Alexander Klaws

Last updated

Alexander Klaws
Alexander Klaws 2015.jpg
Klaws at the Oldenburg Stage Academy in 2015
Background information
Birth nameAlexander Klaws
Born (1983-09-03) 3 September 1983 (age 40)
Ahlen, West Germany
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
Years active2002–present
Labels Sony BMG
Website alexanderklaws.de

Alexander Klaws (born 3 September 1983) is a German singer, songwriter, actor, and television host. He rose to fame in 2003 after winning the debut season of the television series Deutschland sucht den Superstar , the German Idol series adaptation. His debut single "Take Me Tonight" topped the German and Swiss Singles Charts and became the third-best-selling single of 2003 in Germany. Klaws's debut studio album, Take Your Chance (2003), also debuted at number one on German Albums Chart. He followed it with his second number-one album Here I Am (2004) and has since released four further albums, including his latest effort Auf die Bühne, fertig, los! (2015). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop charts, including the number-one hit "Free Like the Wind" as well as the top ten entries "Behind the Sun", "Sunshine After the Rain", and "Stay with Me".

Contents

Klaws ventured into acting in the mid-2000s, making his stage debut.

Immediately after his study at the "Joop van den Ende Academie" debut at the Berlin Theater des Westens in 2006, playing the role of Alfred in the musical remake of the horror-comedy film Dance of the Vampires . He has since led several productions, having appeared as Tarzan in Tarzan , Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar , Tony in Saturday Night Fever , and Sam in Ghost the Musical . In 2008, he originated the role of Lars Hauschke in the Sat.1 telenovela Anna und die Liebe . In 2013, Klaws hosted the music programme Goldschlager – Die Hits der Stars on Sat.1 Gold; the following year, he won the seventh season of the dance contest Let's Dance .

Early life

Klaws was born in Ahlen and raised in nearby Sendenhorst to Richard and Hildegard Klaws. He has an older sister, Melanie (born 1980). He was an avid football player and still plays soccer on charity teams whenever he finds the time. Klaws's musical gifts became apparent when he was still in elementary school. He made his first television appearance at the age of 10, performing Haddaway's "What Is Love" on a national TV show for children. By the time he was 13, he was taking vocal and piano lessons to strengthen his voice.

Career

2002–2003: Deutschland sucht den Superstar

In 2002, Klaws was encouraged by his family and friends to audition for the debut season of the reality television series Deutschland sucht den Superstar . Although he was considered as one of the more inconspicuous top ten finalists at the very beginning of the show, he was able to boost his popularity constantly with standout performances of Robbie Williams' "Angels" or Michael Sembello's "Maniac". Klaws went on to win the competition on 8 March 2003, earning 70.1% of the votes against runner-up Juliette Schoppmann and without being sent into the bottom three throughout the season.

Immediately after winning DSDS, Klaws was signed to a record deal with Sony BMG, while jury member Dieter Bohlen was consulted to produce his debut album on the company. On 17 March 2003 his debut single, "Take Me Tonight" was released. The song was performed by Klaws during the season finale of DSDS. The song subsequently debuted at number 1 in Germany and Switzerland. It eventually went on to become the second best-selling single of 2002 behind "We Have a Dream" and was certified quintuple gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). In May he followed up with his debut album Take Your Chance, which saw similar success and spawned a second single "Stay with Me". At the end of a year he entered the top of the charts again with "Free Like the Wind", the soundtrack to the German TV movie Hero of the Gladiators  [ de ].

On 25 December 2003, Klaws participated in the television special competition World Idol in London along the inaugural winners of the several Idol television series around the world. He was contractually obligated to participate, and performed Michael Sembello's "Maniac". On 1 January 2004 he finished ninth in the competition. [1]

Week #ThemeSong choiceOriginal artistOrder #Result
Top 30Semi-finals"Angels" Robbie Williams 1/1029.0%
Top 10My Idol"Every Breath You Take" Sting & The Police 4/108.1%
Top 9Love Songs"Hello" Lionel Richie 5/96.2%
Top 8Hits of 2002"If Tomorrow Never Comes" Ronan Keating 3/817.6%
Top 7Musicals"Starlight Express" Starlight Express 4/715.2%
Top 6Songs of the 1980s"Right Here Waiting" Richard Marx 2/621.2%
Top 5Big Band"Mack the Knife" Frank Sinatra 12/524.9%
Top 4Songs of the 1970s"Maniac"
"Relight My Fire"
Michael Sembello
Dan Hartman
1/436.9%
Top 3Movie Hits"I Believe I Can Fly"
"You Can Leave Your Hat On"
R. Kelly
Joe Cocker
1/340.5%
Top 2Finale"She's the One"
"Maniac"
"Take Me Tonight"
Robbie Williams
Michael Sembello
Alexander Klaws
1/270.1%

2004–2006: Career development

Here I Am , Klaws's second album, was released in July 2004. [2] A musical continuation of his commercially successful debut, he worked with a small number of new collaborators on the album apart from Bohlen, including Yak Bondy, Ingo Politz, and Brix. [2] Like its predecessor, the album debuted atop the German Albums Chart and reached the top ten in Austria and Switzerland, but it ultimately failed to live up to the overwhelming success of his debut album. [2] In spite of this, the album managed to snag Klaws another three hit singles, including the top five hits "Behind the Sun" and "Sunshine After the Rain" as well as the top 20 entry "Here I Am". [2] Also in 2004, Klaws was cast in a supporting role in an episode of the German television series Das Traumhotel , filmed in Bali and broadcast the following year. [2]

In March 2005, he recorded and released the duet "All (I Ever Want)", an English version of the 3 Musketiers theme song featuring vocals from German singer Sabrina Weckerlin. The original version of the duet, "Alles" was released to promote the RTL television film Hero of the Gladiators  [ de ] (2003). The English version of the song peaked at number 12 on the German Singles Chart was later included on his third album, Attention! (2006). [2] Recorded after a short-living hiatus from recording in which she had studied song and acting at the Joop van den Ende Academie in Hamburg, it marked a departure from Klaws's previous work with Bohlen, who gained no credit on the record. Instead, Klaws consulted a wider range of producers to work with him on the album, including Terri Bjerre, Thorsten Brötzmann, and Ivo Moring, who took his work further into the pop rock genre. Upon its release, Attention! became a top 20 success in Austria and Germany only, prompting Sony BMG not to release another single from the album. [2]

2007–present: Musical theatre

Klaws performing in 2008 Alexander klaws ahlen 2008.jpg
Klaws performing in 2008

In December 2006, Klaws made his musical theatre debut at the Theater des Westens stage in Berlin in 2006, playing the role of Alfred in the musical remake of Roman Polanski's satirical horror drama Dance of the Vampires (1967). [2] Following the conclusion of his management and recording contract, he signed a new deal with Cruiser Entertainment which released his fourth album Was willst du noch?! through Edel Music in April 2008. His first album to be primarily recorded in German, it peaked at number 28 on the German Albums Chart and produced two singles. [2] In 2010, Klaws took over the role of Tarzan in the Neue Flora Hamburg production of the same-titled musical based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1999 film of the same name. Running for five years, it closed in 2013. [3]

Klaws collaborated with frequent collaborators Thorsten Brötzmann and Ivo Moringa on his fifth album Für alle Zeiten . Released in September 2011, it reached the top fifty of the German Albums Chart and produced several singles, including "Himmel und Hölle". [2] In April 2013, he served as a supporting act throughout the German leg of British singer Leona Lewis's Glassheart Tour. [2] The same year, Klaws played the role of Ranger in the musical version of the German comedy film Der Schuh des Manitu at the Freilichtbühne Tecklenburg. [2] He returned to Tecklenburg the following year, portraying Joseph in a local production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . [2] He followed it with a role at the Theater Dortmund, starring as Jesus in an adaptation of Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar . [2]

Klaws fifth studio album Auf die Bühne, fertig, los! was released in October 2015 and reached the top forty of the German Albums Chart. [4] In 2016, he reprised both of his roles as Jesus and Tarzan at the Theater Basel and at the Metronom Theater in Oberhausen, respectively. [2] Also that year, he starred as Tony Manero in a local production of Saturday Night Fever at the Freilichtbühne Tecklenburg. [2] In summer 2017, he played Old Surehand at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg. [2] In December 2017, he originated the role of Sam in the German version of Ghost the Musical , based on the hit 1990 romantic fantasy thriller film of the same name, for which he returned to the Theater des Westens stage in Berlin. [2]

In 2021, Klaws won the fifth season of The Masked Singer . [5]

Discography

Studio albums

Stage

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006–2008 Tanz der Vampire Alfred Theater des Westens, Berlin
2010–2013 Tarzan Tarzan Neue Flora, Hamburg
2013 Der Schuh des Manitu RangerFreilichtbühne Tecklenburg
2013 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Joseph Freilichtbühne Tecklenburg
2014–2015 Jesus Christ Superstar Jesus Opernhaus Dortmund, Dortmund
2016Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Theater Basel, Basel
2016 Saturday Night Fever Tony ManeroFreilichtbühne Tecklenburg
2016–2017TarzanTarzan Metronom Theater, Oberhausen
2017 Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg Old Surehand Kalkberg Stadium, Bad Segeberg
2017–2018 Ghost the Musical SamTheater des Westens, Berlin

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Klaws discography</span>

German recording artist Alexander Klaws has released six studio albums and fourteen singles. In 2003, he won the inaugural season of the television competition Deutschland sucht den Superstar and was immediately signed to a recording deal with Sony BMG. He made his solo chart debut in March 2003 with the "Take Me Tonight", which topped the German and Swiss singles chart and became the second biggest-selling single of the year in Germany. His debut album, Take Your Chance, was released in April 2003 and debuted atop the German albums chart. It was certified in three countries, including a gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). Its second single, "Stay with Me" entered the top ten in Germany. In 2004, Klaws released his second album, Here I Am. It debuted at number one in Germany and produced four singles, from which three became top five entries, including "Free Like the Wind", his second number one hit single, and "Behind the Sun", which reached number two on the German singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Me Tonight</span> 2003 single by Alexander Klaws

"Take Me Tonight" is a song by German recording artist Alexander Klaws, the winner of the inaugural season of the television competition Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Written and produced by DSDS judge Dieter Bohlen, it was released as both his coronation song and debut single. Upon its release, it debuted at number-one on the German and Swiss Singles Charts. The song was later included on his debut album, Take Your Chance (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anything but Love (song)</span> 2009 single by Daniel Schuhmacher

"Anything but Love" is a song by German recording artist Daniel Schuhmacher, the winner of the sixth season of the television competition Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Written and produced by DSDS judge Dieter Bohlen, it was released as both his coronation song and debut single. Upon its release, it debuted at number-one on the Austrian, German and Swiss Singles Charts and became one of the highest-selling singles of the year. The song was later included on his debut album, The Album (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Is My Life (Elli Erl song)</span> 2004 single by Elli Erl

"This Is My Life" is a song by German recording artist Elli Erl, the winner of the second season of the reality television talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar, broadcast in 2004. Written and produced by DSDS judge Dieter Bohlen, it served as Erl's coronation song. Released on March 22, 2004 in German-speaking Europe, it debuted at number three on the German Singles Chart and peaked at number six in Austria and number 11 in Switzerland. In total, the song sold 100,000 copies and was later included on her debut album, Shout It Out (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Still Burn</span> 2006 single by Tobias Regner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Have a Dream (Deutschland sucht den Superstar song)</span> 2002 single from the show Deutschland sucht den Superstar

"We Have a Dream" is a song from the first series of German reality talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS). Written and produced by contest judge Dieter Bohlen, the song is performed by the first series' final 10 contestants, who are credited by the programme's name for the single release. The 10 vocalists on the song are Daniel Lopes, Stephanie Brauckmeyer, Daniel Küblböck, Andrea Josten, Vanessa Struhler, Alexander Klaws, Nektarios Bamiatzis, Judith Lefeber, Gracia Baur, and Juliette Schoppmann.

References

  1. "Quotes from "World Idol"". IMDb .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Schulte, Pia. "Kennen Sie die noch? Das machen die ehemaligen DSDS-Gewinner heute". Express.de (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. "The final Countdown für Disneys Musical TARZAN in Hamburg" (in German). Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. Johnson, Billy Jr. (7 October 2015). "Alexander Klaws mit neuem Album". Radio Hamburg . Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  5. "Alexander Klaws: About his "The Masked Singer" participation: "My son suspected it"". News in 24 Lifestyle English. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
Preceded by
None
Deutschland sucht den Superstar
Winner

Season 1 (2003)
Succeeded by