Born on August 24, 1998, in Turku, Finland, Packalen’s musical journey began early. At just 10 years old, he won the Finnish youth singing contest Staraskaba in 2008. The following year, he represented Finland at the New Wave Junior Contest in Moscow, which was viewed by approximately 100 million people.
Packalen’s breakthrough came in January 2012 with the release of his debut single “Frontside Ollie.” The song quickly became a viral hit, topping the Finnish Singles Chart and earning him the nickname “the Justin Bieber of Finland.” His debut album, Koodi, released in February 2012, achieved quintuple platinum status in Finland. Subsequent albums like Chillaa (2012), Boom Kah (2013), and 16 (2014) continued his streak of chart-topping successes.
In 2015, Packalen released Yhdessä, an album featuring duets with various Finnish artists. He then took a hiatus from music in 2018 to fulfill his mandatory military service.
Returning to the music scene in 2019, Packalen showcased a more mature sound. He participated in Finland’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2023, with the song “Girls Like You,” finishing fourth in the competition.
His 2024 album, Punasel, continued his success, with the single “Häitä pidelly” becoming one of the year’s biggest hits in Finland, achieving triple platinum status and becoming his most successful song on Finnish radio charts.
Throughout his career, Packalen has sold over 370,000 certified records, making him one of Finland’s top-selling artists. His music has been streamed over half a billion times, and he has won multiple Finnish Grammys and an MTV Europe Music Award.
