Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa (born 1 December 1944 in Mikkeli) is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress.

Life and career

She studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public university, public Research university, research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turk ...

. She made her breakthrough as a singer in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. She has made albums with Swedish translations of songs by Mikis Theodorakis, as well as covers of Zarah Leander songs. In 1978 she issued ''Miten voi kyllin kiittää'', an album of Finnish translations of the songs of the Chilean composer and singer Violeta Parra. A Swedish version, ''Jag vill tacka livet'', came out the following year. The title song, "Jag vill tacka livet" (" Gracias a la vida") was one of her greatest hits. Swedish prime minister

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until h ...

had been a close friend, and his widow wanted Arja to sing at the funeral in 1986. She sang Enai Megalos O Kaimos in Swedish. In 1987, she participated at

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

with the song "

Högt över havet "Högt över havet" is a song written by Lasse Holm, and performed by Arja Saijonmaa at Melodifestivalen 1987. The song also won the OGAE Second Chance Contest. The single peaked at 14th position at the Swedish singles chart. The song also chart ...

", ending up second. The same year, she scored a Svensktoppen hit with the song ''

Jag vill leva i Europa Jag vill leva i Europa is a song written by Jan Hammarlund, recorded by him on the 1982 album ''Järnvägsräls''. Arja Saijonmaa recorded the song on her 1987 album ''Högt över havet (album), Högt över havet'' and her recording charted at Sve ...

''. As a politician, she has been a member of the Swedish People's Party in Finland, and in 1987 she was appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. She has written a Norwegian-language book, ''Sauna'', about the Finnish sauna tradition. She appeared in the first season of Let's Dance, the Swedish version of

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

in 2006. Her professional partner was Tobias Karlsson, aged 28, and they were eliminated in the 7th week. In December 2007, Saijonmaa participated in the Swedish reality show ''

Stjärnorna på slottet ''Stjärnorna på slottet'' (English: ''Stars at the Castle'') is a Swedish show featuring five film or music stars which is usually broadcast during the Christmas and New Year Eve weekend and a bit into January each year. The show was broadcast ...

'' along with

Peter Stormare Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm (born August 27, 1953), better known as Peter Stormare (), is a Swedish actor who holds both Swedish and American citizenship. He played Gaear Grimsrud in the film '' Fargo'' (1996) and John Abruzzi in the television ser ...

, Britt Ekland, Jan Malmsjö and Magnus Härenstam. She participated in

Melodifestivalen 2019 Melodifestivalen 2019 was the 59th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen and was held between 2 February 2019 and 9 March 2019. Presenters were Sarah Dawn Finer, Kodjo Akolor, Marika Carlsson and Eric Saade. Edward af Sillé ...

with the song "Mina fyra årstider". Saijonmaa is both Finnish and Swedish voice actor of Emma the Stage Rat in the Finnish-British animated television family drama Moominvalley (2019–).

Discography

Finnish language *1972: ''Laula kanssani toveri'' *1972: ''Arja Saijonmaa & Mikis Theodorakis'' *1973: ''Koko yön minun poikani valvoi'' *1975: ''Huomenta sydämeni'' *1979: ''Jokainen arkiaamu - Arja Saijonmaa & Mikis Theodorakis Ateenassa'' *1979: ''Miten voin kyllin kiittää'' *1981: ''Ruotsiin ja takaisin'' *1983: ''Ystävän laulu'' *1985: '' La Cumparsita'' *1988: ''Arja Saijonmaa & George de Godzinsky Finlandia-talossa'' *1989: ''Yhteinen taivas ja maa'' *1993: ''Paijaa mua'' *2000: ''Sydänten silta'' *2006: ''Rakkaus on rohkeutta'' Reissues *1985: ''Valitut laulut'' *1988: ''Arja Saijonmaa'' (2LP) *1995: ''20 Suosikkia: Ystävän laulu: '' *2001: ''20 Suosikkia:

Satumaa "Satumaa" (roughly, in English "The Fabled Land" or "The Fairytale Land") is the quintessential Finnish tango. It was written by Unto Mononen, and published in 1955. The most famous recording is probably the one made by Reijo Taipale in 1962. The ...

'' *2007: ''Tähtisarja - 30 suosikkia'' (2CD) Swedish language *1977: ''Det är tid att sjunga sånger'' *1977: ''Tango Jalousie'' *1978: ''Arja Saijonmaa i Stockhomns konserthus'' *1979: ''Jag vill tacka livet'' *1981: ''Sånger från asfalt och ängar'' *1982: ''Leksar och parfym'' *1987: ''Högt över havet'' *1988: ''Arja sjunger Zarah'' *1989: ''Samma himmel, samma sol'' *1994: '' La Cumparsita'' *1998: ''Bara du kommer'' *1999: ''En bro av gemenskap'' *2003: ''Arja Nära'' Reissues *1994: ''Arja's bästa'' *2000: ''Guldkorn'' *2002: ''100%'' (2CD) *2005: ''Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel'' Other languages *1976: ''Bonjour mon coeur'' *1983: ''Es ist Zeit''

Films

Arja Saijonmaa has appeared in the following films: *1969: ''Punatukka'' *1969: ''Pohjan tähteet'' *1979: '' Herr Puntila and His Servant Matti''

Bibliography

Swedish language *''Sauna'', (bound) Malmö, Sweden : Richters förlag, 2000 Swedish 271 pages. *''En ung naken kvinna : mötet med Mikis'' (A young naked woman - the meeting with Mikis), (bound) Stockholm, Sweden : Piratförlaget, 2011 Swedish 443 pages, 6picture pages + 1 CD with four songs by Mikis Theodorakis

References

Sources

Tony Latva and Petri Tuunainen, Iskelmän tähtitaivas, WSOY 2004,

M.A. Numminen Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940 in Somero, Southwest Finland) is a Finnish artist who has worked in several different fields of music and culture. Biography In the 1960s, Numminen was known particularly as an avantgarde, underground ar ...

Tango on intohimoni ''Tango on intohimoni'' (or ''Tango is my Passion'') is a novel about Finnish tango written by M. A. Numminen. It features Virtanen, who is obsessed with the Finnish tango, and is interspersed with a history of the Finnish tango. Plot summary ''"M ...

, Schilds 1998,

External links

Official website
(warning: background music)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saijonmaa, Arja 1944 births Living people People from Mikkeli Melodifestivalen contestants United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassadors Sibelius Academy alumni Swedish-speaking Finns Swedish-language singers Finnish expatriates in Sweden Finnish expatriates in France Participants in Swedish reality television series 20th-century Finnish women singers 21st-century Finnish women singers