On October 1st NIGHTWISH officially parted ways with vocalist Anette Olzon, citing personal differences. Olzon responded with a farewell note on her official blog page along with the news that she was shutting it down. The message can be found below:

"Dear blog readers:

With this I say farewell to you and this blog. This blog was a way for me, as the singer in NW, to keep more in touch with you NW fans. Now when this chapter has ended, there is no more need for me to do this blog and from today I close it. I want to thank you all for being my readers for so many years, for your loving support and I wish you all a happy and healthy life! Stay kind to others and live life easy!

Just want to say thank you to all of you wonderful people who have written me so kind and warming words today. I have cried reading them and believe me, I will be back again, but I need a little time out before I decide how and where I will blog or show myself again;=) I don't know if it will be this blog or a brand new one but I will let you know, I promise!

I got sad when so many of you got so sad I would stop blogging so I will think about it.

But believe me- I love you all and never think I don't care about you cause I do! Lots of love to you all and strength and honor!

Anette Olzon (from now on just Anette Olsson;=)"

Nightwish issued the following statement announcing Olzon's departure:

"Another chapter of the Nightwish story has ended today. Nightwish and Anette Olzon have decided to part company, in mutual understanding, for the good of all parties involved.

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.

Nightwish has no intention of cancelling any upcoming shows, and as a result we have decided to bring in a substitute vocalist starting in Seattle, October 1st, 2012. Her name is Floor Jansen from The Netherlands (ex-AFTER FOREVER, REVAMP, pictured below), and she has graciously stepped in to help us complete the Imaginaerum world tour.

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."

On Friday, September 28th, Nightwish took the stage at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, CO without Anette Olzon, who was hospitalized due to illness. Support act KAMELOT's backing vocalists Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE) and Alissa White-Gluz (THE AGONIST) stepped in to fill Olzon's role alongside bassist/male singer Marco Hietala.

Olzon released a statement (found below) explaining the situation, and followed it up a day later with her take on having Elize and Alissa stepping-in for her.

"I am so sorry that I couldn't be on stage yesterday in Denver. I got very ill the night before and first went to the ER in the morning and was there for five hours before they released me with some painkillers and thought it was a kidney stone. Unfortunately I got worse at 7PM in the evening and started vomiting heavily and my fever rose. After talking to the hospital they said I should cancel the show and come straight back in to the ER. I was there all night and I was very dehydrated so they gave me two litres of fluid though an IV, they did blood tests, ultrasounds on my kidneys and finally a CT scan. These tests didn't show why I was so ill but probably the stomach pain has a connection with me having the flu or just stress. They did find something else though and for that I'm grateful. If I didn't do the scan I wouldn't know there's a big cyst in my liver and I need to go check it out ASAP at home. I do feel better today but still fever cough and a very sore throat but hopefully I can be on stage tonight, even if it means shorten the set list. Thanks for your time to read this! Enjoy this day!”

Olzon's additional post:

"And one more thing.... I was never asked if it was okay they used Elize and Alissa in the show last night. I don't think it's a good decision they made and I'm sorry for those of you who came to see the whole band but got something else. But I was very ill and this decision wasn't mine. Tonight I'll be on stage doing my best despite illness :-)

Thanks for your support! And you know, this is just music. Like life, sometimes we get ill and shows do get cancelled. Rihanna wouldn't ask Britney Spears to sing for her if she was ill. To think a show is more important than the humans in the band is for me, so totally not in this world."

Footage from the show is available below:

Nightwish are currently on the road in North America supporting their latest album, Imaginaerum. Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:

October

2 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
3 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA
5 - The Grove - Anaheim, CA
6 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
7 - The Marquee - Tempe, AZ
9 - Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
10 - Emo's - Austin, TX
11 - House Of Blues - New Orleans, LA
13 - Revolution - Ft Lauderdale, FL
14 - House of Blues Lake Buena Vista - Lake Buena Vista, FL