Finnish pop-rock author, composer, musician and performer Anssi Kela was born in Kerava on July 29, 1972. The son of a pianist and a singer, he learned to play several instruments, including guitar and violin, before taking an interest in rock and playing bass in a high-school band called Yhdeksäs and then Pekka. In 1993, the group won a music contest and recorded a single, unsuccessful album, unlike Anssi Kela, whose solo career got off to a flying start with the best-selling Nummela (2001), certified triple platinum. Her single "Milla " is the best-selling single in this format in Finland. In 2003, her second album Suuria Kuovioita again topped the charts and went platinum. Anssi Kela continued in this vein with the albums Rakkaus on murhaa (2005) and Aukio (2007), both of which reached No. 4 and were followed by the compilation Singlet 2000-2010. The singer left major label Sony for the Live Nation label with the album Anssi Kela (#2 in 2013), on which he played all instruments except saxophone. In 2015, his successor Nostalgiaa, which reached No. 3, saw him take an electro-pop route, before the release of his first live album, Parasta aikaa (2016). In 2018, he returns to a guitar-driven pop-rock formula with Ääriviivoja (ranked #4). After the Covid-19 pandemic, the singer - also a Formula 3 racing driver - made a comeback with three singles released in 2022, followed by the hits "P niin kuin puukko" and "Kahden sydämen törmäys" (2024).
