Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel |
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Tokio Hotel is a commercial pop band formed in 2001 in Magdeburg, Germany.
Band history
Identical twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz (September 1, 1989) have been making music since childhood. They were musically promoted by their step-father, who is also a musician, although less active. In early 2001, in their hometown of Magdeburg, they met Gustav Schäfer (September 8, 1988) and Georg Listing (March 31, 1987), with whom they formed the band Devilish. From 2001 onwards, they played in talent shows and small-time concerts. After Bill Kaulitz' participation in a children's Star Search in 2003, he was discovered by music executive Peter Hoffmann. In the end, Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel, ("Tokio", because of the large and lively city Tokyo in Japan and "Hotel", due to their constant touring and sleeping in hotels), and Sony BMG took them under contract. Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the children instruction on songwriting and instrument playing. Shortly before publication of the first album, Sony terminated their contract. In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed an extensive marketing plan.
Success
Their first single, "Durch den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), quickly gained popularity after its release, appearing on the German music charts at #15 on 20 August 2005 and reaching #1 on 26 August 2005; it reached #1 on the Austrian music charts as well. Their second single was "Schrei" ("Scream"), which climbed to #5 on the German charts. They released their debut album, Schrei, on 19 September 2005; the lead singer, Bill Kaulitz, wrote most of the songs. In early 2006, their third single, "Rette mich" ("rescue Me"), was released; it reached #1.
Their first single from Zimmer 483 (Room 483), called "Übers Ende der Welt" ("After the End of the World"), was released on 26 January 2007. It has reached #1. The Zimmer 483 album was released on 23 February 2007. A deluxe edition of the album also is available. The Zimmer 483 tour was scheduled to start in March 2007, but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to use a new stage. However, all of the tickets bought for the tour are still valid.
The video for their newest single, "Spring Nicht" ("Don't Jump"), premiered on VIVA Live on 12 March 2007 and was released on 7 April 2007.
Tokio Hotel's first English album "Scream" will be released on the 4th June 2007 in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. The album was originally going to be released in the United States as well but that decision was revoked and the release will now depend on the success of the album in the UK. The album consists of English versions of a selection of songs from their German Language albums "Schrei" and "Zimmer 483". "Monsoon" will be the first single from the album and is the English version of their very first single "Durch den Monsun".
Jörg Koshorst, A&R for the band at Universal earned the No.15 spot in the World Top 100 A&R Chart at HitQuarters, for signing and introducing Tokio Hotel in numerous countries.
The first single from "Zimmer 483" "Übers Ende der Welt" was recently released under the title of "Ready, Set, Go!" in English. They also recently created a video for "Scream", the English version of the 2005 hit "Schrei". Tokio Hotel has also recently filmed the long awaited video for "Monsoon", which is an English version of the song "Durch Den Monsun".
Awards
2005
- 6 October 2005: Best Newcomer award ad the Super Comet award at the annual Comet Awards
- 24 November 2005: Eins Live Krone award
- 1 December 2005: Bambi award
2006
- 12 March 2006: Best Newcomer award at Echo Awards[1]
- 25 March 2006: Best Newcomer award at Steiger-Award
- 6 May 2006: Goldener Otto award at Bravo Otto show.
- 22 May 2006: Music award at Bild Osgar
- 1 June 2006: Best Foreign Band award and Best Foreign Newcomer award at Bravo Otto Hungary
- 24 September 2006: Best German Popband award at Goldene Stimmgabel
- 15 November 2006: Best-Selling German Act award at the WMAs 2006 in London
- 7 December 2006: Best Liveact award at the Eins Live Krone
2007
- 21 January 2007: European Border Breakers Award, for Schrei and Island/Universal DEU
- 23 January 2007: BZ-Kulturpreis award in Rock
- 25 March 2007: Best Videoclip at Echo Awards
- 3 May 2007: Best Best Video at Comet Awards
- 3 May 2007: Best Band at Comet Awards
- 3 May 2007: Super Comet Award at Comet Awards in Köln
Discography
- Schrei (2005)
- Schrei—so laut du kannst (2006)
- Zimmer 483 (2007)
- Scream (June 4, 2007)
References
- "Tokio Hotel English-speaking Fan siteTokio Hotel UK Template:En icon
- “Biografie”. The Official Tokio Hotel Website. 2007. 11 March 2007.
- “Fotos”. The Official Tokio Hotel Website. 2007. 11 March 2007.
- "Le Groupe". The Official French Tokio Hotel Website. 2007. 11 March 2007.
- "Polish Single Chart". http://pltop50.glt.pl/ 2007. 30 March 2007
- "Tokio Hotel Official French Fanclub" [1] 28 April 2007
- "Tokio Hotel Turkey Fanclub"Tokio Hotel Turkey
External links
- Official German Site Template:De icon
- German Fanclub Template:De icon
- Spanish Fanclub Template:Es icon
- Tokio Hotel US Template:En icon
- Tokio Hotel Does America: Humor and Fansite Template:En icon
- French Site Template:Fr icon
- Tokio Hotel UK Template:En icon
- French Fanclub Template:Fr icon
- Italian site Template:It icon
- Latvian fanclub Template:Lv icon
- portugal fanclub Template:Pt icon
- South Korea Fanclub Template:Ko icon
- Russian Federation Fanclub Template:Ru icon