Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Mourão de Melo e Abreu; born 7 February 1990), known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the

third series Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of the Finnish singing talent show '' Idols'' in 2007. Her music has been described as

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

with influences from genres such as R&B,

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Since her participation in ''Idols'', Abreu has become one of the best-selling former ''Idols'' contestants in Finland, and one of the most successful Finnish female singers. She has

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

record sales surpassing 190,000 copies, which places her also among the 100 best-selling music artists of all time in Finland.

Early life

Abreu was born in

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

to a Portuguese father, Paulo Mourão de Melo e Abreu, and a Finnish mother, Liisa. She has an elder brother named Emil. As a young child, Abreu spent some time residing in Portugal, and speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and English in addition to Finnish. Her parents later separated, with her father now residing in

Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...

, Portugal.

Career

2006–2007: ''Idols'' Series 3

In the summer of 2006, Abreu auditioned for the third season of the singing competition '' Finnish Pop Idol'' in the Finnish capital,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. She sang the

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

hit "Fallin'" and "Jumala" by Finnish rock band Apulanta. The contest's four judges were all impressed by the power and conviction of her voice, especially as Abreu was only sixteen years old. She passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest and then the live finals. Abreu's performances attracted heavy public support, however, during the top 5 results show, she landed in the bottom two contestants alongside Panu Larnos. Abreu survived the elimination and made it through to the live grand finale at

Helsinki Ice Hall The Helsinki Ice Hall (, ), colloquially called Nordis, is an indoor arena located in the Taka-Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. The arena has a seating capacity of 8,200. History Helsinki Ice Hall has been the home of HIFK of the L ...

with fellow contestant

Ari Koivunen Ari Koivunen (born 7 June 1984) is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer who rose to fame as the winner of the Finnish singing competition Idols (Finland), Idols in 2007. He was the vocalist of the Finnish heavy metal band Amoral (ban ...

, who sang exclusively in the heavy-metal genre. On 5 April 2007, Koivunen won the crown as the third ''Finnish Idol'' with 57% of the public vote, with Abreu declared as runner-up.

2007–2008: ''Anna Abreu''

Following her participation in ''Idols'', Abreu was signed to Sony BMG Finland and her Latino-inspired, debut single "End of Love" was released in July 2007. The song debuted and peaked at number eight on the singles chart and was accompanied by Abreu's first music video. Her self-titled debut album, ''

Anna Abreu Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari (name at birth, née Mourão de Melo e Abreu; born 7 February 1990), known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner ...

'', was released a month later on 22 August and was certified platinum within its first week after going straight into the chart at number one and selling 30,000 copies. To date, its first week sales are among the highest in Finnish music history. The album's second single "Ivory Tower" was released in October 2007, and after initially debuting at number seventeen, the song peaked at number five in its seventh week. A third single "Are You Ready" was released for promotional purposes only. In March 2008, ''Anna Abreu'' was certified

double-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

having sold over 86,000 copies. In the same month at the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

, Abreu was nominated for Best Finnish Act.

2008–2009: ''Now''

After a sell-out tour across Finland to promote her debut album, Abreu returned to the recording studio to work on her second album. On 31 July 2008, the lead single "Vinegar" was released. Produced by Patric Sarin and Rauli Eskolin, the dance-oriented song marked a creative step away from the pop and RnB roots of Abreu's debut album. The song hit the number one spot on the Finnish charts and stayed there, not only becoming Abreu's first number one single but also one of the highest-selling singles of 2008. The second single, "Silent Despair", was released in early October, followed by the album ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

'' on 22 October. The album became Abreu's second number one album and was certified platinum, selling over 50,000 copies. It was the highest selling album of 2008 in Finland and spawned two further singles with "Something About U" and "Come Undone", though the songs were used only for promotional purposes. In early 2009, Abreu supported ''Now'' with a cross-country tour, which like her first tour, played to sold-out venues. It was reported that Abreu earned over 145,000 euros in 2008 through a combination of album sales, touring and public appearances, making her one of Finland's highest-earning singers.

2009–2010: ''Just a Pretty Face?''

In August 2009, less than a year after the release of Abreu's second album, her record label

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

announced that Abreu would release her third studio album later that year. The lead single " Music Everywhere" received its radio premiere on 5 August and was released five days later. After initially debuting at number four, the single rose to its peak of number two after Abreu's televised performance on the Finnish Children In Need, narrowly missing out on becoming Abreu's second number one single. Like "Vinegar" from her previous album, the single was dance-oriented, with Abreu stating that her new album would be almost completely dance and club based. In September 2009 it was announced that Abreu and fellow ''Idols'' contestant Antti Tuisku would be embarking on a joint tour across Finland named the ''Pop Royalty Tour'' in 2010 to support their new albums. Tickets for the dates sold out within a matter of minutes and further tour dates had to be added to accommodate the huge public demand. At the same time, Abreu's record label announced that a remixed version of "Vinegar", the lead single from Abreu's second album, would be released as her debut single in the UK on 22 November. It went on to peak at number 7 on the UK Club Chart. On 21 October, almost exactly one year after the release of her second album, Abreu released her third, '' Just A Pretty Face?'' in Finland. After only one day, the album was certified gold, having sold 23,000 copies in its first day of release alone. It peaked at number two on the Finnish albums chart and has since become Abreu's third consecutive platinum album. It was the sixth highest-selling album of 2009, despite only being released in October. On 11 April 2010, Abreu performed her new promotional single "Slam" on the first series of the Finnish ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'', which had replaced '' Idols'', the show that had given Abreu the platform from which to launch her music career in 2007.

2010–2012: ''Rush''

In late August 2010, Abreu announced via her official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page that she had begun work on her fourth album, ''Rush''. Abreu stated that she hoped to include a collaboration on the new album, and asked fans whom they would like to hear her duet with. The first single, "Hysteria", was released on 10 January 2011. Her fourth studio album was released on 30 March 2011 and entered the chart at number 1, becoming Abreu's third chart-topping album. The album's second single was "Worst Part Is Over", featuring Finnish-Swedish rapper

Redrama Lasse Mellberg (born 2 October 1977), better known by his stage name Redrama, is a Finnish rapper. He made a breakthrough in 2003. Redrama, who performs primarily in English, but also in Swedish and Finnish was part of a hip-hop group Alien Alli ...

2012–present: ''Greatest Hits'' and break from music

In 2011, Abreu announced that she would release a ''Greatest Hits'' album before taking a break from music.

Personal life

Abreu dated her fellow former '' Idols'' contestant Panu Larnos from 2007 but the relationship ended in the spring of 2009. In September of that year, she made her relationship with former model Joonas Wörlin public. The couple moved in together in November 2010 but split the following spring. In 2011, Abreu started dating Finnish professional snowboarder Lauri Heiskari and the couple became engaged in July 2012, marrying on 20 June 2013. Although Abreu officially took Heiskari as her surname, she continued to be known by her maiden name for subsequent music releases. Abreu is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Discography

* ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Just a Pretty Face?'' (2009) * '' Rush'' (2011) * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (2012) * '' V'' (2014) * ''Sensuroimaton versio'' (2016) * ''Teipillä tai rakkaudella'' (2019)

Tours

Headlining * ''Anna Abreu Live'' Tour (2007–2008) * ''Now'' Tour (2008–2009) * ''Just A Pretty Face?'' Tour (2009–2010) * ''Pop Royalty'' Tour (co-headlining with

Antti Tuisku Antti Tuisku (born 27 February 1984) is a retired Finnish pop singer. He finished third in the 2003 '' Idols'' talent show, the Finnish version of '' Pop Idol''. Tuisku has sold over 300,000 records during his career in Finland. In 2016, Tuisku ...

) (2010) * ''Rush'' Tour (2011) * ''Over and Out'' Tour (2012) * ''V'' Tour (2014) As supporting act *

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

- Euphoria Tour (2011) Finland, 6–7 April

Awards and nominations

Emma Awards

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Vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

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MTV Europe Music Awards

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References

External links

Anna Abreu's official website
(archived)
Anna Abreu – MySpace.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Anna 1990 births 21st-century Finnish women singers Finnish people of Portuguese descent Finnish pop singers Finnish women pop singers Idols (franchise) participants Living people People from Vantaa Finnish Roman Catholics English-language singers from Finland