A Finnish pop singer who rose to fame in 2008 on the television show Idols, Koop Arponen embarked on a chart-topping solo career a year later. Born April 20, 1984, in Lappeenranta, Finland, he finished in first place on the 2008 season of Idols, a Pop Idol-style television show in Finland. The second-place runner-up was Anna Puustjärvi, followed by Pete Parkkonen in third place. Like Parkkonen, who advanced to chart-topping success with The First Album (2009), Arponen signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and made his full-length debut in 2009 with New Town, a number one smash hit on the Finnish albums chart. The album includes the chart-topping single "Insomnia," plus the follow-up singles "Every Song I Hear" and "Innocent Eyes." ~ Jason Birchmeier