Nightwish have announced that they and lead singer Floor Jansen are going separate ways. The Finnish symphonic metal band shared the news on social media on 15 October 2026, writing that the split happened by mutual agreement and that no further details about the decision were available at the time of the announcement.
A mutual decision
In their statement, the band described the parting as a considered and necessary step for their future goals, and thanked listeners for the journey together. The band also confirmed that Nightwish will continue.
We have decided, after careful consideration, to continue on separate paths in mutual agreement. This decision is necessary and important for us and for our future goals. Nightwish continues. We move forward and will enter the studio in 2027 to record a new album. As we celebrate Nightwish’s 30-year journey, we could not be more excited about our music and our future.
- Nightwish
Jansen published her own statement on her social media channels, saying that the end marks a new beginning and that although the decision was difficult to make, she believes a bright musical journey lies ahead of her. She added that she will now focus fully on her solo career and give her upcoming album “Hytress”, set for release in 2027, and its accompanying tour room to grow.
The end signifies a new beginning, and although the decision was a difficult one to make, I believe a bright musical journey lies ahead of me. I will now focus fully on my solo career and give my upcoming album ‘Hytress’, to be released in 2027, and its tour room to grow.
- Floor Jansen
Thirteen years behind the microphone
Jansen joined Nightwish in 2012, stepping in after the departure of Anette Olzon, who in turn had followed original singer Tarja Turunen. She was made the band’s permanent lead vocalist in 2013. During her tenure she sang on three Nightwish albums, the most recent being 2024’s “Yesterwynde”. The band, formed in Kitee in 1996 around keyboardist and songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, was inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame in 2018 and won Metal Album of the Year at the Emma Awards in 2021. The remaining line-up consists of Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, drummer Kai Hahto and bassist Jukka Koskinen.
Floor Jansen, from After Forever to a solo career
Floor Jansen, born in 1981, is a Dutch singer who fronted symphonic metal band After Forever from 1997, joining at age 16, until the group disbanded in 2009. She then formed ReVamp, with which she released two albums, before disbanding the project to focus on Nightwish. In 2018 she premiered the hard rock duo Northward together with Pagan’s Mind guitarist Jørn Viggo Lofstad. She is also a frequent collaborator of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, singing in his progressive metal supergroup Star One and on several Ayreon albums, and has contributed to projects such as MaYan and Avalon. Her other credits include Apocalypse, Countermove, Raskasta Joulua and her solo work under the Floor Jansen name.
Nightwish moves forward
The band stated that it will enter the studio in 2027 to record a new album, its first without Jansen since her three-album run. The announcement comes as Nightwish approaches its 30th anniversary, which the band said it will celebrate with continued enthusiasm for its music and future. No replacement singer has been named.
