Björn Suomivuori
Björn Suomivuori | |
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| Born | January 28, 1986 |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Other names | Björn Blomqvist |
| Citizenship | Finland |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Organization | Rare Breed |
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
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Björn Suomivuori (born 28 January 1986), who is also known by his mother’s maiden name Björn Blomqvist is a Finnish entrepreneur and musician. Björn is best known for being one of the last 16 members of Michael Monroe's team in The 2015 Voice of Finland. Björn Suomivuori has collaborated with musicians such as Michael Monroe, Max Lilja (Ex-Apocalyptica), Sampsa Astala (Ex-Lordi), and producers such as Johnny Lee Michaels (best known for producing The 69 Eyes) as well as Hiili Hiilesmaa (best known for producing music for HIM). Suomivuori has also been coached by one of his idols Doug Blair (W.A.S.P) at Rock Academy in Turku, Finland.
Early life and education
Björn was born on 28 January 1986 to Lisbeth Blomqvist and Martti Suomivuori. He grew up with two brothers in the Eastern suburbs of Helsinki. Björn's father was absent during Björn's childhood which is why Björn later chose his official family name to be Blomqvist to honor his mother.
Björn began learning the piano at a young age after seeing Milos Forman's film "Amadeus," about Mozart. After hearing bands like Europe, Stratovarius, Hanoi Rocks, and HIM, Björn began taking guitar lessons, which were quickly followed by singing lessons. Björn afterward developed an interest in portrait photography and opted to study for three years at Queensland College of Art in Australia and later also completed a BBA at Lund University in Sweden.
Career
Björn started his career with music in 2001 with a radio performance on X3M, a Swedish-speaking Radio channel in Finland. In 2007 he began working as a freelance photographer and musician. In 2008, while in Australia, he released his debut song titled Paint My Windows which got featured on Australian YouTube.
Upon his return to Finland in 2009 Björn was an apprentice for highly esteemed Finnish fashion photographer Samuli Karala who taught him valuable lessons about the creative process. Founder of modeling agency Brand Management in Finland, Toni Korpineva, also had a massive influence on Björn’s career. Throughout the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 Björn’s artistic career came to a halt and he opted to work as a cleaner to make ends meet. With the lessons learned from Karala and Korpineva, Björn opted to pursue a university degree in Business in Sweden.
Through trial and error and world travel, Björn eventually returned to Finland in the summer of 2014 and saw a TV ad of Voice of Finland where one of his idols Michael Monroe was one of the judges and he instantly chose to audition for the show. Björn performed Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses” and both Michael Monroe and Tarja Turunen (best known for Nightwish) turned their chairs. Throughout the competition Björn struggled with being in the spotlight and he had to the dismay of the producers of the show, Björn’s issues with depression and addiction re-emerged. Before the last round it was agreed with Michael Monroe that Björn would not go through to the next round because the experience took a toll on his mental health.
In 2015, Björn’s fsingle “Waterworks” was played on several radio stations in Finland, most notably Radio Rock and received a favorable critical response. His first EP was released in 2016, titled “Nothing But a Scar”, which was a dream come true to Björn as Michael Monroe played saxophone and harmonica on the record. In 2017 Björn worked with Finnish rock great Hiili Hiilesmaa in several recording sessions, but these tracks have not as of date been officially released. Throughout 2018 and 2019 Björn experimented with several music projects, experimenting with acoustic music, progressive rock with Finnish musician Jussi Vuola and even electronic music with Finnish producer Simeon Puukari.
During the pandemic of 2020, Björn wrote several songs and recorded music with producer Johnny Lee Michaels, guitar player Jacob Grajewski and bass player Bryan Ugartachea. This session is also yet to be released.
Following his passion for video games, Björn also runs his own side project in technical recruitment where he recruits e.g. 3D engineers and 3D artists for tech start-ups in the Nordics.
Awards and achievements
- 2008: Best Graduating Advertising Photographer, Kayell Award
- 2015: Participant at The Voice of Finland 2015 (as last 16 in Michael Monroe's team)
Personal life
Björn is fluent in Swedish, Finnish and English. Björn resides in Helsinki and enjoys traveling to Norway and France. Outside of playing guitar, the piano and video games, Björn enjoys lifting weights, and has a keen interest in cinema. Björn has been open in Finnish media about his past with depression and addiction and hopes that through his involvement in the arts he could promote a sober, healthy lifestyle for emerging artists.
In the media