^Well, Tuomas has confirmed yet again that he will not commit to naming a permanent replacement singer 'till next year; whether it's Floor or finding someone else entirely. So we have a long wait ahead of us.
There's a thread somewhere around here talking about how when Anette was chosen, Tuomas said that it came down to her and another well-known singer on the scene, but he would never name who that other person was. Considering the way things happened so quickly after Anette's sudden departure, I am all the more inclined to believe that the runner-up had been Floor. It all makes sense; if I remember correctly, Tuomas did not want to pick the other person because (I think) he said that recruiting a known name would shift the focus to her fame and less on Nightwish as a group or her as a member of the group (I may be wrong about this). But also, at the time, After Forever was still together so I could see where Tuomas would not want to hire Floor at that time because he may not have wanted her "allegiance" to be divided between two bands, and maybe he worried that she would be more committed to After Forever than to Nightwish, as it was her first band, after all.
I certainly would not be surprised if Floor had been a contender, and because of Tuomas' doubts about Anette having kids, that he didn't keep Floor in the back of his mind as a potential "back-up" possibility in case things didn't work out. To give an example; I know it's a terrible analogy, but consider the role of the runner-up in a beauty pageant. It's not just a title given to the person to make them feel better about losing; in the instance that the winner who is crowned cannot fulfill her duties for whatever reason, the runner-up steps in to take her place. The fact that Floor was brought in so quickly and how she seamlessly integrated herself into the band dynamic almost overnight just suggests that to me. I realize that she had originally been set to take Anette's place after the premiere in Helsinki, but that's still a 6-week time difference there in which Floor was meant to spend practicing the songs. So in any case, I really doubt that she was called that night and magically learned a setlist's worth of songs during the flight to the U.S. I'm sure she's a professional, but I'm also pretty certain she doesn't have magical powers!
At any rate, it would not surprise me to hear at all if Tuomas has had Floor on "stand-by" in the instance that Anette didn't work out or if (because of her having kids or whatever) Anette couldn't fulfill her obligations to Nightwish. Most bands, even if they had a replacement waiting in the wings, could not produce someone that fast who already knew enough songs to complete a show, at least not without having them ready for a certain amount of time beforehand. Either way, it does indicate (at least to me) that Anette had some inclination that she was pregnant before the incident in Denver, because why else would they have made arrangements to have Floor take over after the premiere? While I doubt that Tuomas has had Floor as a "back-up plan" for all these years, I do definitely think that they were working with her for quite some time in advance. Perhaps even as early as the first shows right before ProgPower, as Floor was also there with one of her bands (or performing with some other band, I can't remember which). This is just my take on it, anyway.
I totally agree that the "guest vocalists" angle would be an awesome thing for us to hear, as fans of Tuomas' songwriting. Because at that point, the sky's the limit. He has no set boundaries on the type of voice he can write for, and he can experiment with all kinds of musical styles if he wants to. If he wants to have the more operatic singers on one track, and then shift dramatically to a more rock voice, he can do that. Or "celebrity" guest singers, for example. I mean, we could sit here all day imagining the types of singers out there that would sound amazing on a Tuomas composition. Nor does it need to be limited to one female voice at a time; if he wanted to write a song between two "dueling" female voices, he could do that. That is where the "guest vocalists" angle seems really exciting to me. And as a fan, I'm honestly tired of the revolving door of singers, and think that this way is much more "clean", if you will. No more drama or emotions involved; everyone comes and goes as they see fit, and anyone who comes into it knows that it's Tuomas' show and doesn't get offended when he moves on to the next vocalist or feels his creative vision can better be fulfilled by someone else. I can see where that would work better all the way around, in the instance that Floor doesn't work out.
But again, it's all just speculation on our part. Not like he is going to be sitting around reading all these suggestions made by us fans, right?
