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Jennifer Rush

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Jennifer Rush

Jennifer Rush is a New York, American based Pop/Rock, R&B, and Adult Contemporary singer, best known for the million-selling single "The Power of Love", which went onto be covered by Celine Dion, and Laura Branigan (Rush also co-wrote "The Power of Love").

Career

Born Heidi Stern, September 28, 1960, in Queens, New York, she spent her childhood in both New York and Bavaria. It was in Germany where she first discovered her passion for music when she met Fabio Pepper, a young and wild artist from Rosenheim. The couple dated for 5 years. In an interview for the german media, she once said that the years with Fabio Pepper were the most wonderful times she spent in Germany and the couple still keep in touch regularly. Fabio Pepper now lives in Europe while Jennifer lives in America. She recorded her first album Heidi Stern in 1979, but it did not get much attention. In 1982, she moved back to Wiesbaden, Germany, with her father, Maurice Stern, an opera singer, trying to establish a career as a singer. Over the next several years she scored hits around Europe with the songs like "25 Lovers", "Flames of Paradise", "Ring of Ice", "Destiny", "If You're Ever Gonna Lose My Love", "I Come Undone" and "Madonna's Eyes".

Her single "The Power Of Love" was the biggest hit of 1985 in the United Kingdom, (as well as becoming a massive hit across Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Australia and South Africa) and was listed in the Guinness Book Of Records as "the best selling single by a female solo artist in the history of the British music industry". It held that status until 1992, when it was outsold by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". "The Power of Love" topped the charts for more than 8 weeks in Australia, South Africa and numerous European countries.

Number one in several countries, Rush's version reached only number 57 in the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that year, the adult contemporary duo Air Supply changed the pronouns in the chorus for their own version, but fared no better on the same chart.

Two years later, gutsy pop-rock vocalist Laura Branigan, best-known for dance-pop successes with "Gloria" and "Self Control" would take her cover version of "The Power Of Love" into the U.S. Top 40. After several more cover versions, Celine Dion made a U.S. chart topper with the same song in 1994. One version, by Michael Crawford, necessitated a lyric-change from "I am your lady and you are my man", to "You are my lady and I am your man", with limited success.

It was Rush's 1987 album Heart Over Mind, featuring compositions by Desmond Child and Michael Bolton and guitar work from Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), that finally brought her Top 40 success in her home country, with the Elton John duet "Flames Of Paradise".

She also scored European hits with duets with Michael Bolton and Plácido Domingo.

While her career continued to result in Platinum and multi-Platinum sales of her albums and singles in both English and Spanish, she was ignored by the masses in her home country, initially because her record label in the U.S. did not understand how to best market her music. A secondary dilemma was her massively powerful voice combined with the bombastic music production of her songs which was seemingly too 'European' for the U.S. listener.

Jennifer continued her success through the 90s in Europe (especially in Germany), releasing four highly-acclaimed albums, the last being 1998's "Classics" (along with new songs, re-recording her biggest hits with the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra). After that she took a well-deserved "time off" in New York City, dedicating her time to her daughter. A series of "best of" collections followed in the new millennium.

Jennifer surprised her fans with a new boxed set—"Stronghold, The Collector's Hit Box"—in August 2007. This compilation includes all Jennifer Rush singles from 1982 to 1991 (with her first record company), and in their "extended versions" where they exist. Furthermore it includes all b-sides and other rare or unreleased tracks (among them four James Bond theme songs with the RIAS orchestra in Berlin—recorded in 1984). Another highlight of the new compilation is the new DJ Dave Kurtis 2007 remix of "I Come Undone".

In 2006 both she and her daughter moved to London in the UK where Jennifer has been continuing working on a new album. In March 2008 she confirmed the new album is set to be released in 2008.

Albums and Singles

  • Heidi Stern (1979)

Single only release:

  • Tonight/Listen to what i say (West Germany 1982, as Heidi Stern)

Single only Release:

"Witch Queen Of New Orleans" (Sweden only, 1983)
  • Jennifer Rush (1984) UK #7, West Germany #2, South Africa #1, Sweden #2
"Into My Dreams" (1983)
"Come Give Me Your Hand" (1983)
"25 Lovers" (1984) West Germany #25
"The Power Of Love" (1985) UK #1 (6 weeks), Australia #1, West Germany #9, US #57, Sweden #3, South Africa #1
"Ring Of Ice" (1985) UK #14, South Africa #4, West Germany #22
"Madonna's Eyes" (1986) UK #84, South Africa #9
"Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer" ("The Power Of Love" Spanish version) (1984)
  • Movin' (1985) UK #32, West Germany #1, Sweden #1, South Africa #3
"Destiny" (1985) UK #96, West Germany #4
"If You're Ever Gonna Lose My Love" (1986) West Germany #24
"Madonna's Eyes/If Youre Ever Gonna Lose My Love" (1986)
"No me canso de pensar en ti" ("If You're Ever Gonna Lose My Love" Spanish version) (1985)
  • Heart over Mind (1987) UK #48, US #118, West Germany #1 (12 weeks), South Africa #2, Sweden #4
"I Come Undone" (1987) West Germany #11, UK #94
"Flames Of Paradise" (Duet with Elton John) (1987) UK #59, US #36, West Germany #8
"Heart Over Mind" (1987) West Germany #25
  • Passion (1988) West Germany #3, Sweden #10
"You're My One And Only" (1988) West Germany #11, UK #90
"Keep All The Fires Burning Bright" (1988)
"Love Get Ready" (1989)
"Viva de mi vida" ("You're My One And Only" Spanish version) (1988)
"Solitaria mujer" ("Keep All The Fires Burning Bright" Spanish version) (1988)

Single only releases:

"Another Way" (1988)
"Till I Loved You" (Duet with Placido Domingo) (1989) UK #18
  • Wings of Desire (1989) West Germany #12, Sweden #18
"Higher Ground" (1989) UK #98
"Wings Of Desire" (1989)

niki evans Single only release:

"We Are The Strong" (1990)
  • The Power Of Jennifer Rush (1991)
"Ave Maria (Survivors Of A Different Kind)" (1991)
  • Jennifer Rush (1992)
"Never Say Never" (1992)
"Vision Of You" (1993)
"Vision De Ti" ("Vision Of You" Spanish version) (1993)
"A Broken Heart" (1993)
  • Out of My Hands (1995) Germany #15
"Tears In The Rain" (1995)
"Out Of My Hands" (1995)
"Who Wants to Live Forever" (Featuring Brian May from Queen - promo release only) (1995)

Single only release:

"Das Farbenspiel des Winds" (Pocahontas' "The Colours Of The Wind") (1995)
  • Credo (1997) Germany #26
"Credo" (1997)
"Sweet Thing" (1997)
"Piano In The Dark" (1997)
  • Classics (1998)
"The End Of A Journey" (1998)
"Ring Of Ice" ("Classics" version) (1999)

DVDs

  • The Power Of Love - The Complete Video Collection (2004)

Despite the title, this DVD misses some videos by Jennifer Rush:

The Power Of Love (full-length and completely different video), Ring of Ice (first video), Madonna's Eyes, Till I Loved you (duet with Placido Domingo) and Never Say Never.

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