Career
A key factor, allegedly, in her being selected to join the group was the similarities between her and Kivi"s appearance. When Kivilaan joined the group, Vanilla Ninja had already been chosen to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Kivilaan initially claimed to be 17 years old, but the Swiss selectors doubted this and discovered her true age.
Foreign a while it looked like the group would have to withdraw, but the fact that Kivilaan would reach her 16th birthday four months before the Contest meant that the European Broadcasting Union allowed the girls to compete.
Kivilaan would eventually leave Vanilla Ninja in December 2005, with the other three members (Lenna Kuurmaa, Katrin Siska and Piret Järvis) deciding to continue as a trio. The reasons given by the group when announcing the decision was that Kivilaan had left by "mutual consent", and that creative differences were the main reason for her leaving.
During her time in the group, Triinu only played a bit part in Vanilla Ninja"s songs, despite her replacing the group"s original lead singer. Kivilaan mostly only provided backing vocals and basic instrumentation during live performances, and was essentially separated from the other three members during their semi-final and final performances at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.
Kivilaan also only appeared sparingly in the group"s music videos, with the exception of "When The Indians Cry", in which she featured prominently.
After leaving Vanilla Ninja, Triinu expressed a desire to return to the music industry once she completes her studies, as a solo artist.