New NIGHTWISH touring singer Floor Jansen has revealed that she was originally asked to join the band for their upcoming dates in November, December and January but that plans changed over the weekend following the sudden departure of Anette Olzon in the middle of the group's North American tour.

During an October 2 interview with the "Giel Beelen" show on the Dutch radio station 3FM, Floor said, "Saturday morning [September 29] I got a text message saying, 'How fast can you come to the USA?' So I packed everything as quickly as I could and booked a ticket for the first plane and practiced the songs. They had already previously asked me to join them on the road for the dates in November, December and January, [so] I had been preparing for it a little bit for only one week. And since those plans changed [over the weekend], I ended up only having a few days to get ready and a rehearsal of two hours with [the songs'] lyrics in front of me."

Jansen, who called the opportunity to sing for NIGHTWISH a "dream come true," also confirmed that she will be on the road with the band through the end of January.

Asked if fans can also expect to hear her on NIGHTWISH's next studio album, Floor said, "There has been no discussion about that at this point. Right now, the plans is just for me to be a temporary replacement for Anette. All is I know is that it is really an awesome opportunity for me and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it and we'll see what the future brings."

In announcing the sudden singer switch on Monday (October 1), NIGHTWISH said, "In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover."

They added, "We are all strongly committed to this journey, this vehicle of spirit, and we are sure that this will lead to a brighter future for everyone.

"We forever remain excited about the adventures to come, and we are extremely proud of the two beautiful albums and the wonderful shows we shared together."

Olzon joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 as the replacement for Tarja Turunen after the latter was fired in 2005.

Video below: Floor Jansen being interviewed on "Giel Beelen" show on October 2



Video below: NIGHTWISH performing live on October 3 in San Francisco, California







Pictured below: Floor Jansen

(Thanks: TheWeaponeer)