Nena
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about Nena the singer. See also nena (disambiguation).
| Nena | |
|---|---|
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| Years active | 1981-1987 (group) 1987-present (solo) |
| Genres | German Pop |
| Labels | Warner Music |
Nena (born March 24, 1960 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German singer who became famous with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons" ("99 Red Balloons" in the English version). Nena is also the name of the band she played with. With the re-release of her own hits, Nena's career saw a second wind in the year 2002.
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[edit] Biography
Nena was born Gabriele Susanne Kerner in 1960 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She acquired her nickname, "Nena," a Spanish term of endearment for "little girl," during a vacation to Spain at the age of three. In 1977 she left high school prior her graduation to receive training as a goldsmith. Around the same time guitarist Rainer Kitzmann offered her the position of lead singer of his band, The Stripes. The group had a minor hit with the song "Ecstasy" but never managed to achieve broad success, and soon split.
In 1981 Nena and her boyfriend Rolf Brendel moved to West-Berlin, where they met their later band members: guitarist Carlo Karges, keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen and bass player Jürgen Dehmel. A year later the band released their first single, "Nur geträumt" ("Only dreamt"), which came to fame after the band appeared on the German television show "Musikladen".
The following year the band released its self-titled first album, which contained the singles "Leuchtturm" ("Lighthouse") and "99 Luftballons" ("99 Balloons"). The latter one quite accidentally got into the hands of a few Californian DJs, who helped to promote the song internationally. The single managed to become a worldwide #1 hit, becoming Nena's most popular song to date. Nena then released ? (Fragezeichen) in 1984, Feuer und Flamme ("Fire and Flame") in 1985, It's All In The Game (featuring English versions of the songs on Feuer und Flamme) and Eisbrecher ("Icebreaker") in 1986. Despite achieving constant success the group decided to go their separate ways in 1987.
Nena started dating Swiss actor Benedict Freitag shortly after the breakup of the band in 1987. The couple had three children together, the first one being Christopher Daniel, who was born disabled due to medical mistakes made during the birth that caused Nena to go into cardiac arrest. He died at the age of 11 months. In 1990 they had twins, Larissa Maria and Sakias Manuel. After splitting with Freitag, Nena started a relationship with drummer and music producer Philipp Palm from Stuttgart, with whom she has two children, Samuel Vincent (1995) and Simeon Joel (1997). The couple and the four children live in Hamburg today.
Throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, Nena released a wide range of moderately successful solo albums, quite a few of them consisting of songs for children. Simultaneously, she hosted several TV shows, including Metro and the German preselection Countdown Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. In 2002 Carlo Karges the songwriter of the most successful Nena songs like "99 Luftballons" or "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann" died because of liver failure.
In that same year, Nena celebrated her 20th stage anniversary with the album "Nena feat. Nena", a CD consisting of newly arranged remakes of her own hits from the '80s. The jubilee album meant an incredible comeback for Nena, which once again spawned a number of successful chart entries. The remake of "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime" as an English-German duet with Kim Wilde was a major hit in various European countries, hitting the No.1 spot in the Netherlands and Austria, and No.3 in Germany in 2003. She soon released a live DVD. Nena's 2005 album "Willst du mit mir gehn" ("Do You Wanna Go with Me?") quickly achieved platinum status as well. The first single from the album, "Liebe ist" ("Love Is"), shot to #1 on the German charts in early 2005 and was used as the theme song for a German telenovela, Verliebt in Berlin. Nena's "Willst du mit mir gehn Tour 2005" throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in November and December 2005 was another tremendous success for Nena, consisting of numerous sold-out concerts.
The song 99 Luftballons is featured in the 2002 PlayStation 2 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the New Wave radio station Wave 103.
In 2004, Nena took to the stage during the Howard Jones 20th Anniversary concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. Nena sung '99 Luftballons' with a combination of German and English lyrics.
In 2006, Nena plans to found a Sudbury school in Hamburg.
In October 2007, Nena will release a new album entitled "Cover Me", an album composed entirely of cover songs. She also recently voiced Saphira for the German dub of Eragon. The first single for this album, Caravan of Love (feat. Duncan Townsend) placed #29 on the charts. She is currently in New York recording for the album, which will be a double CD (one in English, and one in German). She will release a new single, "Ich Kann nix Dafür" (It's Not My Fault) on April 14th, 2007.
- Nena - 99 Luftballons excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from 99 Luftballons
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- The Stripes (1980)
- Nena (1983) #1 GER
- ? (Fragezeichen) (1984) #1 GER
- 99 Luftballons (1984)
- Feuer und Flamme (1985) #2 GER
- It's All In The Game (1985)
- Eisbrecher (1986) #45 GER
- Wunder gescheh'n (1989) #23 GER
- Komm lieber Mai... (1990) #45 GER
- Nena Die Band (1991)
- Bongo Girl (1992) #32 GER
- Und alles dreht sich (1994) #53 GER
- Nena singt die schönsten Kinderlieder (1994)
- Nena Live (1995)
- Unser Apfelhaus (1995) #69 GER
- Nena und die Bambus Bären Bande (1996)
- Jamma nich (1997) #29 GER
- Nenas Weihnachtsreise (1997) #28 GER
- Wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich (1998) #42 GER
- Nena macht... Rabatz (1999)
- Chokmah (2001) #18 GER
- Nenas Tausend Sterne (2002)
- Nena feat. Nena (2002) #2 GER
- Madou und das Licht der Fantasie (2002)
- Nena Live Nena (2004) #31 GER
- Willst du mit mir gehn (2005) #2 GER
[edit] Bootleg Albums
[edit] Singles
[edit] Group
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| GER Singles | |||
| 1982 | "Nur geträumt" | #2 | Nena |
| 1983 | "99 Luftballons" | #1 (also #1 UK, #2 USA) | Nena |
| 1983 | "Leuchtturm" | #2 | Nena |
| 1983 | "? (Fragezeichen)" | #3 | ? (Fragezeichen) |
| 1984 | "Rette mich" | #11 | ? (Fragezeichen) |
| 1984 | "Lass mich dein Pirat sein" | #53 | ? (Fragezeichen) |
| 1984 | "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann" | #3 | Feuer und Flamme |
| 1985 | "Feuer und Flamme" | #8 | Feuer und Flamme |
| 1985 | "Haus der drei Sonnen" | #43 | Feuer und Flamme |
| 1985 | "Jung wie du" | #47 | Feuer und Flamme |
| 1986 | "Du kennst die Liebe nicht" | -- | Feuer und Flamme |
| 1986 | "Mondsong" | #37 | Eisbrecher |
| 1987 | "Engel der Nacht" | -- | Eisbrecher |
[edit] Solo
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| GER Singles | |||
| 1989 | "Wunder gescheh'n" | #19 | Wunder gescheh'n |
| 1990 | "Du bist überall" | #54 | Wunder gescheh'n |
| 1990 | "Im Rausch der Liebe" | - | Wunder gescheh'n |
| 1992 | "Manchmal ist ein Tag ein ganzes Leben" | #48 | Bongo Girl |
| 1992 | "Ohne Ende" | Bongo Girl | |
| 1992 | "Conversation" | Bongo Girl | |
| 1993 | "Viel zuviel Glück" | Und Alles Dreht Sich | |
| 1993 | "N Zentimeter Liebe" (feat. Kralle Krawinkel) | ||
| 1994 | "Hol mich zurück" | Und Alles Dreht Sich | |
| 1994 | "Ich halt dich fest" | Und Alles Dreht Sich | |
| 1995 | "Weißes Schiff" | Wunder Gescheh'n | |
| 1997 | "Ganz gelassen..." | #75 | Jamma Nich |
| 1997 | "Jamma Nich" | Jamma Nich | |
| 1997 | "Alles Was Du Willst" | Jamma Nich | |
| 1997 | "Auf Dich Und Mich" | Jamma Nich | |
| 1998 | "Was hast du in meinem Traum gemacht" | #91 | Wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich |
| 1998 | "Dann Fiel Mir Auf" | Wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich | |
| 1998 | "Das Ist Normal?" | Wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich | |
| 1999 | "Ich umarm' die ganze Welt" | #98 | Tobias Totz und sein Löwe |
| 2001 | "Carpe diem" | #66 | Chokmah |
| 2002 | "Oldschool Baby" (with Westbam) | #21 | Alles Gute - Die Singles 1982-2002 |
| 2002 | "99 Luftballons (New Version)" | #28 | Nena feat. Nena |
| 2003 | "Leuchturm (New Version)" | #7 | Nena feat. Nena |
| 2003 | "Wunder gescheh'n" (New Version) (with Friends) | #9 | Nena feat. Nena (2003 Edition) |
| 2003 | "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime" (feat. Kim Wilde) | #3 | Nena feat. Nena |
| 2003 | "Nur geträumt (New Version)" | #79 | Nena feat. Nena |
| 2004 | "Bang Bang" (feat. Toktok) | #51 | |
| 2004 | "Schade" (feat. Sam Ragga Band) | #37 | The Sound of Sam Ragga |
| 2005 | "Liebe ist" | #1 | Willst du mit mir gehn |
| 2005 | "Willst du mit mir gehn" | #6 | Willst du mit mir gehn |
| 2005 | "Lass Mich" | #44 | Willst du mit mir gehn |
| 2006 | "Caravan of Love"(feat. Duncan Townsend) | #29 |
[edit] Filmography (for the lead singer)
- Gib Gas ich will Spaß (1983)
- Richy Guitar (1985)
- Der Unsichtbare (1987)
- Tobias Totz und sein Löwe (1999)
- Die Abrafaxe - Unter schwarzer Flagge (2001)
- Madou und das Licht der Fantasie (2003)
- Eragon (2006)
- Arthur und die Minimoys
[edit] External links
- Official Web Site (German)
- Comprehensive Nena fansite (German)
- A comprehensive Nena English fansite
