, Estonia, into a music-loving family. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialisin ...
. The song finished second.
* In 2012, Lenna participated again in the national contest Eesti Laul 2012 with the song "Mina jään", which finished second.
* In 2014, Lenna participated again in
Eesti Laul
Eesti Laul (English: 'Estonian Song' or 'The Song of Estonia') is an annual music competition organised by Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, a ...
with the song "Supernoova". She finished fourth.
* In 2017, Lenna participated again in
Eesti Laul
Eesti Laul (English: 'Estonian Song' or 'The Song of Estonia') is an annual music competition organised by Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, a ...
, this time with the song "Slingshot", finishing eighth.
Acting
Kuurmaa played the second lead role of Maya in the year 2007 Estonian film ''Kuhu põgenevad hinged'' (''Where Souls Go'') and Angela in the Estonian soap opera ''Kodu keset linna'', also in 2007.JUST: Kuhu põgenevad hinged? Lenna Kuurmaa veenev muutumine satanistiks Kalev.ee Since 2008, Kuurmaa has taken part in
Theatre NO99
Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019.
The theatre's name ...
's play ''
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...
'' as a guest-actress. In 2010, she was given a role of an
Estonian Security Police
The Estonian Internal Security Service ( et, Kaitsepolitsei, officially et, Kaitsepolitseiamet, KaPo for short) is a central national security institution of Republic of Estonia. Its purposes are centered on enforcing constitutional order. The ...
investigator in the crime-drama series '' Kelgukoerad''. She has stated that she has no interest in pursuing professional acting education.
She has a role in the 2012 Finnish movie ''Vuosaari'', named after a particular district in Helsinki and the same year appeared as Pille in the Peeter Simm-directed drama ''Üksik saar''. From 2012 until 2014, she appeared as Anne in the
Kanal 2
Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2".
The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel began broadcasting on 1 October 1993.
History
The channel started broadcasting on ...
comedy series ''Tupiktänava mehed''. In 2017, Kuurmaa began appearing in the role of Ramilda Martin on the Estonian
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
* Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...
crime-comedy series ''
Kättemaksukontor
''Kättemaksukontor'' (English: ''Revenge Office'') is an Estonian comedy-crime television series. In the series, a group of women have the organization called "Kättemaksukontor". This organization helps to solve murder cases for the police.
The ...
''.
Other activities
Kuurmaa has also worked in television, for example being the host for the song contest Laulukarussell in 2006. She has also hosted programs in the
Sky Plus
Sky Plus is a commercial radio station in Estonia.Sky Media The radio station was launched in 1997 and is owned by Kuurmaa is a member of Estonian Performers' Association (EEL) and Estonian Authors' Society (EAÜ). She has been involved in the musical theatre projects ''Kuningas ja mina'' (''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'') and ''Helisev muusika'' (''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
''). In 2007, Lenna Kuurmaa was chosen by the audience of Raadio 2 to be a singer in the Unistuste Bänd (''Dream Band''), a supergroup composed of popular Estonian musicians for a one-time performance at Raadio 2 Hit of the Year award gala.
In 2010, she participated in the
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
* Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...
series "Laulud tähtedega" with
Artur Talvik
Artur Talvik (born 13 June 1964) is an Estonian politician, film director, film producer, actor, and screenwriter. He was a member of the Riigikogu and a former member of the Estonian Free Party. He now leads the Richness of Life party.
Biogra ...
. In 2015, she took part of the Estonian version of the TV show Stars in Their Eyes
Discography
Albums
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other songs
* "Saatus naerdes homse toob/Think idly"
* "Loomeinimesed"
* "Like a kid"
* "Mine tee tööd"
* "Vara" (with Slide-Fifty)
* "Rada" (with Mikk Saar)
* "Sinuni" (with
Ott Lepland
Ott Lepland (born 17 May 1987) is an Estonian singer. He first received national mainstream attention in 2009, after winning the third season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari''. Lepland represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Ba ...
)
* "Kallim kullast (with
Koit Toome
Koit Toome (born 3 January 1979), is an Estonian singer and musical actor.
He has twice represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1998 he finished 12th with the song "Mere lapsed". In 2017 he sang a duet with Laura Põldvere, entit ...
)
* "Eesti, Eesti, Eesti"
* "Falling Star"
* Taevatähtedest Tee (with Ivo Linna and Supernova)