No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of the German adaptation of the talent series Popstars and were one of the first television-cast acts to achieve sustainable success throughout Central Europe in the early 2000s. Following a major success with record-breaking single "Daylight in Your Eyes" and debut album Elle'ments in 2001, a series of hit records established their position as one of the most successful female band vocalists to emerge in the early decade. With four number-one hits, four number-one albums and record sales of more than 5.0 million, they became one of the most successful acts in German music history, winning three ECHOs, a World Music Award, a NRJ Music Award, two Comets, a Bambi and a Goldene Kamera.
Gabriele Susanne Kerner, better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In that same year, the band re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena's re-recording of some of the band's old hit songs as a solo artist, produced by the co-composer of most of them, her former Nena band colleague and keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, rekindled her solo career in 2002. Combined with the success of the Nena band years, she has sold over 25 million records, making her the most successful German pop singer in chart history.
Kika is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is managed by a joint venture by public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Its intended audience is children and the youth, devoid of advertising, and it is generally watched by children 3 to 13. The MDR is responsible for its playout.
Blue are a British boy band consisting of members Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Lee Ryan. The group formed in 2000 and released three studio albums before announcing a hiatus in late 2004. In January 2011, the group reformed and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100 points. In 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big Reunion, in which six groups from the past reform for a one-off gig. On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years.
Ilse Annoeska de Lange, better known as Ilse DeLange, is a Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter. In 1998, she gained fame with her single 'I'm Not So Tough', which later became multiple platinum in The Netherlands. Other hits were "Miracle", "So Incredible" and "The Great Escape".
DeVotchKa is an American four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka (девочка), meaning "girl". Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone, double bass, and flute; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet. Per The New Yorker, "Urata’s unaffected voice, which has a hint of Rocky Mountain loneliness in it, gives the group’s sound roots, whether they’re playing a raucous midway tune or a spaghetti-Western ballad."
Nadja Benaissa is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2000 when she auditioned for the German adaption of the reality television show Popstars and became a member of the girl group No Angels, one of the best-selling girl groups of European origin of all time. During their hiatus, Benaissa released her solo album, Schritt für Schritt (2007), which produced the single "Ich hab dich", and represented Hesse in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2006 with the song, finishing in fourth place.
Sandy Mölling is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show Popstars, becoming one of the best-selling girl groups of European origin of all time. During their hiatus, Mölling released a solo album, Unexpected (2004), which produced the top ten singles "Unnatural Blonde" and "Tell Me", and became a judge on the fourth season of Popstars.
Artemis Gounaki is a Greek-German singer, vocal coach, songwriter, composer, and arranger who has done much of her work in Greek. Gounaki's father was born on the Greek island of Crete.
Destiny is the fourth regular studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on 13 April 2007 in German-speaking Europe. A comeback release, it marked the return of No Angels after the group had gone into hiatus in autumn 2003, which allowed each member to launch solo careers. Primarily produced by production duo Twin, with additional contribution from Jiant, Max Martin, Adrian Newman, and Thorsten Brötzmann as well as several new producers, it was the first album to feature No Angels's third lineup, excluding original band member Vanessa Petruo.
Mandy Grace Capristo, also known mononymously as Mandy, is a German singer and songwriter.
Queensberry was an all-female German pop group founded in late 2008. Formed during the seventh season of the television talent show Popstars, Popstars – Just 4 Girls, the original line-up consisted of singers Leonore Bartsch (Leo), Gabriella De Almeida Rinne (Gabby), Antonella Trapani (Anto), and Victoria Ulbrich (Vici). In July 2010, it was announced that both Antonella and Victoria had left the group, to be replaced by new members, Selina Herrero and Ronja Hilbig.
Una Theresa Imogene Healy is an Irish singer. She rose to fame in 2008 as a member of five-piece girl group The Saturdays, who are signed to Fascination and Polydor Records.
Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. In the first half of the 2000s, she joined the Romanian pop group Mandinga, with whom she released two albums. In 2006, she separated from the group and pursued her solo career. She has released three studio albums and one compilation album. She scored a top ten in the Romanian Top 100 with the debut single "Vocea Ta".
Jonathan Ivo Gilles Vandenbroeck, known professionally as Milow, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. Milow released his debut album, The Bigger Picture, in 2006 on his own label Homerun Records. The fourth single from that album, "You Don't Know," became one of the biggest hit singles of the year in Belgium in 2007, and The Bigger Picture stayed on the Belgian album chart for 110 weeks. However, it was not until his second self-released album Coming of Age in 2008, that Milow achieved major commercial success all over mainland Europe. The album peaked at number three on the German Album Top 50 chart, at number four in the Swiss Album Top 100, and peaked in the top twenty of many European charts. The album reached platinum in Germany and Switzerland, it reached gold in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and it sold over 500,000 copies in mainland Europe and Canada.
Popstars (UK) is a British reality television show produced for ITV that aired for two series. The first series, Popstars, aimed to find five singers to form a new pop group. During the second series, Popstars: The Rivals, two music groups were formed to compete for the Christmas number-one single in the United Kingdom.
Eric Khaled Saade is a Swedish singer-songwriter. He spent two years with the boy band What's Up!, leaving the band in February 2009 to pursue a solo career. Saade represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Popular", finishing in third place.
What's Up! was a Swedish boy band formed in Sweden in 2007. The original line-up consisted of Eric Saade, Robin Stjernberg, Luwdig "Ludde" Keijser and Johan Yngvesson. After Saade left the band in 2009 to pursue his solo career, Johannes Magnusson joined the band.
Guckkasten is a South Korean indie rock band. Formed in 2003 under the name The C.O.M., the original lineup consisted of vocalist Ha Hyun-woo, guitarist Jeon Kyu-ho, drummer Lee Jung-gil, and bassist Kim Jin-eok. Due to conscription, The C.O.M. disbanded. In 2007, they regrouped with Kim Ki-bum as bassist under the name Guckkasten, which is the German word for Zograscope. The band intends to make music with psychedelic images hidden under analogous art.
Hungarian pop is the pop music scene of Hungary. It is often associated with Rezső Seress's song "Gloomy Sunday" which was covered by numerous artists. The most notable artists include Zsuzsa Koncz, Kati Kovács, János Bródy, Zorán, Péter Máté and famous bands like Illés, Quimby, Republic,Locomotiv GT, Omega, Neoton Família. Among the new talents are Azariah, Krúbi, and Dzsúdló.
