Juli (band)
Encyclopedia
Juli a German alternative 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...

 band from Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...

, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

, consisting of singer Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel is a German singer and member of the rock band Juli.-Early life:Briegel's family lived in Böblingen in 1978, when Eva was born. In 1982 they moved to Langgöns, Hessen, where Eva attended primary school, before moving to Linden where Eva attended the Anne-Frank-Schule...

, guitarists Jonas Pfetzing and Simon Triebel, bassist Andreas "Dedi" Herde and drummer Marcel Römer. The band was formed with this lineup from the band Sunnyglade in 2001.

Sunnyglade (1996 - 2001)

In 1996 Sunnyglade was formed without a female singer, as an all-male band, consisting of Andreas "Dedi" Herde, Martin Möller (drums), Jonas Pfetzing, Marcel Römer and Simon Triebel, who was also the singer. A female lead singer, Miriam Adameit, soon joined the band. With this lineup, they recorded an album called Pictures of My Mind (1998), which sold 500 copies. When Adameit and Möller decided to leave the band in 2000, they were joined by Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel is a German singer and member of the rock band Juli.-Early life:Briegel's family lived in Böblingen in 1978, when Eva was born. In 1982 they moved to Langgöns, Hessen, where Eva attended primary school, before moving to Linden where Eva attended the Anne-Frank-Schule...

 and Marcel Römer, and the list of band members has not changed since. At that time, the group (still calling itself Sunnyglade) focused on writing and performing songs with English lyrics, and they enjoyed their first major success when they won the Hessischer Rockpreis 2000 and finished second in the Deutscher Pop-Preis contest.

After the signing of their first recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 in early 2001, Sunnyglade started working on recordings with producer Lutz Fahrenkrog-Petersen. Soon the quintet decided to turn to songs with German lyrics. At this time they also abandoned the name Sunnyglade and all their songs, and renamed themselves Juli, which they chose from the song with the same name by another band from Berlin called Tex.

Formation of Juli (2002 - 2003)

The band's first gigs as Juli took place in June 2002. They recorded their first professional demo in October 2002 with producer Michael Gerlach. Due to the positive feedback of various record labels, their music publisher decided to organize a showcase, which occurred on January 16, 2003, at the Oxymoron in Berlin. Three months later, on April 24 Universal Music organized an "Unplugged
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...

 Showcase"
for several artists in front of a jury. Singer Eva Briegel and guitarist Jonas Pfetzing contributed four songs in the name of the band. Presumably their record contract was a result of that performance; they got the contract on the recommendation of an A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 rep who had seen them perform on January 16 and recommended them. In August 2003, four years after they had set that goal, they signed their first recording contract at Popkomm
Popkomm
Popkomm is an international trade show for the music and entertainment business, and also integrates a congress and festival. It is held in Berlin but has had entries from at least 55 other countries. Popkomm is organised by Popkomm GmbH, Berlin.- History :...

 in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

.

Es ist Juli (2004 - 2005)

In June 2004, Juli release their debut single "Perfekte Welle
Perfekte Welle
"Perfekte Welle" , was the name of the first single of German pop/rock group Juli. It was the first release from their album, Es ist Juli, and peaked at number two in the German and Austrian single charts....

", which turned into a kind of anthem for the new rise in popularity of German song lyrics, and also gave its name to a collection of compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 of music with German lyrics (Perfekte Welle - Musik von hier). Though the single debuted at a modest number 38 on the German singles charts and instantly fell out of the top 40 in its second week, the song soon recovered and due to heavy radio airplay and massive CD single sales, "Perfekte Welle" finally entered the German top 10 in its eleventh week. The song peaked at number 2 four months after release and eventually received a Gold certification. It has sold over 160,000 copies in Germany. However, "Perfekte Welle" (German for "Perfect Wave") was the subject of controversy and was banned from radio and TV stations after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

 (see below). The song later became and currently is available for download for Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

 the video game.

The band's critically acclaimed debut album Es ist Juli
Es ist Juli
Es ist Juli is the debut studio album by German pop/rock band Juli, released on September 20, 2004 via Universal Records. The album entered the German Top 100 at #3 and later reached #2. With more than 700,000 copies sold until March 2005, it gained double platinum.- Track listing :-Album:...

was released in September 2004 and peaked at #2 in Germany, #4 in Austria and #7 in Switzerland, selling more than 700,000 copies within a few months. By July 2006, it had sold over 1 million copies, and thus reached the status of a quadruple platinum record. Though the album became the fourth most successful album of the year (it stayed and in the German top 25 charts for a complete year) and it spawned another four singles, only "Geile Zeit", the album's second single, made it into the German Top 20. The song was the winning title of the first Bundesvision Song Contest
Bundesvision Song Contest
The Bundesvision Song Contest is an annual competition created by German TV entertainer Stefan Raab in 2005. For each of the 16 states of Germany a song is chosen by regional radio stations. The songs are performed on live television in order to find the most popular song in the competition...

 in which Juli represented their home province of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

. In July of the same year, Juli participated in the Berlin Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...

 concert.

After participating in a radio-tour organized by Eins Live through Nordrhein-Westfalen in September 2004, Juli started their own club tour through Germany, which was completely sold out. After that followed a tour opening for Rosenstolz
Rosenstolz
Rosenstolz is a German music band from Berlin. Their music combines several styles including rock, pop and ballads. AnNa R. and Peter Plate form the duo. They had their breakthrough in 1998 with the song Herzensschöner...

 through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

After the tsunami disaster in southeast Asia in December 2004, when tidal waves killed more than 280,000 people, most radio stations took "Perfekte Welle" out of rotation right away, because, according to them, its lyrics had become involuntarily ambiguous and could cause offense. The song is actually about a surfer who is waiting for a wave to ride on, a metaphor for taking chances after long periods of waiting and hoping. Apparently at various radio stations during the first few days after the catastrophe, because of auto rotation, the song popped up right after reports from the affected area, and some of the audience considered this to be deliberate sarcasm. Some fans tried to convince the stations that the song had a positive message and nothing to do with the disaster, but the band and Universal Music showed understanding with the stations.

On February 12, 2005, Juli won the first prize in the Bundesvision Song Contest in their home, Hesse, with the song "Geile Zeit". A few days later the real "Es ist Juli" tour started, in which the band played many concerts and festival gigs. They spent most of the 2005 on tour. They also participated in the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...

 concert in Berlin, where they performed the songs "Geile Zeit" and "Perfekte Welle". At that time three more singles were released: "Regen und Meer", "Warum", and "November", but none had the same success as their predecessor. The video of "Regen und Meer" got some attention in the media, because the band was playing the part of a terrorist group from 1977 and referred directly to the Red Army Faction (RAF) and the abduction and murder of Hanns-Martin Schleyer.

Ein neuer Tag (2006 - 2009)

From third quarter 2005 onwards, the band made very few official appearances, choosing instead to retreat to Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

 to work on their second studio album. The band decided to keep the overall tone of the album quieter and more mature than their previous one. During 2006 they played mainly in festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

s, such as the Schlossgrabenfest, Donauinselfest
Donauinselfest
The Donauinselfest is an annual open-air free music festival happening on Vienna, Austria's Donauinsel. It usually happens in mid-June...

, and the Soundgarden Festival. In July 2006, the new album was finally completed.
The time before the release of the album Ein neuer Tag (A New Day) was filled with PR work. On September 22, 2006, the first single of the album "Dieses Leben" was released, and it hit the top 5 single charts right away. On October 13, Ein neuer Tag finally hit the album charts. It sold 75,000 copies within the first week and reached position 18 in the World United Album Charts, and with more than 200,000 pre-orders, it had already reached platinum status by the release date.

On November 30, 2006, Juli won the German Bambi-award
Bambi (prize)
The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...

 in the category music national, and on December 7, 2006, they were awarded the Eins-Live-Krone, Germany's most important radio listener award.

After the release of "Wir Beide", the second single from the album, Juli started touring to support Ein neuer Tag. Some of the concerts sold out weeks in advance or had to be moved into larger venues. After playing in festivals in summer, they will start the second leg of their tour in autumn.

Originally they had planned "Am Besten sein" to be their next single, which was to be released in January 2007. However, the third single finally was "Zerrissen".

On 7 July 2007 Juli performed at the German leg
Live Earth concert, Hamburg
The Live Earth concert in Germany was held at HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg on 7 July 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance:*Shakira - "Don't Bother", "Inevitable", "Dia Especial" with Gustavo Cerati, "Hips Don't Lie"...

 of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...

 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

.

In April 2007, the song Stolen
Stolen (song)
"Stolen" is the second single to be released by Dashboard Confessional off their fourth studio album Dusk and Summer. The song debuted at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2007, and peaked at 44...

by Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....

 was rerecorded as a duet between lead singer Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel
Eva Briegel is a German singer and member of the rock band Juli.-Early life:Briegel's family lived in Böblingen in 1978, when Eva was born. In 1982 they moved to Langgöns, Hessen, where Eva attended primary school, before moving to Linden where Eva attended the Anne-Frank-Schule...

 and Chris Carrabba
Chris Carrabba
Christopher Ender Carrabba is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, and is the vocalist for the American emo/indie rock band Further Seems Forever.-Biography:...

 and released on 27 July 2007.

In September 2007, there will be a couple of new releases. On 21 September, the song "Ein neuer Tag" from the album of the same name will be released. One week later, on 28 September, a live DVD and a live album will be released, both with the name "Ein neuer Tag - live".

Juli do not see themselves as a rock band, but call their own music style "alternative pop". They put high expectations into their lyrics and are always trying to reach more of an adult audience rather than teenagers.

Juli are one of Germany's most-played bands on the radio; their first three singles ("Perfekte Welle", "Geile Zeit", and "Regen und Meer") all reached the top of Germany's airplay charts and all remained in the Top 10 for several months. "Dieses Leben" also repeated this success. It remained number one for five consecutive weeks. They also managed to reach the top 5 with their current single.

In Love (2010 - present)

The last tour concerts for the album Ein Neuer Tag took place in late 2007. Following these, Juli announced that they would take a break from music. Around one year later, they published pictures and videos of their recording studio on Myspace. In September 2010 they released their third studio album, In Love. "Elektrisches Gefühl
Elektrisches Gefühl
"'" , is the name of the lead single from German pop/rock group Juli's third studio album, In Love. It was the band's first release in over three years following a short break following their previous album....

" (Electrical Feeling) was released as the album's first single, reaching number 12 in the German Singles Chart. It debuted on radio in July 2010 and was released on 27 August 2010. Second single "Immer wenn es dunkel wird" (Whenever it is dark) was released later in 2010 and charted at number 37 in Germany.

Relationships to other bands

At the same time as Juli started out with their success, there were a couple of other bands with German lyrics who experienced a breakthrough. Just before Juli rose to fame, the bands Wir sind Helden
Wir sind Helden
Wir sind Helden is a German Alternative Rock band from Berlin, established in 2001 in Hamburg. The quartet is composed of lead singer Judith Holofernes and musicians Pola Roy, Mark Tavassol, and Jean-Michel Tourette. The group's style has often been considered similar to that of the Neue Deutsche...

 (first release in 2003) and Silbermond
Silbermond
Silbermond is a German rock band from Bautzen, Saxony. The band consists of Stefanie Kloß, Andreas Nowak, Johannes and Thomas Stolle.-Biography:...

 (first release in March 2004) for example, celebrated their first success. The fact that all 3 of those bands appear with a female singer and German lyrics got them a lot of attention at first. From the start of their career they had to face such comparisons, which they strictly disclaimed. One thing that is clearly missed out in that case is that all three bands were already writing German songs, and played with the same line up before their first recording contract. In particular Silbermond, whose career started out similar to Juli's as a student band singing English songs, they are frequently compared to Wir Sind Helden by the media, which both bands consider nonsense. Juli have recently appeared in a Dashboard Confessional music video where lead singer Eva Briegel also sang.

Discography

Studio albums
  • 2004: Es ist Juli
    Es ist Juli
    Es ist Juli is the debut studio album by German pop/rock band Juli, released on September 20, 2004 via Universal Records. The album entered the German Top 100 at #3 and later reached #2. With more than 700,000 copies sold until March 2005, it gained double platinum.- Track listing :-Album:...

  • 2006: Ein neuer Tag
    Ein neuer Tag
    Ein neuer Tag is the second studio album by German pop/rock band Juli, released on 13 October 2006 via Universal Records. Both a regular and 'Deluxe' edition of the album have been released; the latter includes a DVD containing the music video to "Dieses Leben", a 'Road-movie' and two making-of...

  • 2010: In Love


Live albums
  • 2007: Ein neuer Tag - live

Awards

  • 2004
    • Bravo Otto category Shootingstar
  • 2005
    • Bundesvision Song Contest
      Bundesvision Song Contest
      The Bundesvision Song Contest is an annual competition created by German TV entertainer Stefan Raab in 2005. For each of the 16 states of Germany a song is chosen by regional radio stations. The songs are performed on live television in order to find the most popular song in the competition...

       winner with Geile Zeit
    • Goldene Schallplatte
      • 5x Gold and 3x Platinum for Es ist Juli (Album) in Germany
      • 1x Gold for Perfekte Welle (Single)
      • in each case 1x Gold and 1x Platinum for Es ist Juli (Album) in Austria and Switzerland
  • 2006
    • European Border Breakers Award
      European Border Breakers Award
      -Organization:The EBBA Awards were launched by the European Commission and are a European Union award. Selection and the award ceremony of the EBBA Awards are organized by Noorderslag Foundation, which has the mission to encourage the circulation of European pop music.-Partners:*European...

       for the best selling German debut album in Europe not including Germany (September 2004 to August 2005)
    • Bambi Category Musik national
    • Eins Live Krone Category Best Band
    • Golden record
      • 2x Gold and 1x Platinum for Ein Neuer Tag (Album)

External links

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