Simo Silmu

Simo Silmu is a Finnish schlager singer who rose to fame as the frontman of the chart-topping band Yölintu in the late '90s before embarking on a popular recording career of his own in the mid-2000s. Born on August 31, 1977, in Yölintu, Finland, he is a founding member of Yölintu. Founded in 1992 the Finnish schlager band made its album debut in 1993 with Yölintu Laskeutuu. Yölintu broke through to mainstream success in 1998 with their fourth album, Tositarkoituksella, a Top Five hit on the Finnish albums chart. Subsequent albums were even more successful: Pienen Pojan Haaveet (2000), Sitä Saa Mitä Tilaa (2001), and Tää On Rankkaa (2002), which peaked respectively at numbers three, two, and one on the Finnish charts. After the chart-topping success of Tää On Rankkaa, Silmu made his eponymous full-length album debut with Simo Silmu (2004). It was a Top Five hit. The follow-up solo albums Sydänsärkyä (2006) and Punaisessa Talossa (2008) were also Top Five hits. The former album spawned the singles "Sydänsärkyä," "Katariina," and "Ihme Kerrallaan" while the latter spawned the singles "Elä Vielä," "Punaisessa Talossa," and "Taivaan Tuhat Kynttilää." Meanwhile, Silmu remained active as the frontman of Yölintu. Every couple years the band released an album, among which Mennyttä Miestä (2005), Haavoittumaton (2007), and Nyt ja Aina (2009) were Top Five hits. ~ Jason Birchmeier