Pete Parkkonen (singer)

Pete Parkkonen
Background information
Born
Pete Eemeli Parkkonen

(1990-02-08) 8 February 1990
Pihtipudas, Finland
Genres
  • Rock
  • pop
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active2008–present
Labels

Pete Eemeli Parkkonen (born 8 February 1990) is a Finnish singer. He took part in the Finnish Idol competition in its fourth season, then launched a solo career, releasing the albums The First Album in 2009 that topped the Finnish Albums Chart followed by I'm an Accident in 2010. He is set to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 alongside violinist Linda Lampenius with the song "Liekinheitin".

Career

In Idol

Parkkonen 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".

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu

Parkkonen won UMK 2026 with violinist Linda Lampenius with the song "Liekinheitin", which received a record breaking 570 points and will represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

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

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
FIN
[1]
First Album 1
I'm an Accident
  • Released: 15 February 2010[4]
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Formats: CD, digital download, streaming
21
Pete Parkkonen
  • Released: 25 April 2014[5]
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
20
Pete
  • Released: 23 November 2018[6]
  • Label: Warner
  • Formats: LP, digital download, streaming
8

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
FIN
[1]
"Girl in a Uniform" 2009 5 First Album
"The Final Day" [A]
"I'm an Accident" 2010 I'm an Accident
"Mitä minä sanoin" 2013 [B] Pete Parkkonen
"Mun" 2014 [C]
"Maailma mua vastaan" 2015 [D] Non-album single
"Mitä mä teen"
(featuring JVG)
2016 3 Pete
"Kohta sataa" [E]
"Ei nyt" 2017 [F]
"Myyty" 2018 14
"Kävi niin kävi näin"
(featuring Etta)
"Mä haluun sut tänään" 16
"Voimaa ja valoa" 2020 [G] Non-album singles
"Portaat"
"Täysikuu" 2021
"Oon tässä" 2022
"Joulurauhaa" [H]
"Liekinheitin"
(with Linda Lampenius)
2026 1
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
FIN
[1]
"Sekopää"
(Aste featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2011 [I] Sirkus palaa
"Tuulisii"
(JVG featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2015 3 247365
"Me ollaan ne, Pt. 2"
(Cheek featuring Nikke Ankara, Elastinen, JVG, Kube, and Pete Parkkonen)
2016 1 Timantit on ikuisia
"Doupein"
(Bang for the Buck featuring Pete Parkkonen)
15 Luokkakokous 2 – Polttarit
"Lujaa"
(Tippa-T featuring Pete Parkkonen)
20 Non-album single
"Itketään ja nauretaan"
(PapiPike featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2019 Afrogold
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
FIN
Digital

[1]
"Endless Love Song" 2009 21 First Album

Other appearances

Title Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
FIN
[1]
"Hyvää yötä ja huomenta"
(with the Idols 2008 cast)
2009 7 Tähtiluokka
"Come Alive"
"I Gotta Feeling"
(with Aste, Emma Salokoski, Meiju Suvas, Olli Herman, and Suvi Teräsniska)
2010 Kuorosota 3
"Kuuma kesä"
"Pläski"
"Mikä Boogie"
(with Emma Salokoski, Meiju Suvas, Olli Herman, and Suvi Teräsniska)
"Etenee"
(JVG featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2014 11 Voitolla yöhön
"Se ei oo niin"
(JVG featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2017 [J] Popkorni
"Femme Fatale"
(Lukas Leon featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2018 Simba
"Huoli pois"
(JVG featuring Pete Parkkonen)
2019 14 Rata/Raitti
"Uuden edessä"
(with various artists)
2020 10 Unitas Sigma
"Let It Be" 2021 Laulu Rakkaudelle: Secret
Song Suomi (Season 1)
"Per Vers, taiteilija" 2022 Vain elämää
(Season 13)
"Syntisten pöytä"
"Pilven pääl"
"Kevät ja minä"
"Loppuun asti"
(with Club for Five and Rajaton)
"Lost Boy"
"Pure mua" [K]
"Tääl on niin kuuma"
(with Meiju Suvas featuring Pete Parkkonen)
"Tytär"
(with Ujuni Ahmed, Ani, Anna Puu, and Vilma Alina)
2024 Non-album single
"Sillat"
(with JVG)
2025 2 Unitas Sigma
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Personal life

Parkkonen was born into a musical family,[18] and his brother Ville Eetvartti is also a singer.[19] His paternal grandfather was Pierre Rassin, a black French musician from Martinique, who met Parkkonen's paternal grandmother in Äänekoski in 1953 when he worked for the traveling carnival Suomen Tivoli.[20] Parkkonen has spoken openly about the childhood bullying he had experienced because of his dark skin color that he inherited from his father, Kari.[21][22][23]

Parkkonen has a son (born in 2015) with singer Johanna von Hertzen, a second cousin of the Von Hertzen Brothers.[24][25] Parkkonen has stated that his statement in an interview that he easily falls in love with people regardless of gender was incorrectly interpreted as him being bisexual. He clarified that he did not mean love in a sexual attraction sense.[26]

Notes

  1. ^ "The Final Day" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 21 on the Official Finnish Download Chart.[7]
  2. ^ "Mitä minä sanoin" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 15 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[8]
  3. ^ "Mun" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[9]
  4. ^ "Maailma mua vastaan" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 64 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[10]
  5. ^ "Kohta sataa" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 67 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[11]
  6. ^ "Ei nyt" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 66 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[12]
  7. ^ "Voimaa ja valoa" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number five on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[13]
  8. ^ "Joulurauhaa" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 41 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[14]
  9. ^ "Sekopää" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 22 on the Official Finnish Download Chart.[15]
  10. ^ "Se ei oo niin" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 43 on the Official Finnish Streaming Chart.[16]
  11. ^ "Pure mua" did not enter the Official Finnish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 23 on the Official Finnish Airplay Chart.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Peak chart positions in Finland:
    • All except noted: "Suomen virallinen lista - Artistit: Pete Parkkonen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
    • "Hyvää yötä ja huomenta": "Suomen virallinen lista: Idols 2008 - Hyvää yötä ja huomenta" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
    • "Uuden edessä": "Suomen virallinen lista: Toivon Kärki - Uuden Edessä" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  2. ^ "First Album - Album by Pete Parkkonen". Apple Music (GB). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Kulta- ja platinalevyt - Artistit: Pete Parkkonen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  4. ^ "I'm an Accident - Album by Pete Parkkonen". Apple Music (GB). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Pete Parkkonen - Album by Pete Parkkonen". Apple Music (GB). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Pete - Album by Pete Parkkonen". Apple Music (GB). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  7. ^ "Latauslista 25/2009" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Radiosoittolista 52/2013" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Radiosoittolista 17/2014" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Radiosoittolista 9/2015" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  11. ^ "Radiosoittolista 46/2016" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Radiosoittolista 29/2017" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Radiosoittolista 7/2021" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Radiosoittolista 52/2025" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Latauslista 9/2011" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Striimatuimmat 36/2017" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Radiosoittolista 1/2023" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  18. ^ PETE PARKKOSELLA edessä superkesä (in Finnish) SuomiViihde-lehti
  19. ^ UMK 2012 – Ville Eetvartti: “Lasikaupungin” ydin on rakkauden paradoksi (in Finnish) Viisukuppila
  20. ^ Pasanen, Anni (6 February 2021). "Isoisää etsimässä". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  21. ^ Pete Parkkonen kertoo koulukiusaamisesta: "Olen kokenut rasismia ja nimittelyä" (in Finnish) Me Naiset
  22. ^ TTK-tähti Pete Parkkonen paljasti ikävän muiston lapsuudestaan! (in Finnish) Seiska
  23. ^ Kuorosodan kamera käy (in Finnish) Keskisuomalainen
  24. ^ Hän on Pete Parkkoseen yhdistetty laulaja (in Finnish) Me Naiset
  25. ^ Tässä hän on! Pete Parkkonen julkaisi ensimmäisen kuvan lapsestaan (in Finnish) MTV.fi
  26. ^ "Pete Parkkonen kommentoi väitteitä biseksuaalisuudestaan: "Sain viestejä ihmisiltä, jotka onnittelivat minua rohkeudesta"". Anna.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  • Media related to Pete Parkkonen at Wikimedia Commons