Floor Jansen

The Nightwish vocalist on finding her voice, finding herself and motherhood.

Dutch singer Floor Jansen joined symphonic metal band After Forever in 1997 when she was just 16. She went on to form ReVamp, before fronting genre titans Nightwish from 2013. Her first album with them was their most recent, 2015’s Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

The band are currently on a year out, and Floor is focusing on motherhood following the birth of her daughter, Freya. March sees the release of a two-disc Nightwish compilation, Decades.

When did you realise that you could sing?

I was about fourteen years old and I joined the school musical, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I started to work on one of the main characters and I could just sing it all!

Why did you decide to continue singing?

I was the teased child, the very insecure one, so I didn’t want to put myself on a stage in front of everybody, but the musical brought me out and gave me a social network. So it was the start of a different chapter in my life. Looking back, I can really say I found myself while I was singing. It gave me a confidence I never had before. I was born with a natural gift, and I love doing it.

How did you come to join Nightwish?

Back in 2002, After Forever did a tour with Nightwish, so the contacts were there. When things went really south with Anette [Olzon, singer from 2007 to 2012], they called me and said: “Could you come and finish this North American tour, could you come today, and do you know the songs? And by the way, it’s a ninety-minute set.” They called me on Saturday, I travelled on Sunday, and Monday was our first show.

What was going through your mind when you got the call?

It was a vast range of emotions. There’s not much time to think when the biggest band in the genre calls you and for real says: “Would you like to join?” The immediate answer is yes, and then comes the consequences of an answer like that. And it happened right after I had a burnout. I was out of business for over a year and a half at that point, so I was slightly out of practice. So it was really jumping back into the deep end. I think that was the best thing that could have happened to me.

Have you spoken to Anette or Tarja [Turunen, original vocalist] about how Nightwish was for them?

No, we never really went there. I know Tarja better than Anette. She sent me a very nice email when I joined the band to wish me all the best of luck, but I didn’t pick her brain on anything else because things weren’t particularly warm. The same goes for Tarja.

You’re currently on a year out from Nightwish, focusing on family life. Does the idea of motherhood seem at odds with the idea of being a rock star?

I don’t know what a rock star is, but I don’t think I am one. It’s the life of being out on the road. It’s the life of being busy with yourself, basically, just like everybody with a career. And the more you chase your career, the more selfish in a sense you actually are. It doesn’t need to be negative per se. But when you become a parent, a big part of you becomes a part of your child. And that is a very interesting transition.

How have you coped with the transition?

I wrote a song a few years ago with my Dutch band, ReVamp, called Wolf And

Dog. It’s about this life, the life you have at home, with family and friends. It usually comes with a routine, it’s warm and comfortable. That’s where the dog is lying on the couch and liking its routine. Then there’s the wolf, the hunter, the one that goes out and chases shows. The wolf and the dog are both a part of me, and they both need their share. And if there’s a balance between the two of them, then I have a balance. When you become a parent, it becomes even more important.