Michael Wendler

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Michael Wendler
Michael-Wendler.jpg
Wendler in 2013
Background information
Birth nameMichael Skowronek
Also known asLegal names:
Michael Skowronek,
Michael Norberg
Pseudonym:
Mic Skowy (for songwriting)
Born (1972-07-22) 22 July 1972 (age 52)
Dinslaken, West Germany
Genres Pop, Schlager
OccupationSinger
Years active1998–present
Spouses
  • Claudia Norberg
    (m. 2009;div. 2020)
  • Laura Müller
    (m. 2020)

Michael Wendler (born Michael Skowronek, 22 June 1972; legal name after his marriage in 2009 Michael Norberg; also known as Der Wendler) is a German pop schlager singer, television personality and conspiracy theorist. Since his breakthrough in 1998, he has won several awards such as the prestigious Crown of the Folk Music 2012. He has been under contract with Sony Entertainment for many years and has a total of six gold records and one platinum. Wendler also writes songs and lyrics for other Schlager singers under the pseudonym Mic Skowy. [1]

Contents

Life

Wendler was born in Dinslaken. [2] He is of Polish origin. In March 2009, he married his partner of many years, Claudia Norberg in a civil wedding on Sylt and in April 2009 had a church wedding on Mallorca. He sold the image rights to the wedding to women's magazine Die Neue. They have a daughter, Adeline, born in 2002. [3]

On 9 January 2010, he was presented with the Crown of Folk Music Award. He settled in Dinslaken, building a compound with horse stables, which was completed at the end of 2010.

In September 2011, Wendler and Markus Krampe opened the "Nina", a discothèque in Bottrop, where pop artists perform live. Another offshoot of the successful nightclub was opened in Cologne.

In 2016, Wendler moved his family to Cape Coral, Florida, where he continues to write and perform in both the US and Germany. [4] [5]

In 2020, he divorced Claudia Norberg and married 20-year-old Laura Müller, whom he had been in a relationship with since 2018. She left school without graduating and decided to move to Florida with him. They have two sons, Rome Aston and Ocean Amor, born in June 2023 and December 2024, respectively. [6] [7]

TV appearances

In January 2010, The Wendler Clan was aired on the popular German television network Sat.1 in a six-part reality soap broadcast featuring Wendler. In January 2014, Wendler took part in German reality show Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! on the RTL (TV network). In 2015, he participated in the TV show Ich bin ein Star – Lasst mich wieder rein! Although he was injured during the taping of an episode and had to pull out, he still got the most votes in the final show. He was hurt in a bungee cord accident and broke his right wrist suffering a compound fracture, which required an emergency operation. From 15 August 2014 to 29 August 2014, Wendler participated in the Promi Big Brother reality programme and finished in fifth place. In 2021, he was a judge in talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Due to conspirancy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, he left the panel after the auditions were filmed. After being criticized again for his views, the broadcaster decided to cut the singer out of all episodes.

Conspiracy theories

In 2020, Wendler was the centre of a public debate due to his remarks about the COVID-19 pandemic. He accused the German government of 'gross and severe violations' of the constitution. He suggested that all German TV channels, including RTL (whom he worked for), were gleichgeschaltet (a term associated with Nazi Germany) and politically controlled. He urged his followers to create a Telegram account, claiming that this would be the only opportunity to exchange views without censorship. [8] Following the introduction of more restrictive policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in January 2021, Wendler compared the German state with a concentration camp. [9]

Discography

Wendler performing in 2017 Michael Wendler Bremen Ole 2017 Nr. 7.JPG
Wendler performing in 2017

Albums

Singles

Autobiography

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References

  1. "Biografie" (in German). www.michaelwendler.de. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  2. Schlager.de. "Michael Wendler". schlager.de.
  3. "Michael Wendler wird wieder Papa – doch wo steckt Tochter Adeline?". BUNTE.de (in German). 11 August 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  4. Schramm, Holger (2008). Musik im Radio: Rahmenbedingungen, Konzeption, Gestaltung. Springer. ISBN   978-3-531-15372-8. Der Sänger Michael Wendler hat im Jahr 2007 zum dritten Mal in Folge die Oberhausen Arena mit fast 12.000...
  5. Braun, Michael. "German courts issue arrest warrant for former pop singer now living in Southwest Florida". News-press.com. News-Press. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. "Laura Müller + Michael Wendler: Ihr zweites Kind ist da und heißt ..." gala.de (in German). 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  7. "Michael Wendler & Laura Müller: Ihr Baby ist da – der Name ist besonders". www.bunte.de (in German). 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  8. "Michael Wendler steigt bei "DSDS" aus und verwirrt mit Corona-Verschwörungstheorien". 8 October 2020.
  9. "Nach KZ-Vergleich: RTL schneidet Wendler aus "DSDS" raus". 6 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.