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Lena Meyer-Landrut

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Lena Meyer-Landrut

Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 23 May 1991),[1] also known by her stage name Lena, is a German singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 for Germany with the song "Satellite", having won the national pre-selection show Unser Star für Oslo. With her three entries from the national final, Meyer-Landrut set an all-time chart record in her home country by debuting three songs in the top five of the German singles chart.[2] "Satellite" debuted at number one in Germany, and has been certified triple gold since.[3][4] In May 2010, Meyer-Landrut released her first album, My Cassette Player, which debuted at number one in the German albums chart.[5] Lena also won the 2010 Eurovision Songe Contest.

Early life

Lena Meyer-Landrut was born on 23 May 1991 in Hanover, Germany.[6] She is the granddaughter of Andreas Meyer-Landrut, the West German ambassador to the Soviet Union in Moscow from 1980 to 1983 and 1987 to 1989.[7][8][9] She grew up as an only child,[6] and started taking dancing lessons at the age of five; initially doing ballet and later practising various modern styles, including hip-hop and jazz dance.[10] Meyer-Landrut grew fond of singing and appeared as an extra in a number of German television series,[6] however she never received any formal acting or vocal training.[11] She attends the IGS Roderbruch Hannover, a comprehensive high school.[12] The exams for her Abitur diploma were held in April 2010.[10]

Career

Unser Star für Oslo

Despite having had no professional singing experience,[11] Meyer-Landrut decided to take part in the talent show Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo), a newly created national television programme to select the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo. The show was organised by public broadcaster ARD and private television channel ProSieben, as well as entertainer and music producer Stefan Raab. Among 4,500 entrants, Meyer-Landrut was picked as one of the 20 contestants for the show. Asked about her motivation to apply, she stated, "I like to test myself. I wanted to see how I am perceived, and I wanted to hear what people with knowledge have to say about it. I personally can’t judge myself at all."[8]

Meyer-Landrut in Hanover, March 2010

After her first appearance, performing "My Same" by British singer Adele, Meyer-Landrut received much praise from the show's jury panel and was instantly considered the favourite.[11] The following week, Adele's "My Same" entered the German singles chart at position number 61.[13] Meyer-Landrut reached the final of Unser Star für Oslo, mainly performing lesser known songs of international artists such as The Bird and the Bee, Kate Nash, Paolo Nutini and Lisa Mitchell. Out of her eight cover performances, five of the original songs subsequently charted in Germany, with all but one reaching their peak chart position.[14][15][16][17] In the final on 12 March 2010, Meyer-Landrut sang three songs specifically written for the contest, "Bee", "Satellite" and "Love Me". Through televoting, the audience chose "Satellite", written by American songwriter Julie Frost and Danish songwriter John Gordon, to be her designated song in case she wins the show. In a second round of voting, Meyer-Landrut was chosen as Germany's entry for the 55th Eurovision Song Contest, beating the last remaining contestant, Jennifer Braun.[18] The music video for "Satellite" was shot during the night of the final and premiered on German television channels four days later.[19]

Throughout the show, Meyer-Landrut was seen as the clear favourite, often leading internet polls by huge margins.[20] One day after winning Unser Star für Oslo, all three of the songs performed by her in the final topped the German iTunes Store sales chart,[21] making her the first singer to achieve that.[22] "Satellite" sold over 100,000 downloads in its first week, becoming Germany's fastest selling digital release ever.[23] Her three songs all entered the top five of the German singles chart, reaching positions number one, three and four, which no artist had ever achieved since charts were first released in Germany in 1959.[2] "Satellite" was eligible to be certified gold after the first week and platinum after the fourth week of its release.[23][24] The song has remained at number one for five consecutive weeks in Germany.[25] It peaked at number two in both Austria and Switzerland.[26][27]

While competing at Unser Star für Oslo, Meyer-Landrut continued to attend school. The last show was held one month before the start of her final exams.[6] Following her exams, she released her debut album, My Cassette Player, on 7 May 2010.[28] Produced by Stefan Raab, it includes the singles "Satellite", "Love Me" and "Bee", as well as two cover songs and eight unreleased titles. Meyer-Landrut is credited as a co-writer for the lyrics of five songs.[29] The album debuted at number one in the German albums chart,[5] number three in both the Austrian and the Swiss albums chart and number five in Billboard's European Top 100 Albums.[26][27][30]

Following her success in Germany, Meyer-Landrut has said she would enjoy a singing or an acting career,[8] but explained, "I'm not fixated on doing music my whole life."[31] She stated she originally planned to study acting after graduating school, but now is unsure "if time allows".[31] She has said her musical influences include Adele, Kate Nash, Vanessa Carlton, as well as the German singer Clueso and German pop rock band Wir sind Helden.[10]

Eurovision Song Contest

Representing a "big four" country, Meyer-Landrut automatically qualified for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on 29 May 2010. Germany received a wild card during the running order draw, allowing the German representative to choose the country's position for the final. She performed at position 22 out of the 25 entries, and won Germanys first victory since 1982.[32]

Appearances on Unser Star für Oslo

Meyer-Landrut during her first rehearsals at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, May 2010
Show Song Original artist
1st show "My Same" Adele
3rd show "Diamond Dave" The Bird and the Bee
4th show "Foundations" Kate Nash
5th show "New Shoes" Paolo Nutini
Quarter-Final
(6th show)		 "Mouthwash"
"Neopolitan Dreams"		 Kate Nash
Lisa Mitchell
Semi-Final
(7th show)		 "Mr. Curiosity"
"The Lovecats"		 Jason Mraz
The Cure
Final
(8th show)		 "Bee"
"Satellite"
"Love Me"		 Jennifer Braun / Lena Meyer-Landrut
Jennifer Braun / Lena Meyer-Landrut
Lena Meyer-Landrut
Jennifer Braun and Meyer-Landrut both sang different versions of "Bee" and "Satellite" in the final

Awards and nominations

Nominations

  • 2010: Comet – "Best Newcomer"[33]

Discography

Albums

Year Song Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
GER
[5] 		AUT
[26] 		SWI
[27] 		EUR
[30]
2010 My Cassette Player 1 3 3 5

Singles

Lena Meyer-Landrut "Satellite" (2010)
Sample from the chorus of "Satellite"
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Year Song Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds) 		Album
GER
[3] 		AUT
[26] 		SWI
[27] 		SWE
[34] 		EUR
[35]
2010 "Satellite" 1 2 2 41 8 My Cassette Player
"Bee" 3 26 27  –  –
"Love Me" 4 28 39  –  –

"Satellite", "Bee" and "Love Me" charted simultaneously

References

  1. ^ Maier, Jens. Interview Lena Meyer-Landrut: "An Kampf zu denken, liegt mir nicht". Stern.de. 16 March 2010. Accessed 9 April 2010. Template:De icon
  2. ^ a b Lena Meyer-Landrut schreibt Charts-Geschichte. Spiegel.de. 23 March 2010. Accessed 14 April 2010. Template:De icon
  3. ^ a b "Positions for Lena Meyer-Landrut in the German singles chart". musicline.de. Retrieved 2010-03-30. Template:De icon
  4. ^ a b Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Gold/Platin-Datenbank Musikindustrie.de. Accessed 6 May 2010. Template:De icon
  5. ^ a b c PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung / Lena / Longplay Musicline.de. Accessed March 23, 2010. Template:De icon
  6. ^ a b c d Deutscher Depeschendienst. Musik: Lena Meyer-Landrut: Zwischen Grand Prix und Schulbank. Ad-hoc-news.de. 12 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  7. ^ "Andreas Meyer-Landrut". be.bra verlag. Retrieved 2010-03-27. Template:De icon
  8. ^ a b c Harders, Antje. "NACHGEFRAGT ... bei Nachwuchstalent Lena Meyer-Landrut". Bunte. 2010/7, p. 110. Template:De icon
  9. ^ Auswärtiges Amt. Germany - Speech on the 10th anniversary of the Deutsch-Russisches Forum. Auswaertiges-amt.de. 17 February 2003. Accessed 24 March 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Lena Meyer-Landrut. Eurovision.ndr.de. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  11. ^ a b c Fraczek, Jennifer. Kandidatin für Oslo: Wie aus Lena Meyer-Landrut plötzlich ein Star wird. Welt.de. 13 February 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  12. ^ Öztürker, Güngör. USFO : Lena Meyer-Landrut auf dem Weg nach Oslo. Welt.de. 12 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  13. ^ PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung / Adele / Single. Musicline.de. Accessed 24 March 2010 Template:De icon
  14. ^ PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung - Nash, Kate - Foundations. Musicline.de. Accessed 26 March 2010 Template:De icon
  15. ^ PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung - Nutini, Paolo - New Shoes. Musicline.de. Accessed 26 March 2010 Template:De icon
  16. ^ PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung - Mitchell, Lisa - Neopolitan Dreams. Musicline.de. Accessed 26 March 2010 Template:De icon
  17. ^ PhonoNet GmbH. Chartverfolgung - Mraz, Jason - Mr. Curiosity. Musicline.de. Accessed 26 March 2010 Template:De icon
  18. ^ Klier, Marcus. Germany sends Lena Meyer-Landrut to the Eurovision Song Contest. ESCToday.com. 12 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010.
  19. ^ Mantel, Uwe. Lenas "Satellite" feiert Premiere auf fünf Sendern. DWDL.de. 24 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  20. ^ Norddeutscher Rundfunk. "Es ist ein Rausch". Eurovision.ndr.de. 12 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010. Template:De icon
  21. ^ Klier, Marcus. Lena Meyer-Landrut at number 1, 2 and 3 of German itunes charts . ESCToday.com. 13 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010.
  22. ^ Lena Meyer-Landrut: größter Download Hit der deutschen Geschichte. oljo.de. 13 March 2010. Accessed 30 March 2010. Template:De icon
  23. ^ a b Klier, Marcus. Germany: Satellite to be certified gold. ESCToday.com. 22 March 2010. Accessed 24 March 2010.
  24. ^ Maier, Jens. Lena Meyer-Landrut: Satellite wird mit Platin ausgezeichnet. Stern.de. 14 April 2010. Accessed 14 April 2010. Template:De icon
  25. ^ Charts KW 16: Unheilig zurück auf dem Thron. MusikWoche. 13 April 2010. Accessed 14 April 2010. Template:De icon
  26. ^ a b c d Hung Medien. Discographie Lena Meyer-Landrut. Austriancharts.at. Accessed 25 April 2010. Template:De icon
  27. ^ a b c d Hung Medien. Discography Lena Meyer-Landrut. Swisscharts.com. Accessed 25 April 2010.
  28. ^ ProSieben Television GmbH. TV total Oslo spezial. Presseportal.de. 13 April 2010. Accessed 14 April 2010. Template:De icon
  29. ^ My Cassette Player (Media notes). USFO for Universal Deutschland. 2010. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |bandname= ignored (help)
  30. ^ a b Billboard Magazine. European Top 100 Albums: Week of May 22, 2010. Billboard.com. Accessed 21 May 2010.
  31. ^ a b Friedman, Deborah. Germany sends Eurovision star Lena into orbit (Interview). Deutsche Welle. 13 April 2010. Accessed 14 April 2010.
  32. ^ Klier, Marcus (23 March 2010). "Eurovision Song Contest Oslo 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "News — Live: Draw of the running order" ignored (help)
  33. ^ COMET 2010: Nominierungen stehen!. Viva.tv. 29 March 2010. Accessed 24 April 2010 Template:De icon
  34. ^ "Lena Meyer-Landrut's positions for Sweden". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  35. ^ Billboard Magazine. European Hot 100 Singles: Week of April 17, 2010. Billboard.com. Accessed 25 April 2010.

Further reading

English
German
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lena Meyer-Landrut.
Preceded by Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
2010 		Succeeded by
TBD
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