Alexander Klaws
Encyclopedia
Alexander Klaws is a German
pop
singer, who came to fame as the winner of the first season of the television show Deutschland sucht den Superstar
, the German
version of Pop Idol
.
with his parents Richard and Hildegard and older sister Melanie (born 1980). He was an avid soccer player, and still plays soccer on charity teams whenever he finds the time. Alexander'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, Alexander was already taking vocal and piano lessons to strengthen his voice.
. Although he was seen as one of the more inconspicuous 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". In the end he beat out runner-up Juliette Schoppmann
. He earned 70.1 percent of the vote. This record would stand until 2007 when Mark Medlock
gained 78.02 percent of the vote in the finale of the 4th season. Alexander is also one of the two DSDS winners to have never been in the bottom three.
In 2003 he participated in the show World Idol
.
Alexander's first single "Take Me Tonight" (written and produced by judge Dieter Bohlen
) was released in March 2003 via BMG
. The song debuted at number 1 on the German
, and Swiss
singles charts and sold more than 1 million copies domestically, becoming the third most successful single of the year. 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 Held der Gladiatoren.
In 2004 Klaws returned with his second album Here I Am. Like its predecessor, the album debuted at number 1 on the German
charts, but it ultimately failed to live up to the overwhelming success of his debut album. In spite of this, the album managed to snag Klaws another three top-20 hits with "Behind the Sun", "Sunshine After the Rain" and "Here I Am". He went on to record and release a duet with German
singer Sabrina Weckerlin, "All (I Ever Want)
", the theme song to the musical The Three Musketeers
.
After a brief absence from the limelight Alexander returned in early 2006 with the single "Not Like You" and his third album Attention!
. Both the album and the single barely made it to the top 20 on the German charts. As a result of Attention!
s relatively weak showing, SonyBMG opted not to release another single from the album.
From January 2007 until late March 2008, Alexander Klaws played Alfred in the musical Tanz der Vampire in Theatre des Westens, Berlin. He remained with the musical until Tanz der Vampire was replaced by the musical Elisabeth
. His fourth album was released in early April 2008. It is the first album that Klaws has done that is completely in his native language of German
. In March 2010 it was announced that Alexander will be playing the title character in the Hamburg production of the musical Tarzan
after successfully auditioning for the show's composer, Phil Collins
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer, who came to fame as the winner of the first season of the television show Deutschland sucht den Superstar
Deutschland sucht den Superstar
Deutschland sucht den Superstar is a German reality talent show, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by English media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between the years of 2001 and...
, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
version of Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
.
Early life
Alexander had a typical childhood growing up in Sendenhorst, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with his parents Richard and Hildegard and older sister Melanie (born 1980). He was an avid soccer player, and still plays soccer on charity teams whenever he finds the time. Alexander'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
Haddaway
Nestor Alexander Haddaway , better known by his stage name Haddaway, is a Trinidadian-German singer. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit, "What Is Love".- Early life :...
's "What Is Love" on a national TV show for children. By the time he was 13, Alexander was already taking vocal and piano lessons to strengthen his voice.
Career
In 2002 Klaws participated in the first season of Deutschland sucht den SuperstarDeutschland sucht den Superstar
Deutschland sucht den Superstar is a German reality talent show, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by English media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between the years of 2001 and...
. Although he was seen as one of the more inconspicuous finalists at the very beginning of the show, he was able to boost his popularity constantly with standout performances of Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
' "Angels" or Michael Sembello's "Maniac". In the end he beat out runner-up Juliette Schoppmann
Juliette Schoppmann
Juliette Schoppmann is a German singer, who came to fame as the runner-up of the first season of the television show Deutschland sucht den SuperStar, the German version of American/Pop Idol....
. He earned 70.1 percent of the vote. This record would stand until 2007 when Mark Medlock
Mark Medlock
Mark Medlock is a German singer and the winner of the season 4 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar , the German version of Pop Idol.-Early life:...
gained 78.02 percent of the vote in the finale of the 4th season. Alexander is also one of the two DSDS winners to have never been in the bottom three.
In 2003 he participated in the show World Idol
World Idol
World Idol was the title of a one-off international version of the television show Pop Idol, featuring winners of the various national Idol shows around the world competing against each other.The performance show was held on Christmas Day 2003, with the results show held on New Year's Day...
.
DSDS Performances
| Topic of the Show (Mottoshow number) | Song | Original Artist | Place/Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 30 Show (Semi Finals) | Angels | Robbie Williams Robbie Williams Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams... |
29% (1/10) |
| My Idol (Motto 1) | Every Breath You Take Every Breath You Take "Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the... |
Sting & The Police The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland... |
8.1% (4/10) |
| Love Songs (Motto 2) | Hello Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is attested in writing as early as the 1830s.-First use:Hello, with that spelling, was used in publications as early as 1833. These include an 1833 American book called The Sketches and Eccentricities of Col... |
Lionel Richie Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records... |
6.2% (5/9) |
| Hits of 2002 (Motto 3) | If Tomorrow Never Comes If Tomorrow Never Comes "If Tomorrow Never Comes" served as the first single from Irish singer/songwriter Ronan Keating's second studio album, Destination. The song was produced by Steve Mac. The song peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as making the Top 10 in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Germany,... |
Ronan Keating Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Keating debuted on the professional music scene alongside Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately, in 1994 as the lead singer of Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999, and... |
17.6% (3/8) |
| Musicals (Motto 4) | Starlight Express Starlight Express Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates... |
from Starlight Express Starlight Express Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates... |
15.2% (4/7) |
| Songs of the 80's (Motto 5) | Right Here Waiting Right Here Waiting "Right Here Waiting" is a ballad recorded by Richard Marx on his second album, Repeat Offender. "Right Here Waiting" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the 700th song to do so. It also peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom.-Background and writing:... |
Richard Marx Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"... |
21.2% (2/6) |
| Big Band (Motto 6) | Mack the Knife Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the... |
Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatra Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the... |
24.9% (2/5) |
| Disco and Songs of the 70's (Motto 7) | Maniac Maniac (song) "Maniac" is a synthpop song performed by Michael Sembello. The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac.The film Maniac was about a serial killer who stalks his victims in New York City... |
Michael Sembello Michael Sembello Michael Sembello is an American musician and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Career:Sembello was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied with jazz great Pat Martino and began his career as a professional musician by becoming a session musician, working increasingly with... |
36.9% (1/4) |
| Relight My Fire Relight My Fire "Relight My Fire" is a popular song which was written and released by Dan Hartman in 1979, when it topped the U.S. dance-music charts for six weeks... |
Dan Hartman Dan Hartman Daniel Earl "Dan" Hartman was an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for such songs as: "Free Ride", "I Can Dream About You", "Instant Replay", "Love Sensation", and "Relight My Fire", all of which had world-wide success.-Career:Born in Pennsylvania's capital, Harrisburg,... |
||
| Movie Hits (Motto 8) | I Believe I Can Fly I Believe I Can Fly "I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R..... |
R. Kelly R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play... |
40.5% (1/3) |
| You can Leave Your Hat on | Joe Cocker Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles... |
||
| Final (Best of...) (Motto 9) | She's the One | Robbie Williams Robbie Williams Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams... |
70.1% (1/2) (Winner) |
| Maniac Maniac (song) "Maniac" is a synthpop song performed by Michael Sembello. The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac.The film Maniac was about a serial killer who stalks his victims in New York City... |
Michael Sembello Michael Sembello Michael Sembello is an American musician and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Career:Sembello was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied with jazz great Pat Martino and began his career as a professional musician by becoming a session musician, working increasingly with... |
||
| Take Me Tonight | Alexander |
Alexander's first single "Take Me Tonight" (written and produced by judge Dieter Bohlen
Dieter Bohlen
Dieter Günter Bohlen is a German songwriter, singer, musician, producer, entertainer, TV personality, and writer. Bohlen is best known for being part of popular pop-duo Modern Talking during 1984–1987 and 1998–2003.-Biography:Bohlen took his Abitur in Oldenburg...
) was released in March 2003 via BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
. The song debuted at number 1 on the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
singles charts and sold more than 1 million copies domestically, becoming the third most successful single of the year. 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
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
TV movie Held der Gladiatoren.
In 2004 Klaws returned with his second album Here I Am. Like its predecessor, the album debuted at number 1 on the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
charts, but it ultimately failed to live up to the overwhelming success of his debut album. In spite of this, the album managed to snag Klaws another three top-20 hits with "Behind the Sun", "Sunshine After the Rain" and "Here I Am". He went on to record and release a duet with German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
singer Sabrina Weckerlin, "All (I Ever Want)
All (I Ever Want)
"All " is the 1st single from the album Attention! by Alexander Klaws.-Single 1:#All #Alles#All - Alternative Version#All - Instrumental#All - Video#Alles - Video...
", the theme song to the musical The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
.
After a brief absence from the limelight Alexander returned in early 2006 with the single "Not Like You" and his third album Attention!
Attention!
Attention! was the third studio album from pop music singer Alexander Klaws, and was released in 2006. From this album, two singles were released; "All " & "Not like You".- Track listing :...
. Both the album and the single barely made it to the top 20 on the German charts. As a result of Attention!
Attention!
Attention! was the third studio album from pop music singer Alexander Klaws, and was released in 2006. From this album, two singles were released; "All " & "Not like You".- Track listing :...
s relatively weak showing, SonyBMG opted not to release another single from the album.
From January 2007 until late March 2008, Alexander Klaws played Alfred in the musical Tanz der Vampire in Theatre des Westens, Berlin. He remained with the musical until Tanz der Vampire was replaced by the musical Elisabeth
Elisabeth (musical)
Elisabeth is a Viennese, German-language musical commissioned by the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien , with book/lyrics by Michael Kunze and music by Sylvester Levay. It portrays the life and death of the Empress consort of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I...
. His fourth album was released in early April 2008. It is the first album that Klaws has done that is completely in his native language of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In March 2010 it was announced that Alexander will be playing the title character in the Hamburg production of the musical Tarzan
Tarzan (musical)
Tarzan: The Musical is based on the Disney film of the same name and the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Music and lyrics are written by Phil Collins, with a book by David Henry Hwang.-Production:...
after successfully auditioning for the show's composer, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
EU European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
||||||||||||
| 2003 | Take Your Chance
|
1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 2004 | Here I Am
|
1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 2006 | Attention! Attention! Attention! was the third studio album from pop music singer Alexander Klaws, and was released in 2006. From this album, two singles were released; "All " & "Not like You".- Track listing :... Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
12 | 19 | 48 | 43 | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Was Willst Du Noch...
|
23 | 58 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
EU Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
|||
| 2003 | "Take Me Tonight" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Take Your Chance |
| "Stay With Me" | 9 | 14 | 28 | 31 | ||
| "From the Heart of an Angel" | 15 | 41 | — | 76 | ||
| "Free Like the Wind" | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | Here I Am | |
| 2004 | "Behind the Sun" | 2 | 15 | 18 | 17 | |
| "Sunshine After the Rain" | 5 | 19 | 36 | 28 | ||
| "Here I Am" | 19 | 45 | 98 | — | ||
| 2006 | "Not Like You" | 16 | 22 | 28 | 40 | Attention! |
| "All (I Ever Want) All (I Ever Want) "All " is the 1st single from the album Attention! by Alexander Klaws.-Single 1:#All #Alles#All - Alternative Version#All - Instrumental#All - Video#Alles - Video... " (with Sabrina Weckerlin) |
12 | 53 | — | 47 | ||
Promo Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
||||||||||||||
| 2008 | "Missing You" | 29 | 60 | — | — | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2" | "Welt" | 63 | — | — | — | Was Willst Du Noch... | |||||||||
| "Sie liebt dich" | 82 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||