Janita Maria (née Raukko; born 28 December 1978), better known by her stage name Janita, (pronounced "YA-nee-tuh") is a Finnish-American singer-songwriter. Born in Helsinki, she started her career in Finland and later moved to Brooklyn at the age of 17 together with her then manager Tomi Ervi. Janita has released nine albums in her native Finland, some of which reached the top forty chart in Finland. Her third US album, Didn't You My Dear?, was released worldwide in March of 2015 on ECR Music Group.

Early life and career

Janita Maria was born December 28, 1978 in Helsinki, Finland. She learned to sing before she could talk, and began playing electric piano at age three. She started writing her own songs on piano at age four, and often performed and danced with the encouragement of family and her mother. While she was never formally trained in singing, she seriously studied both classical piano and ballet. She was exposed to diverse music at a young age, often singing along to soul music, hip hop, and R&B.