Team The Rasmus (check) consists of four musicians from Helsinki: Lauri Ylönen (vocalist and songwriter), Paula Rantasalmi (guitarist), Eero Heinonen (bassist) i Aki Markus Hakala (drummer). Only the fifth album, titled “Dead Letters”which was released in Poland in August 2003. The album contained 10 compositions in the band's typical atmosphere – melodic, atmospheric, a bit melancholic rock, with a strong guitar backing and strong vocals.
The first single promoting the album was “In the Shadows”, which quickly turned out to be a big hit and is still the band's biggest hit to this day. The group also became famous for the distinctive style of vocalist Lauri Ylönen, who wore heavy make-up and stuck raven feathers in his hair. The musician quickly became an idol of teenagers in Poland and around the world.
Lauri Ylönen was born and raised in Helsinki. He was involved with music from an early age – he learned to play the piano, but quickly changed the instrument to the classical guitar. His sister encouraged him to try singing. When he was in high school, he and his friends decided to form a band, which eventually became The Rasmus. The singer was only 15 years old then and had already decided to drop out of school. Studying interfered with his musical career and rehearsals with the band.
The Rasmus group had to wait until 2003 for their greatest success. Then, thanks to the single “In the Shadows”, they hit the charts not only in Europe, but also in various other parts of the world. The band's subsequent singles were not so successful. A few years later – in 2008 – the Finnish group decided to take a break from creating together.
During this time, Lauri pursued his solo career. In 2011, his solo album was released “New World”. It was significantly different from what the singer recorded with the band. The album was in the electropop style.
Lauri had the opportunity to collaborate with many musicians on individual songs. The most famous is his collaboration with Apocalypticawith which he created the song “Life burns”. He also tried his hand at being a music producer.
In January 2022, The Rasmus informed fans that they were returning with a new song “Jezebel”which Lauri co-wrote with DesmondChild. “'Jezebel' is a tribute to strong contemporary women who control their bodies, their sensuality and sexuality and who fight for equal rights,” said the singer. The group took part in 66th Eurovision Song Contestrepresenting Finland with this strong song.
Since 2004, Lauri has been in a relationship with one of the singers of the Finnish band PMMP – Paula Vesala. The couple valued their privacy very much and rarely appeared together in public. In 2008, their son was born. The whole family moved to Los Angeles. In 2016, after 12 years of being together, they announced their divorce in the media.
Currently Lauri is associated with Katrina Mikkola. The model is much younger than the musician – they are seven years apart. The couple lives together in the USA and raises two children.