Ex-BATTLE BEAST Frontwoman NOORA LOUHIMO Crowned Winner Of Finnish Singing Competition 'Tähdet, Tähdet' After Performing 'My Heart Will Go On'
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Former BATTLE BEAST frontwoman Noora Louhimo has been crowned the winner of the 2026 edition of the Finnish singing competition "Tähdet, Tähdet" ("Stars, Stars"). In the program, nine popular Finnish recording artists compete for the title of "Tähtien Tähti", the Star Among Stars. Each week the show covers a different genre of music which forces the artists to adopt to varied musical and lyrical styles in order to perform a cover version of an iconic song of said genre (either Finnish or internationally known),often having to go beyond the artist's comfort zone.
In the final episode of "Tähdet, Tähdet", where Noora faced off against Venla Edelmann, Jukka Poika, Aarne Pelkonen, Louhimo sang a rendition of "My Heart Will Go On", a song originally recorded by the Canadian singer Céline Dion as the theme for the 1997 film "Titanic". Watch the performance here. Earlier in the season, Noora sang a cover of the AC/DC classic "You Shook Me All Night Long" as part of the show's eighth episode, with "Rock Classics" as the theme (watch here), as well as a version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" (watch here).
When Louhimo's participation in "Tähdet, Tähdet" was first announced in January, she wrote in a social media post: "The show is about finding the greatest entertainer of Finland by performing 8 different music genres. There are 9 artists competing of the title of The Greatest Entertainer TÄHTIEN TÄHTI. So great to get to show what I can do as an artist and see what others can do. Very inspiring and nerve breaking!!! I am so happy and excited I've met such big hearted and talented people, amazing production team and exceptionally good atmosphere behind the scenes and on stage."
Last December, Noora opened up about her decision to leave BATTLE BEAST after 13 years. Asked by Finland's Chaoszine how long she had been contemplating her departure from BATTLE BEAST, Noora said: "Well, for me it has been kind of a long process. Nothing happens in an instant or anything like that. But in my life so many [things] happened, these kind of situations, like health wise — people have heard about my health issues with the artery [ruptured], and a year before that I was in a car accident — and things like this that really make me prioritize what I want in my life. And maybe because of these events also I started to think about what things I wanna do in life and what I want to achieve. And because in BATTLE BEAST, it is very demanding schedules, and it's always, like, either you are making an album with them or you are preparing an album or you are touring. There is no time for a solo career or whatever you want to do, like extra. And that was something that became too big of an issue for me because I'm an artist and I need to do different things to express myself to feel fulfilled."
Noora, who in 2021 released her debut solo album, "Eternal Wheel Of Time And Space", under the NOORA LOUHIMO EXPERIENCE banner, continued: "When I [released my solo LP], it was like I had already thought about a solo album for a decade. And when the pandemic came, I was, like, 'Okay, now I can do it.' But after that, I haven't been able to do anything, almost, in my solo career for five years, and it's been really kind of… I need that. It's, like, when people have been asking, like, 'Why are you doing so many things and not just focusing on BATTLE BEAST?' or something that, and all I can say is that it's my nature to do many different things to express myself, and that keeps me going and that keeps me happy."
Louhimo went on to say that she wanted to present the news of her exit from BATTLE BEAST in a way that was respectful to everybody, including her now-former bandmates.
"When we informed [the fans] about this, everything that we said on the video [announcing my exit] was honest and true," she explained. "13 years I was building the band with the guys, and I have a huge respect towards them as well and also towards our fans. And what I feared the most breaking the news was losing the fans, because I love all of [them]. And it is like when you say out loud that actually I need to do this to be happy and maybe disappoint some people, it was the scariest thing I have ever done, because being rejected is maybe the worst nightmare for me. Just to put myself out there honestly, what I want to be happy, has been maybe the hardest thing I have ever done."
Regarding her plans for the coming months, Noora said: "[I am] definitely now a hundred percent [focused on my] solo career. And I'm really excited about the future and, and things that will happen in the future. And I've got already so much music in my mind and in the works that will be released in the near future. And, yeah, a lot of different projects that I really want to get into."
As for a possible release date for her new solo music, Noora said: "When this year is done, then I will concentrate, focus totally on the songwriting process. But I definitely want to give people something before the whole album is released. So definitely [there will be] singles coming out."
Noora has since been replaced in BATTLE BEAST by Marina La Torraca, a Brazilian vocalist from São Paulo, best known as the powerhouse frontwoman of modern metal band PHANTOM ELITE and as a member of the symphonic metal project EXIT EDEN.
BATTLE BEAST's first shows with Marina took place in March 2026 when the band hit Japan and Australia.
Louhimo joined BATTLE BEAST in 2012 with no previous experience as a metal vocalist but quickly acclimated herself as the replacement for Nitte Valo (a.k.a. Nitte Vänskä).
BATTLE BEAST's seventh studio album, "Steelbound", came out in October 2025 via Nuclear Blast.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
