If you've been following the breaking Nightwish story over the weekend then here's the latest episode.
Tarja Turunen has issued the following statement in response to being fired by the band after their final show on the current world tour in Finland. Writing to a fan site she says:
"I don't have words to express my feelings at the moment. I am devastated. This thing happened in a way that I didn't have a slight chance to give my opinion about it. I got fired out of a band that represents the last nine years of my life and I am very sad about it. It is very cruel the way the band have handled this in public. This doesn't change the fact that we were doing amazing music together, but I will never forget the fact that they didn't give me the chance to say goodbye for the people as a Nightwish singer.
She goes on to thank her fans for their support and says she's looking forward to seeing them in her own concerts in the near future.
Tarja was given the sack from the band over the weekend by way of open letter from Tuomas Holopainen. In it he sets out the reasons for the bands decision, sighting a difference in motivation as one of the principal reasons for this move, along with the fact that Tarja has made noises of the fact that the next album could have been her last and that she could go at any moment.
"During the last year something sad happened, which I've been going over
in my head every single day, morning and night. Your attitude and behavior don't go with Nightwish anymore. There are characteristics I would never have
believed to see in my old dear friend. People who don't talk with each other for a year do not belong in the same band.
"We are involved in an industry where the business side of things is a necessary evil and something to worry about all the time. We are also a band which
has always done music from the heart, because of friendship and the music itself. The mental satisfaction should always be more important than money! Nightwish
is a band, it's an emotion.
"To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with those emotions have become much more important. You feel that you have
sacrificed yourself and your musical career for Nightwish, rather than thinking what it has given to you. This attitude was clearly shown to me in the
two things you said to me in an airplane in Toronto: 'I don't need Nightwish anymore,' and 'Remember, Tuomas, that I could leave this band at any time,
giving you only one day's warning in advance.'
This one may run and run as they say.