Sunrise Avenue is a Finnish rock quartet. Their style of music includes fast-paced rock songs and soulful rock ballads.
The beginning of the group's activities
Rock quartet Sunrise Avenue appeared in 1992 in the city of Espoo (Finland). At first, the team consisted of two people - Samu Haber and Jan Hohenthal.
In 1992, the duo was called Sunrise, they performed in various bars. Later bassist Jan Hohenthal and drummer Antti Tuomela joined the band.
The band decided to change their name to Sunrise Avenue. During this time, Jan Hohenthal made the decision to focus on his solo projects. He was replaced by guitarist Janne Karkkainen.
Between 2002 and 2005 the band had little success and mostly performed in bars. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to find a label, Samu Haber finally managed to sign a contract with a small label Bonnier Amigo Music.
The first collection of songs On the Way to Wonderland saw the world in 2006 and contained such hits as: Fairytale Gone Bade, It's All Because of You, Choose To Be Me and Make It Go Away.
On October 20, 2006, the guys won "gold" in Finland with their first debut album. On November 29 of the same year, the group modified their work and released another album, which contains additional songs and remixes.
In August 2007 founding member and guitarist Janne Karkkainen left the band due to personal and musical differences. In the short term, Riku Rajamaa was found, who previously played in the band Hanna Helena Pakarinen.
On September 4, 2007, Sunrise Avenue was nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award in the New Sounds of Europe category, and the Live in Wonderland DVD was released on September 28, 2007.
In September 2008, Haber confirmed that Riku Rajamaa is now a full member of the group.
Group success
In the spring of 2009, the next studio album of Popgasm songs and the singles The Whole Story and Not Again were released. The album Popgasm (2010) was followed by the album Acoustic Tour 2010.
The next album, Out of Style, was released on March 25, 2011. The first single Hollywood Hills was released on January 21, 2011 and sold in Germany with a circulation of 300 copies.
In 2013 the band Sunrise Avenue went on tour in Germany with new arrangements of their songs.
On October 18, 2013, the fourth studio album Unholy Ground was released, which started in November and took 3rd position in the American charts and 10th position in the Finnish charts.
Group Awards
Since 2007, the Finnish pop-rock band has been best known for its original ballads and has won several music industry awards.
In addition to the Radio Regenbogen award, Sunrise Avenue has also received the Sold Out Award, Radio Prize Seven and several ECHO nominations.
Among the group's awards since their first album, the quartet has received the European Border Breakers Award, the NRJ Music Awards, the ESKA Award, the Radio Regenbogen Award and two Finnish Grammy Awards.
In March 2008 they were awarded the Regenbogen Radio Horerpreis 2007. In the same year they received the award for "Best export - music success outside of Finland".
In February 2014, the group received the award for the "Best Tour of Finland 2014".
Sunrise Avenue break
In September 2014, Haber revealed that Sunrise Avenue wanted to take a break until the summer of 2015. In 2015, the guys presented a collection.
On October 3rd, the first best-of album released from 2006 to 2014 reached number 1 on the charts in Germany and Switzerland.
The album also included three new songs, including You Can Never Be Ready, which peaked at number 41, and Nothingis Over, which peaked at number 16.
In August 2017, the single I Help You Hate Me was released from their fifth studio album Heartbreak Century, which was released on October 6, 2017.
With their latest album Heartbreak Century, the band entered the German and Finnish charts at number 1. The group has received numerous awards and accolades.
Decay of the group
After 17 years, Sunrise Avenue ended their career together, staged a farewell tour. In July 2020, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING - THE FINAL TOUR, they played their final shows.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that we have decided to end our journey together as a group. I understand why it is difficult to understand what caused the band to break up. But behind all the success there are many things that cannot be seen. There are many different people, each with their own needs and desires. We began to have disagreements, we can not come to a common solution. There is also a feeling that we have achieved everything that was possible. Now it's time to take a deep breath and live for your next dream. We just have to allow ourselves to follow our hearts. What are we doing now after much deliberation?
- commented Samu Haber, lead singer, guitarist and founder of Sunrise Avenue.
The band released their debut album On the way to wonderland and became one of the most successful Finnish rock bands in the world. Looking back on their success, the quartet can look back on five studio albums and over 2,5 million records sold worldwide.
