Janita

Singer and songwriter JANITA's 1980s-influenced keyboard pop made her a star in her native Finland as a teenager in the mid-'90s. However, after relocating to the U.S., she released her first English-language album, the more adult-oriented, R&B-inclined Believer, in 1997. Her music gradually matured into a mix of soul, smooth jazz, and adult alternative pop that led to radio hits like her sultry cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence." It was offered as a bonus track on her 2005 album Seasons of Life, which hit the Finnish Albums Top 40. JANITA was an American citizen by the time she delivered darker, indie-leaning albums like 2015's Didn't You, My Dear? and 2021's Here Be Dragons, which included a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Digging in the Dirt." Born in Helsinki in 1978, Janita Maria Raukko started playing piano as a child. Inspired by classic soul and R&B, she began her performing career at age 13, and released two Finnish-language albums -- Oma Planeetta and Sävyjä -- in 1993 and 1994, respectively. They made JANITA a teen pop star in her homeland before she relocated to Brooklyn at age 17. Her English-language debut, the smooth R&B-styled Believer, appeared on Dig It Records in 1997. She then signed to Sony's 550 imprint and recorded a self-titled album in 1998, though it wasn't released in America. The singer left Sony and released I'll Be Fine independently in 2001. She had a minor hit at home with "Tunteita," the title track from the Finnish version of the album. JANITA developed a more adult contemporary, jazz-influenced sound by the arrival of her 2005 LP, Seasons of Life. Issued on Ofir Music/Reel Art in Finland and Avex Trax/Lightyear Entertainment in the U.S., it reached number 31 on Finland's album chart and included a cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" that reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Smooth Jazz Airplay chart. After meeting Meshell Ndegeocello, who turned her on to artists such as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, and Radiohead, among others, JANITA's music moved into edgier, alternative territory with 2010's Haunted, which was released by Manhattan-based Engine Company Records. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 2013, JANITA returned with Didn't You, My Dear? on the same label, renamed ECR Music Group, in 2015. The label also delivered her ninth studio album, Here Be Dragons, in May 2021. It included another '90s cover, this time Peter Gabriel's "Digging in the Dirt," as well as guitar performances by ECR label runner Blake Morgan. Lead single "Not What You're Used To" was used in the hit Finnish action film Omerta 6/12, which opened that November.
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