Maija Johanna Vilkkumaa is a Finnish pop rock singer-songwriter. Beginning her musical hobbies playing piano at an age before school, Vilkkumaa studied in high school where she and her friends set up the band Tarharyhmä in 1990, which broke up in 1995. While studying Finnish language at the University of Helsinki, she started to take singing lessons and went on to start her solo career in 1999.
During her solo career from 1999 to 2011, Vilkkumaa has released eight full-length solo albums and sold over 300,000 certified records, becoming the tenth-best-selling female soloist in Finland. Along with meeting commercial success, the singer-who writes and composes the songs by herself-has also been credited for her songwriting skills by receiving the Juha Vainio Award. She has also received five Emma Awards, accolades for outstanding achievements in music, awarded by the Finnish music industry federation, Musiikkituottajat, and five Emma nominations.