Fans were slightly surprised when Nightwish announced singer Anette Olzon’s departure mid-way through tour. However, it came as an even bigger shock to learn that singer Floor Jansen (formerly of After Forever) had been planning to join the group on tour for some time now. This made many believe that Jansen’s chances at becoming Nightwish’s permanent singer were pretty good. Well now comes keyboardist/primary songwriter Tuomas Holopainen essentially saying “not so fast.”

In an interview with Finnish news program Nelosen Uutiset, Holopainen said that Nightwish are far from choosing a permanent replacement for Olzon. You can watch video of the Finnish spoken segment below, but here’s an English translation of his comment regarding when they might announce a new singer:

“If only I knew. We have agreed with Floor that we’ll perform the concerts that have been already scheduled through the end of next summer and we’ll enjoy ourselves. The feeling in the band is amazing at the moment. But what happens after that and whether Floor will continue, we don’t even want to think about yet. Anything is possible, but nothing will be decided before 2014.”

So there you have it, fans will have to wait until 2014 to find out who the new singer of Nightwish is. Granted, we still think Jansen is the leading contender for the job since she obviously knows most of the catalog and fans have been pretty supportive of her. Well, at least she has a better shot than one particular singer.

Holopainen’s Finnish spoken interview with Nelosen Uutiset can be seen after the jump.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3XxWoaM8MY[/youtube]