Pete Parkkonen (singer)
| Pete Parkkonen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Pete Eemeli Parkkonen |
| Born |
8 February 1990 Pihtipudas, Finland |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2008 – present |
| Labels |
|
Pete Eemeli Parkkonen (born 8 February 1990) is a Finnish singer singing in both Finnish and English. He took part in the Finnish Idol competition in its fourth season finishing third. After Idol he launched a solo career releasing albums The First Album in 2009 that topped the Finnish Albums Chart followed by I'm an Accident in 2010.
Career
- In Idol
Parkkosen auditioned with "Mies jolle ei koskaan tapahdu mitään", a song by J. Karjalainen. during the competition, he interpreted various songs, most notably "Queen City" and "I Kissed a Girl". In the semi finals, he sang songs from Foo Fighters, Danko Jones and Eppu Normaali making it to the Final 3. The season finals were held on 9 November 2009 with Parkkonen considered the favourite to win. However, he was unexpectedly eliminated in the Final 3 phase finishing third. The grand finale was held on 14 December with Koop Arponen winning the title and Anna Puustjärvi as runner-up.
- After Idol
After Idol, Parkkonen received a recording contract from Sony BMG and was the first season 4 contestants to release an album. Appropriately titled The First Album, he debuted at number 1 in its first week of release. The album went on to sell just over 24,000 copies and was accredited a gold award. Parkkonen's second studio album, I'm an Accident was released on 18 February 2010, but failed to gain the same commercial success peaking at number 21.
He is preparing a third album in 2014 in Finnish language. Preliminary single releases from the prospective album include "Mitä minä sanoin" and "Mun".
- In popular culture
Parkkonen has also taken part in a number of reality television shows including season 2 of Livenä vieraissa (2009) where he sang "Womanizer" from Britney Spears and "Girl In A Uniform" his single. He also took part in Kuorosota, the Finnish version of Clash of the Choirs and broadcast on Nelonen station coming second and donating 20,000 Euros to charity.
Discography
- Albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| FIN [1] | ||
| 2009 | The First Album | 1 |
| 2010 | I'm An Accident | 21 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIN [1] | |||
| 2009 | "Girl in a Uniform" | 5 | |
| 2016 | "Mitä Mä Teen" (featuring JVG) |
3 [2] |
|
- Other songs (in local charts)
- 2009: "The Final Day"
- 2009: "Minute Is a Lifetime"
- 2010: "I'm an Accident"
- 2010: "In Too Deep"
- 2013: "Mitä minä sanoin"
- 2014: "Mun"
- Featured in
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIN [1] | |||
| 2014 | "Etenee" (JVG feat. Pete Parkkonen) |
11 | JVG album Voitolla yöhön |
Personal life
Parkkonen was born into a musical family,[3] and his brother Ville Eetvartti is also a singer.[4] His paternal grandfather was a foreign (possibly French or Spanish) athlete who met Parkkonen's paternal grandmother at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki.[5] Parkkonen has spoken openly about the childhood bullying he had experienced because of his dark skin color that he inherited from his father, Kari.[6][7][8]
Parkkonen has a son (born in 2015) with singer Johanna von Hertzen, a second cousin of the Von Hertzen brothers.[9][10]
References
- 1 2 3 "Pete Parkkonen discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ↑ http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/virallinen-lista/singlet/2016/34
- ↑ PETE PARKKOSELLA edessä superkesä (Finnish) SuomiViihde-lehti
- ↑ UMK 2012 – Ville Eetvartti: “Lasikaupungin” ydin on rakkauden paradoksi (Finnish) Viisukuppila
- ↑ Lehti: Idols-Pete rakastui ensi silmäyksellä (Finnish) Ilta-Sanomat
- ↑ Pete Parkkonen kertoo koulukiusaamisesta: "Olen kokenut rasismia ja nimittelyä" (Finnish) Me Naiset
- ↑ TTK-tähti Pete Parkkonen paljasti ikävän muiston lapsuudestaan! (Finnish) Seiska
- ↑ Kuorosodan kamera käy (Finnish) Keskisuomalainen
- ↑ Hän on Pete Parkkoseen yhdistetty laulaja (Finnish) Me Naiset
- ↑ Tässä hän on! Pete Parkkonen julkaisi ensimmäisen kuvan lapsestaan (Finnish) MTV.fi