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 December 19, 2003: Based
on Dieter Bohlen’s chart success in Germany, 2003 turned out to be the most
successful year of his career. Not only did he produce the best-selling album
of the year in Germany (“United”), Dieter Bohlen productions also occupy
ranks number one (“We Have A Dream”), two (“Take Me Tonight”), and three
(“Für dich”) in the German singles charts for the year 2003 overall. The
year-end chart positions for all Dieter Bohlen productions in Germany,
Austria, and Switzerland are listed below. Note that the German year-end
album charts are published in two different versions, one including albums by
various artists, the other one excluding albums by various artists (unless
the album is a specific project such as a tribute concert or a TV or movie
soundtrack). The album chart positions below refer to the charts that exclude
albums by various artists.
Germany – Singles: 1.
Deutschland sucht den Superstar „We Have A Dream“, 2. Alexander „Take Me
Tonight“, 3. Yvonne Catterfeld “Für dich”, 14. Alexander „Free Like The
Wind“, 16. Daniel K. “You Drive Me Crazy”, 41. Modern Talking “TV Makes The
Superstar”, 47. Daniel K. “Heartbeat”, 117. Alexander “Stay With Me”, 196. Deutschland sucht den Superstar „Believe In Miracles“, 614. Bolenski Beat „You’re My
Heart, You’re My Soul“ (Not a Dieter Bohlen production. Music & lyrics by
Dieter Bohlen.)
Germany
– Albums: 1. Deutschland sucht den Superstar „United“, 34. Alexander „Take Your
Chance“, 60. Daniel K. “Positive Energie”, 66. Modern Talking „Universe“,
97. Modern Talking “The Final Album”
Austria – Singles: 8.
Alexander “Take Me Tonight”, 11. Yvonne Catterfeld “Für dich”,
12. Deutschland
sucht den Superstar „We Have A Dream“, 31. Daniel K. “You Drive Me Crazy”,
34. Alexander “Free Like The Wind”
Austria
– Albums: 28. Deutschland sucht den Superstar „United“
Switzerland
– Singles: 9. Yvonne Catterfeld “Für dich”, 30. Alexander „Free Like The
Wind“, 31. Alexander “Take Me Tonight”, 70. Deutschland
sucht den Superstar „We Have A Dream“
Switzerland
– Albums: 69. Deutschland sucht den Superstar „United“
Thomas Anders’ first solo
single after the break-up of Modern Talking, „“Independent Girl“ ranks number
328 in the year-end German singles sales charts.
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 December 19, 2003: Earlier this year, Yvonne Catterfeld hat
a major hit with the Dieter Bohlen production “Für dich”. Her new single „Du
hast mein Herz gebrochen“ is again a Dieter Bohlen production. The Maxi-CD
will contain the following three tracks: 1) Radio Version 2) Accoustic Mix 3)
Instrumental. The Maxi-CD will be released in Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland on January 12. On the same day, the second “Deutschland sucht den
Superstar” album, also a Dieter Bohlen production, will be released. The
album will be called “Magic of Music”. The album has the following track
list: 1) Believe In Miracles 2) A Moment Like Eternity 3) Celebration 4) You
Will Be A Winner 5) Don't Call It Love 6) Come Let's Have A Party 7) Always
And Ever 8) We Wanna Share This Moment Together 9) Wherever You'll Go 10)
Magic Of Music 11) Call Me 12) How Many Times We'll Say Goodbye.
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 December 19, 2003: The
release date of the Dieter Bohlen movie is now confirmed. “Dieter Bohlen –
The Movie” will be launched in movie theaters across Germany on October 7,
2004. The movie is an animated comedy based on Dieter Bohlen’s first
autobiography “Nichts als die Wahrheit” (“Nothing But The Truth”).
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 December 17, 2003: According
to German TV station RTL, thieves broke into Dieter Bohlen’s house in
Tötensen (Germany) last Saturday and stole paintings, clocks, clothes, cell
phones, contracts, personal photos, cash, jewelry, and Dieter Bohlen’s
computer. The damage is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of euros.
German newspaper Bild reported yesterday that a stolen Honda truck belonging
to Dieter Bohlen’s girl friend Estefania was found by the police – there
still is no trace of the other stolen valuables. The thieves also remain
unidentified. As a result of the break-in, Dieter Bohlen decided not to
appear on “World Idol”, the global competition involving the winners of the
“Pop Idol” shows from around the world (“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” in
Germany).
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December 02, 2003:
“Believe In
Miracles”, the first single by the finalists of the second season of German
music talent show „Deutschland sucht den Superstar“ enters this week’s German
charts at number 8. “Believe In Miracles” is the 9th Top 10 single
for a Dieter Bohlen production in Germany this year and the 30th
Top 10 single for Dieter Bohlen over the course of his career. “Believe In
Miracles” also enters the charts in Switzerland at number 21.
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 November 25, 2003: On Thursday, Dieter Bohlen will
receive the German media award “Bambi” in the category “Pop National”. The
award is sponsored by German print magazine “Bunte”. The publisher of the
magazine indicates that Dieter Bohlen will receive this award due to
achieving unprecented success by having five number one hits in Germany
within one year. The awards show will take place in Hamburg and will be
broadcasted on German TV station ARD on Thursday evening.
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November 25, 2003:
“Believe In Miracles”, the first single by the finalists of the second season
of German music talent show „Deutschland sucht den Superstar“ enters today’s
German trend charts at number 8. The charts are based on yesterday’s retail
sales in Germany. By entering the trend charts at number 8, the Dieter Bohlen
production falls short of the high expectations set by the million-selling
number one single “We Have A Dream” recorded by the finalists of the shows
first season.
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November 19, 2003: Thomas Anders’ first solo
single after the break-up of Modern Talking, “Independent Girl”, enters the
German charts at number 17 this week. This is the highest chart position for
a solo single by Thomas Anders so far. Previously, the highest charting
single for Thomas Anders was “Love Of My Own”, which peaked at number 24 in
1989. In total, “Independent Girl” is the 7th solo chart single by
Thomas Anders in Germany. In Austria, “Independent Girl” enters the charts at
number 68.
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November 14, 2003: Next
Saturday, the finalists of the second season of German music talent show
„Deutschland sucht den Superstar“ will present their first single “Believe In
Miracles” on German TV. The song is a ballad composed and produced by Dieter
Bohlen, who will also accompany the „Deutschland sucht den Superstar“
finalists on the piano. The single will be released in Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland on November 24. The Maxi-CD will contain three versions of the
song (Radio Edit, Orchestral Version, and Instrumental).
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November 14, 2003: German
print magazine „GQ“ presented Dieter Bohlen with an award for being the „man
of the year 2003“. In total, awards in ten categories were given to German
celebrities. Dieter Bohlen was honored for his achievements as music
producer, “star maker”, music star, book author, and advertising star. Dieter
Bohlen indicated in German newspaper Bild that he feels humbled by the award
and intends to have an even bigger presence on German TV next year. He
indicated that he will get his own TV show, will write more music for TV
movies, and will release his (animated) movie currently under production.
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November 14, 2003:
Thomas Anders’ first solo single after the break-up of Modern Talking,
“Independent Girl”, will most likely enter the Top 20 of the German charts
next week. The song entered the German trend charts at number six on Tuesday,
fell to number 8 on Wednesday, and is now no longer in the Top 10 of the
German trend charts. The trend charts
are compiled by Media Control on a daily basis and are based on nationwide
retail sales in Germany during the previous business day. On Tuesday, Thomas
Anders appeared on German TV show “TV Total” to promote his single. During
the TV appearance, Thomas indicated that he will soon perform a concert in
Malaysia.
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November 14, 2003: Around
Christmas, a special edition of music talent show “Pop Idol” will air in many
countries around the world. The “Pop Idol” concept originates in Great
Britain but has also spawned shows in the U.S. (“American Idol”), Germany
(“Deutschland sucht den Superstar”), and many other countries. The special
edition show will see the local winners of the “Pop Idol” shows compete against
each other in a global competition. “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner
Alexander will represent Germany in the contest and Dieter Bohlen will be in
the 11-person jury of the show. In Germany, the show will air on December 25.
The show will also air in all other countries participating in the global
competition (check your local TV listings). The results show will air some
time in January.
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November 08, 2003: This week, Alexander enters the German singles sales
charts at number one with the Dieter Bohlen production “Free Like The Wind”.
The single is the 5th number one single for a Dieter Bohlen
production in Germany this year. In total, “Free Like The Wind” is the 11th
number one single for Dieter Bohlen in Germany. “Free Like The Wind” also
enters the Top 10 in Austria (#4), Switzerland (36), and in the European
sales charts compiled by Billboard (formerly Music & Media, #9).
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October 28, 2003:
Alexander’s new single “Free Like The Wind”, again a Dieter Bohlen
production, enters today’s German trend charts at number one. The trend charts are compiled by Media Control on a
daily basis and are based on nationwide retail sales in Germany during the
previous business day.
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October 22, 2003:
According to BMG, the long announced Modern Talking DVD will be called “The
Final Album – The Ultimate DVD“ and will be released in Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland on November 11. The DVD will not contain the Berlin concert as
previously announced by BMG but will contain all Modern Talking videos in 5.1
DVD sound and several extra features. According to BMG, the DVD will contain
the following videos/tracks: 1) You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul 2) You Can
Win If You Want 3) Cheri, Cheri Lady 4) Brother Louie 5) Atlantis Is Calling
6) Geronimo’s Cadillac 7) Give Me Peace On Earth 8) Jet Airliner 9) In 100
Years 10) You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul ’98 11) Brother Louie ’98 12) You
Are Not Alone 13) Sexy, Sexy Lover 14) China In Her Eyes 15) Don’t Take Away
My Heart 16) Win The Race 17) Last Exit To Brooklyn 18) Ready For The Victory
19) Juliet 20) TV Makes The Superstar 21) Documentary (with music) 22) Slide
Show – Don’t Take Away My Heart 23) Discography (with music).
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October 22, 2003:
According to BMG, Thomas Anders’ first solo single after the break-up of
Modern Talking will be called “Independent Girl” and will be released on
November 11 on the BMG distributed record label “Na Klar”. “Independent Girl”
is the first single from a still unnamed solo album by Thomas Anders that
will be released in early 2004. Thomas Anders will appear on several German
TV shows to promote the single (dates to be announced).
Addendum October 24, 2003:
According to BMG, the “Independent Girl” Maxi-CD will contain the following
tracks: 1) Independent Girl (Radio Version) 2) Independent Girl (Extended
Version) 3) In Your Eyes.
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October 17, 2003:
According to BMG, the new Maxi-CD by Alexander “Free Like The Wind”, again a
Dieter Bohlen production, has the following track list: 1) Free Like The Wind
2) Free Like The Wind (Orchestral Version) 3) Free Like The Wind
(Instrumental Version) 4) Like A Hero 5) Free Like The Wind (Video-Clip). The
Maxi-CD will be released in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on October 27.
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October 17, 2003: Four studio musicians (Rolf Köhler, Michael
Scholz, Detlef Wiedeke, and Thomas Widrat), who worked with Dieter Bohlen for many years, are
planning to release a single called “Magic Mystery” under the band name
“Systems In Blue”. Three of the four musicians filled a lawsuit against BMG
in 2001 because they felt that they did not get compensated fairly for their
work on Dieter Bohlen productions (the lawsuit was settled out of court). A similar lawsuit regarding compensation issues was
filled this year by the fourth studio musician. In 2001, BMG Berlin confirmed what Dieter Bohlen had
indicated on previous occasions - Dieter Bohlen, Thomas Anders (Modern
Talking songs only), and the studio musicians who filled the lawsuit all
contributed to the high pitched voices in the chorus of most Modern Talking
(not on “America”, “Victory”, and “Universe”) and some Blue System songs and
all voices are then mixed together and multiplied electronically to get the
typical sound for the high-pitched voices.
However, in the 2001 lawsuit Rolf Köhler also indicated that he sang the male lead voice in the
chorus of most Blue System songs. A sound sample of “Magic Mystery” by
Systems In Blue can be found under this
link (click on “Magic Mystery” to download the sound sample). While the sound
sample is very similar (and in parts almost identical) to “Magic Symphony” by
Blue System, the male lead voice on the sound sample appears to be identical
with the male lead voice in the chorus of most Blue System songs. Dieter
Bohlen clearly sang the verses of the Blue System songs (he sang “It’s All
Over” and Chris Norman’s “Midnight Lady” live on German TV). However, the
sound sample by Systems In Blue appears to prove that Dieter Bohlen did not
sing the lead voice in the chorus of most Blue System songs as he portrayed
on stage.
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October 10, 2003:
Despite the fact that most German book stores are still not selling Dieter
Bohlen’s new book as a result of court orders against Dieter Bohlen and his
publishing house Random House, “Hinter den Kulissen“ („Behind The Curtains“)
enters the German charts for non-fictional hard-cover books at number one
this week. The charts are compiled by trade magazine Buchreport and published
in consumer magazine Spiegel. Sales in the limited number of book stores that
sold Dieter Bohlen’s book because they had not received a copy of the court
orders ordering a distribution stop of the book were sufficient to allow the
book to enter this week’s charts at number one. Dieter Bohlen’s first book
“Nichts als die Wahrheit” (“Nothing But The Truth”) jumped back up from
number 13 to number 4 in the German charts for non-fictional paper-back books
last week and is ranked at number 3 in this week’s charts. Meanwhile, Random
House and Dieter Bohlen lost an appeal against one of the court orders
stopping the distribution of “Hinter den Kulissen“ („Behind The Curtains“). A
court in Hamburg confirmed its previous decision after hearing testimonies
from both sides involved in this legal conflict and ruled that several
paragraphs need to be taken out of Dieter Bohlen’s book. Random House is
preparing the second edition of the book without the paragraphs in question
but announced to appeal the court’s decision at a higher court.
Addendum October 22, 2003: After spending two weeks at number one in
the German sales charts for non-fictional hard-cover books, “Hinter den
Kulissen“ („Behind The Curtains“) is no longer listed in the Top 50 in the
third week after its initial release. At this point in time the book is no
longer sold at all in Germany for the time being.
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October 04, 2003: Today, Dieter Bohlen’s second book
“Hinter den Kulissen“ („Behind The Curtains“) was released in Germany.
However, most major book stores did not sell the book as a result of courts
in Berlin and Hamburg ordering a stop to the distribution of the book for the
time being. The court orders are a results of lawsuits filed independently by
former Modern Talking member Thomas Anders and German celebrities Eva Herman,
Jenny Elvers, and Jens Riewa who claim that Dieter Bohlen lied in his book
when he described encounters with them and thereby violated their personal
rights. In addition to these celebrities, Hartmut Engler (singer of German
pop group Pur) also claims that the chapter in Dieter Bohlen’s book
describing an encounter between him and Dieter Bohlen a few years ago is inaccurate and in
part “only based on Dieter’s dreams”. However, Hartmut Engler decided not to
sue. While Dieter Bohlen’s publishing house has stopped distribution of the
book for the time being, 200,000 units were already delivered to retailers.
Most major German retailers received copies of the court orders stopping
distribution of the book and are therefore not selling the book at this point
in time. However, smaller book stores that did not receive the court orders
were selling the book today and sold out quickly. In addition, the book has
become a hot sales item on online auction sites such as Ebay. While the court
order based on the lawsuits by Eva Herman, Jenny Elvers, and Jens Riewa does
not effect the books already delivered to retailers, the court order based on
Thomas Anders’ lawsuit reportedly orders a complete recall of all books
already delivered to retailers at a penalty of 250,000 euros. Thomas Anders’
lawsuit is directed against publishing house Random House and record company
BMG, which distributes the audio book. In addition, to the distribution stop,
Thomas Anders is seeking undisclosed damages for lies and defamation of
character. Random House is currently preparing the second edition of “Hinter
den Kulissen“, which will not include the paragraphs contested by Thomas
Anders and the other celebrities. However, the publishing house is hoping to
win legal challenges against the court orders and include these paragraphs
again in the third edition of the book. Meanwhile, Dieter Bohlen indicated in
an interview with German newspaper Bild that he considers the lawsuits “great
advertising for his book”. He indicated that he stands behind every word
written in his book and claims that he can prove all of his accusations in
front of the courts (despite indicating in his book that he has no proof for
the allegations against Thomas Anders allegedly falsifying expense reports).
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September 30, 2003: In a statement posted on the
messageboard of Thomas-Anders.com,
Thomas Anders addresses Dieter Bohlen’s accusations about the reasons behind
the second break-up of Modern Talking. In the statement, Thomas indicates
that it was not his wish to perform without Dieter Bohlen in the U.S.
According to him, Dieter Bohlen knew about the request for Modern Talking to
perform in the U.S. at the end of 2002 and in fact had been asked about the
concerts several times by Modern Talking’s tour manager. However, Dieter
Bohlen did not have any interest in the U.S. concerts (although he had always
indicated that it was his dream to become successful in the U.S.). Thomas
indicates that now he understands why Dieter was not interested – because he
had already made arrangements for the “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” tour
without letting Thomas know about that. Thomas also points out that Dieter
Bohlens’ involvement with “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” is the reason why
there was no second single from the Modern Talking album “Universe”. Thomas
claims that Dieter Bohlen lied when he indicates that he only found out about
Thomas performing in the U.S. from “his favorite BMG secretary” right before
the Rostock concert. Thomas points out that according to Dieter Bohlen
himself the very same BMG secretary made the travel reservations for Thomas
Anders and Modern Talking’s band for the U.S. concerts.
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September 26, 2003: Yesterday, German newspaper
Bild started a series of daily articles leading up to the release of Dieter
Bohlen’s second book “Hinter den Kulissen“ („Behind The Curtains“). The
articles preview some of the book’s chapters. The Bild series started with
chapters containing Dieter Bohlen’s comments about Thomas Anders and the
reasons behind the second break-up of Modern Talking. Despite Dieter Bohlen’s
statement earlier this year that Modern Talking did no break up because of
any arguments between him and Thomas Anders, “Hinter den Kulissen“ now
reveals that such arguments are to blame for the second break-up of Modern
Talking after all. While Dieter Bohlen had indicated earlier this year that
this time he would not say anything bad about Thomas Anders (after the first
break-up of Modern Talking a media battle took place between the two former
Modern Talking members), the chapters of Dieter Bohlen’s book published
yesterday and today in Bild are full of insults against Thomas Anders. In the
book, Dieter Bohlen calls Thomas Anders greedy, lazy, and scrupulous and
claims that Thomas Anders “ruined” all of the Modern Talking songs with his
“untrained” voice (despite producing 12 albums with Thomas Anders and despite
indicating in countless interviews in the past that he considers Thomas
Anders an excellent singer). Further insults are directed against Thomas
Anders’ visual appearance. In his book, Dieter Bohlen claims that he found
out last year that Thomas Anders was collaborating with a tour manager who
organized Modern Talking concerts in Russia in order to exaggerate expense
reports for cost reimbursement by the record company by several thousand
euros. However, Dieter indicates
that he has no proof for this allegation.
In his book, Dieter Bohlen
also writes about his reasons for announcing the break-up of Modern Talking
during the concert in Rostock (Germany) earlier this year. Dieter Bohlen had
claimed earlier this year that the break-up of Modern Talking had already
been decided months before the Rostock concert and that he decided to
announce the break-up during this concert because “it just felt like the
right time”. Now, Dieter claims that the reason for this decision was that he
found out right before the concert that Thomas Anders had given two solo
concerts “behind his back” in the U.S. Dieter indicates that when the U.S.
concert appearances were offered to Modern Talking, he told Thomas that between
his “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” commitments and the already scheduled
Modern Talking appearances in Germany he would not have enough time for the
U.S. concerts. He further indicates that he asked Thomas to postpone the
concert appearances in the U.S. by half a year and that Thomas later told him
that he took care of postponing the concerts. According to Dieter Bohlen, his
girl friend Estefania found out in a conversation with a BMG employee just
prior to the Rostock concert that Thomas Anders had performed two concerts in
the U.S. “behind Dieter Bohlen’s back”. Despite the fact that travel
arrangements for Thomas Anders and the Modern Talking tour band were made by
Modern Talking’s record company BMG and despite the fact that through the
Internet most Modern Talking fans new about the U.S. concerts weeks before
the concerts took place, Dieter indicates that this is the first time he
found out about these concerts taking place (presumably because he was
focused very much on his “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” commitments at the
time). According to Dieter Bohlen, he felt betrayed by Thomas Anders and
therefore decided to announce the end of Modern Talking.
In a TV appearance last
night and in an interview with Bild, Thomas Anders responded to Dieter Bohlen’s
insults and allegations. He claims that Dieter’s allegations about
exaggerated expense reports are inaccurate and that his lawyers are now
dealing with the situation. He indicates, “I have nothing to do with expense
reports. I am an artist.” Thomas further indicates that he is not surprised
by Dieter Bohlen’s insults, only that “he waited so long after the break-up
in June”. He feels that Dieter’s allegations and insults are “propaganda to
sell his book”. He further indicates that he feels the real reason behind the
Modern Talking break-up is that Dieter was unhappy with “having to share
money and success” with Thomas Anders. Thomas confirms that he performed two
solo concerts in the U.S. earlier this year. He indicates that Dieter was
also asked to perform during the U.S. concerts but was not interested in
doing that. Thomas indicates that the concert promoter did not care “which
guitarist would come along” (referring to Dieter Bohlen’s role during concert
appearances), as long as Thomas Anders would sing. Therefore, Thomas decided
to perform two solo concerts, as he is “the voice of Modern Talking”.
While not necessarily representative of the opinion of Germans in
general, a poll by German TV station RTL in its video text system showed that
a vast majority of poll respondents believed Thomas Anders (79%) rather than
Dieter Bohlen (21%).
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September 18, 2003: During the remainder of 2003, there
will be several Modern Talking and Dieter Bohlen related releases.
1) According to BMG Berlin, the previously announced Modern Talking
DVD will be released in Germany on October 20. The DVD has the working title
“The Video Collection” and, according to BMG Berlin, will contain all Modern
Talking videos, as well as a live recording of the entire 1998 “Back For
Good” tour concert in Berlin (Germany). According to BMG European Services (a
BMG internal distribution organization), a Modern Talking DVD entitled “Best
Of” will be released on November 10. It appears likely that this is the same
DVD as “The Video Collection”, which may indicate that title and release date
of the Modern Talking DVD may still be tentative.
2) Dieter Bohlen’s second book “Hinter den Kulissen“ („Behind The
Curtains“) will be released in Germany on October 4. The audio book will be
released on a 5-CD set on October 6. At this point it has not yet been
announced whether or not the audio book will be read by Dieter Bohlen. Dieter
Bohlen personally read the audio book version of his first book “Nichts als
die Wahrheit” (“Nothing But The Truth”).
3) The third single by “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner
Alexander will be called “Free Like The Wind” and will be released in Germany
on October 27. The song was again written and produced by Dieter Bohlen but
is not contained on Alexander’s first album “Take Your Chance”. The song will
be the title song for a German TV production called “Held der Gladiatoren”
(“Hero Of The Gladiators”).
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September
09, 2003: In a statement posted on the messageboard of Thomas-Anders.com,
Thomas Anders addresses rumours spread on the Internet claiming that the
recent Thomas Anders concert in Mongolia was promoted as a Modern Talking
concert. In the statement, Thomas indicates that he does not perform as
Modern Talking but at the most as Thomas Anders from Modern Talking.
According to him, this is specified in his contracts with the local concert
promoters. While he cannot guarantee that no poster has appeared in Mongolia
that referred to a Modern Talking concert (although he himself has not seen
any such poster), he has personally seen and approved the official posters
used by the concert agencies in Mongolia and Russia – these posters did refer
to Thomas Anders as a solo artist. Thomas Anders further clarifies that he
will not deny “19 years of his life” and will therefore continue to sing
Modern Talking songs during his solo concerts. He feels that despite strong
demand, Modern Talking did not pay enough attention to foreign countries
(i.e. countries other than Germany) during the past few years. Thomas Anders
indicates in his statement that this was due to the fact that Dieter Bohlen
was not very interested in performing abroad, while Thomas is looking forward
to concerts abroad.
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September 05, 2003: According to a statement by
Thomas Anders, posted on the messageboard of Thomas-Anders.com, he
has already written several songs for his upcoming solo album. The songs will
be recorded in October, at that point in time a decision will be made about
the first single release from the album. The album is still scheduled for
release in early 2004. Negotiations for a concert tour in Germany next year
are also already in progress.
Thomas Anders just returned from a concert in Mongolia, where he
performed in front of 22,000 visitors. Tomorrow, Thomas will have another
concert appearance. Thomas Anders will perform in Moscow on the famous red
square as part of the “Light Monuments” show organized by “light artist” Gert
Hoff. The show will feature musical performances by Thomas Anders and by
German rock band The Scopions, as well as lights, pyrotechnics, and
fireworks. According to ThomasAnders-Online.com, Thomas Anders will perform new
versions of the classic Modern Talking hits “Cheri, Cheri Lady”, “Brother
Louie”, “Atlantis Is Calling”, and “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”. The new
versions of the Modern Talking hits were produced by Thomas Anders and Christian Geller, Thomas’ partner
at his music production and publishing company K.A.G.B. Music.
Addendum
September 18, 2003: During his performance in Moscow, Thomas Anders performed
new versions of the following Modern Talking hits: “Atlantis Is Calling”,
“Geronimo’s Cadillac”, “Cheri, Cheri Lady”, “Brother Louie”, and “You’re My Heart, You’re My
Soul” (presented in a ballad version with Thomas Anders on the piano). In
addition, Thomas Anders joined The Scorpions singer Klaus Meine on the last
chorus of “Rock You Like A Hurricane”.
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September 05, 2003: After peaking at number three and
spending nine weeks in the charts, “The Final Album” by Modern Talking drops
out of the German album sales charts this week. Over the course of their
carrier, Modern Talking had 14 chart albums in Germany (12 studio albums and
2 compilations) – the albums spent a total of 298 weeks in the charts. In
addition, 20 Modern Talking singles charted in Germany spending a total of
253 weeks in the charts. “The Final Album” may not necessarily be the last
chart entry for Modern Talking in Germany. Media Control ranks music DVDs in
the German album sales charts. As a result the Modern Talking DVD planned for
a pre-Christmas release may bring Modern Talking back into the German charts
one more time. Meanwhile, Modern Talking have not yet disappeared from the
international charts. “The Final Album” and “Universe” are still in the
Hungarian album sales charts this week (#22 and #91 respectively). “Juliet”
continues to be a belated airplay hit for Modern Talking in Latvia (#33 this
week) and “I’m No Rockefeller” continues to climb up the Russian airplay
charts (#3 this week).
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August 27, 2003: Modern Talking may have broken up a few
month ago but that does not stop international radio stations from playing Modern
Talking songs. While no second single was released from ”Universe”, radio
stations in Russia now are giving heavy airplay to “I’m No Rockefeller”. The
song enters the national Russian radio airplay charts compiled by Gallup
Media at number five this week. Meanwhile, South African radio station OFM
94-97 FM stills gives heavy airplay to “TV Makes The Superstar”. The song
peaked at number two on the stations Top 20 charts last week and is listed at
number three this week.
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August 20, 2003: A special edition of Modern
Talking’s “The Final Album” was released exclusively in South Africa. The
album has a somewhat different track list than the version released in Germany
and other countries and includes an additional bonus CD. The 2-CD set
contains the following tracks: CD1: 1) You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul 2) You
Can Win If You Want 3) Cheri, Cheri Lady 4) Brother Louie 5) Atlantis Is
Calling 6) Geronimo’s Cadillac 7) Give Me Peace On Earth 8) Jet Airliner 9)
In 100 Years 10) You Are Not Alone (Radio Edit) 11) Sexy, Sexy Lover (Vocal
Version) 12) China In Her Eyes (Album Version) 13) No Face No Name No Number
14) Fly To The Moon 15) Win The Race (Radio Edit) 16) Last Exit To Brooklyn
17) Ready For The Victory (Radio Version) 18) Mrs. Robota 19) TV Makes The
Superstar (Radio Edit) 20) Should I, Would I, Could I; CD2: 1) Mystery 2)
Brother Louie (Special Long Version) 3) Jet Airliner (Fasten-Seat-Belt-Mix)
4) With A Little Love 5) Ready For The Victory (Alternate Radio Version
Extended) 6) Don’t Take Away My Heart (New Vocal Version) 7) Juliet (Jeo’s
Remix) 8) Win The Race (Scooter Remix) 9) Higher Than Heaven (U-Max Mix) 10)
(Original) Space Mix ’98 11) Juliet (Video). The version of the Space Mix
contained on the CD is exclusive to this CD – it is more than four minutes
longer than the version previously released on “Alone”. According to BMG
South Africa, the reason for “Mystery” being the first track on the bonus CD
is that this song was originally intended to be the second single from
“Universe”, until the release of a second single from the album was cancelled
by BMG Berlin. BMG South Africa also confirmed that a Modern Talking DVD will
be released later this year. A promotional campaing for “The Final Album”
started on South African radio and TV stations on August 18. Currently, the
album is the number four seller for BMG in South Africa.
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August 02, 2003: According to German newspaper
Bild, the production of the previously announced animated movie about the
life of Dieter Bohlen will start in October this year. The movie will be
produced and distributed by Universal Film, the animations are handled by a
team of 100 animators at animation study TFC Trickompany based in Hamburg
(Germany). The animation studio is best known for bringing German comic
character “Werner” to the big screen. According to Universal Film, the movie
will deal, among other things, with Dieter’s short-lived marriage to Verona
Feldbusch (which turned into a national media event in Germany when the
spontaneous marriage only lasted a few weeks and a very public break-up in
the German media followed), as well as with the break-up of Modern Talking.
While based on real events, the movie will be produced in a comedy style
where characters and situations are exaggerated. Dieter Bohlen himself will
speak the voice of his animated movie character. The movie has the working
title “Dieter Bohlen – The Motion Picture” and is scheduled for theatrical
release in autumn 2004.
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July
15, 2003: On Saturday, Thomas Anders had his first solo concert appearance
after the break-up of Modern Talking. He performed live at the 100-year
anniversary celebration of the gun club of his birthplace Münstermaifeld-Mörz
in front of 1,000 visitors, a very respectable number of visitors given the
fact that the small town only has 170 inhabitants. Thomas Anders’ concert
appearance had already been planned prior to the break-up of Modern Talking.
The father of Thomas Anders has long been the leader of the gun club.
Furthermore, Thomas Anders had one of his his very first live appearances 25
years ago at the 75-year anniversary celebration of the gun club. Earlier
this year, Thomas Anders already performed during two solo concerts without
Dieter Bohlen in Chicago and Atlantic City (USA). During these concerts, Thomas
Anders only performed Modern Talking songs. Saturday’s concert offered a more
varied program consisting of Modern Talking hits, songs from Thomas Anders
solo career (including a short sample of his very first single “Judy”) as
well as several cover versions. Thomas sang the following songs: 1) „Als hätt
ich nie Goodbye gesagt“ 2) „Judy“/“Ich will nicht dein Leben“ 3) „When Will I See You Again“ 4)
“You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” 5) “Not While I’m Around” 6) Medley: “Je Ne
Regret Rien”/”New York, New York”/”Copacabana” 7) “China In Her Eyes” 8) “Hey
Jude” 9) Encore: Cheri, Cheri Lady 10) Encore: Hey Jude (Reprise).
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July 15, 2003: This week, a new advertising campain by milk
products company Müller Milch is being launched in Germany. The spokesperson
for this campain is Dieter Bohlen. Dieter Bohlen will be featured in TV
commercials, print ads, and on the lids of the different Müller Milch
products. Consumers who collect and send in 10 lids become members of a club
positioned as “political party for more fun and enjoyment in Germany”. Among
other benefits, club members are entitled to participate in online-chats with
Dieter Bohlen. The website of the advertising campain can be found at http://www.mueller-partei.de/.
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July 03, 2003: Modern Talking’s final album “The Final Album
– The Ultimate Best Of” enters the German album sales charts at number three.
“The Final Album” is the 12th Top 3 album for Modern Talking in
Germany. While Germany is the only country where Modern Talking entered the
charts this week, album sales in Germany were good enough to allow “The Final
Album” to enter the official European album sales chart (compiled by Music
& Media) at number 14.
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June 27, 2003: According to BMG, Modern Talking’s
final album “The Final Album – The Ultimate Best Of” entered the German trend
charts at number one on Tuesday. Tuesday’s trend charts represent nationwide
album sales in Germany on the previous day. The number one entry in the trend
charts does not necessarily mean that “The Final Album” will top next week’s
German album charts. Earlier this year, Modern Talking’s album “Universe”
also entered the trend charts at number one on the day of its release, while
entering the weekly German album sales charts at number two.
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June 27, 2003: According to Media Control, four
out of Germany’s ten best selling singles of the first half of 2003 and the
best selling album are Dieter Bohlen productions. “We Have A Dream” by the
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” finalists was the best selling single in
Germany during the first half of 2003 (Austria #7 seller for the first half
of 2003). Alexander’s “Take Me Tonight” is ranked at number two (Austria #6,
Switzerland #9), Yvonne Catterfeld’s “Für dich” at number five (Switzerland
#5) and Daniel K.’s “You Drive Me Crazy” at number six. “United” by the
“Superstar” finalists was the best selling album in Germany during the first
half of 2003. This week, Dieter Bohlen adds to his success. The album
“Positive Energie” he produced for Daniel K. enters the German charts at
number two (the 19th Top 10 album for Dieter Bohlen in Germany)
and also enter the Top 20 in Austria (#11) and Switzerland (#13).
Addendum July 15, 2003: Modern Talking’s “TV Makes The Superstar” was
the 19th best selling single in Germany during the first half of
2003. Alexander’s “Take Your Chance” was the 17th best selling
album in Germany during the same time period.
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June
22, 2003: Last night Modern Talking gave their last concert in Berlin (Germany)
in front of an estimated 13,000 fans. The opening act for Modern Talking was
German singer Yvonne Catterfeld who sang several songs, including the Dieter
Bohlen song “Für dich”. While Modern Talking performed all of their greatest
hits, fans were disappointed by the fact that Modern Talking ended the
concert after 95 minutes and 22 songs without any encore songs at the end of
the concert as would have been customary. According to an interview Dieter
Bohlen gave to German newspaper Bild, Modern Talking “simply forgot to leave
the stage before coming back on stage and playing the last two songs”. During
the concert, Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders never addressed the fans about
the break-up of Modern Talking or the reasons behind this decision. Modern
Talking played the followings songs (in order): 1) TV Makes
The Superstar 2) Everybody Needs Somebody 3) Atlantis Is Calling 4) Heart Of
An Angel 5) Geronimos Cadillac 6) Knocking On My Door 7) Don`t Make Me Blue
8) No Face, No Name, No Number 9) You Can Win If You Want 10) Don`t Take Away
My Heart 11) Last Exit To Brooklyn 12) Juliet 13) In 100 Years 14) China In
Her Eyes 15) Jet Airliner 16) Sexy Sexy Lover 17) Ready For The Victory 18)
Cheri Cheri Lady 19) Brother Louie 20) You Are Not Alone 21) Win The Race 22)
You`re My Heart, You`re My Soul. After the concert, Thomas Anders indicated
to Bild that “he feels sorry for the fans”. He further indicated that “Modern
Talking will always remain a part of his life like a divorced marriage, and
now the second part of his life will start with his solo career”. When Bild
asked Dieter Bohlen about his future plans he indicated that he will remain
with his record company BMG and that “his first solo record will be on the
market in autumn”. Dieter did not indicate whether this solo record will be
released under the Blue System band name. The release of a solo record by
Dieter Bohlen appears to be in conflict with Dieter Bohlen’s previous
statements about his lack of time due to his many projects being the main
reason behind the break-up of Modern Talking. The real reasons behind Modern
Talking’s second break-up remain unclear.
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June 20, 2003: After Dieter Bohlen’s announcement about the
break-up of Modern Talking at the Rostock concert, all other concerts
scheduled for this year were canceled. The only exception is the concert in
Berlin that will take place tomorrow night. On the day of the final Modern
Talking concert, German newspaper Bild will feature a “goodbye” article
written by Dieter Bohlen and addressed to the Modern Talking fans. In the
article, Dieter Bohlen recognizes “that many fans will be disappointed” and
indicates that he knows that he “owes everything to his fans worldwide”. As
far as the reasons for Modern Talking’s break-up are concerned, Dieter Bohlen
indicates that he feels that “now is the right time”. He points to the fact that between
making TV commercials (S. Oliver, Müller Milch), writing his second book,
composing music for a movie, working on the castings for the second season of
TV talent show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” and working on a cartoon
movie about his life he is too stressed for time to continue his work with
Modern Talking. He indicates that the center of his life right now are his
girlfriend Estefania and his work with young music talents. Although not
mentioned in the Bild article, Dieter Bohlen had previously also pointed to
Thomas Anders’ plans to record solo albums as a reason for the decision to
break-up. At the end of the Bild article, Dieter thanks his fans and
indicates (without being any more specific) that there will “certainly be a
solo album and a solo tour soon”. Furthermore, he points to the release of a
“Greatest Hits” album on Monday (June 23). The album is called “The Final
Album – The Ultimate Best Of” and
contains all 20 Modern Talking singles released in Germany between
1984 and 2003. Two of the songs (“You Are Not Alone” and “China In Her Eyes”)
are rap versions, all other songs are vocal versions. The album does not
contain any new songs or mixes. However, it does feature a booklet depicting
all singles covers, listing all Modern Talking awards and showing the “final
words” from Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders to the fans. After the “Final
Album” there will be one more Modern Talking release this year. According to
BMG the release of a Modern Talking DVD is planned for autumn of this year.
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June 20, 2003: According to an interview with German
magazine Gala, Thomas Anders is currently working on a solo album. The album
will be released “no later than spring next year”. Thomas indicates that he
will personally coordinate the production of the album, including selection
of composers and song selection. He further indicates that the sound of the
album will be similar to the Modern Talking sound, since he “has always been
the voice of Modern Talking”.
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June 20, 2003: “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”
winner Alexander enters the German singles chart at number nine this week
with his second single “Stay With Me”. The song is the 28th Dieter
Bohlen production to reach the Top 10 of the German singles charts and the 7th
Dieter Bohlen single to do so this year. The single also enters the charts in
Austria (number 29) and in Switzerland (number 38) this week. Meanwhile, two other
Dieter Bohlen productions - the album “Positive Energie” by “Superstar”
contestant Daniel K. and Yvonne Catterfeld’s number one single “Für dich” have achieved Gold status in
Germany for their sales success.
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June 20, 2003: This week, a cover version of
Modern Talking’s most successful hit “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” spends
a second week in the German singles sales charts. The new version of the song
recorded by duo “Bolenski Beat” falls from number 60 to number 78 this week.
The Maxi-CD contains the following tracks: 1) Radio Edit 2) Soft Radio Edit
3) Extended Mix 4) Club Mix 5) Yanou’s Party On Remix 6) Pulsedriver Club
Mix.
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June 08, 2003: Last night, a
few minutes before 11 p.m., Dieter Bohlen announced during Modern Talking's
concert performance in Rostock (Germany) that he and Thomas Anders will go
seperate ways again. Modern Talking is no more. Dieter Bohlen indicated that
this decision has nothing to do with any arguments between him and Thomas
Anders. The decision was made because he and Thomas want to do different
things as musicians going forward. Dieter Bohlen did not indicate whether or
not the already scheduled Modern Talking concerts during the next few weeks
will still take place. Modern Talking performed in front of an estimated
24,000 people in Rostock's Ostsee Stadium ("Baltic Sea Stadium").
They were the headliners of a festival that took place in honor of the 10
year anniversary of radio station Antenne MV. Other acts that performed
during the festival were Die Puhdys, Captain Jack, Mr. President, D.J.
Sylver, C.C. Catch, Baumann & Clausen, Alexander ("Deutschland sucht
den Superstar" winner), Sweetie Glitter, Hermes House Band and Status
Quo. Modern Talking performed for 70 minutes. Modern Talking performed the
following songs (not in order): "TV Makes The Superstar",
"Everybody Needs Somebody", "Don't Make Me Blue",
"No Face, No Name, No Number", "Sexy Sexy Lover",
"China In Her Eyes", "Ready For the Victory",
"Juliet", "Don't Take Away My Heart", "In 100
Years", "Jet Airliner", "Geronimo's Cadillac",
"Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling", Cheri, Cheri
Lady" and "You're My Heart, You're My Soul (the final song after
Dieter Bohlen's announcement about the end of Modern Talking).
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May 27, 2003: Sunday night, the first concert of this
year’s Modern Talking tour took place in Flensburg (Germany). Modern Talking
performed in front of more than 5,000 people in the sold-out “Campushalle”.
Modern Talking played a total of 21 songs, including seven songs from their
current album “Universe” (“TV Makes The Superstar”, “Everybody Needs
Somebody”, “Who Will Be There”, “Heart Of An Angel”, “I’m No Rockefeller”,
“Knocking On My Door” and “Mystery”). Modern Talking also played five classic
hits from the 80’s (“Atlantis Is Calling”, “Geronimo’s Cadillac”, “Brother
Louie”, “Cheri, Cheri Lady” and “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, as well as
nine songs from the 1999-2002 period (“You Are Not Alone”, “Sexy, Sexy
Lover”, “Don’t Make Me Blue”, “Juliet”, “Last Exit To Brooklyn”, “China In
Her Eyes”, ‘Don’t Take Away My Heart, “Ready For The Victory” and “Win The
Race”).
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May 27, 2003: According to BMG, the first album by
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” contestant Daniel K. will be called
“Positive Energie” (“Positive Energy”). The album will be released in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland on June 16. All songs on the album will be
produced by Dieter Bohlen. The album will contain the following tracks: 1)
Heartbeat (Radio Version) 2) You Drive Me Crazy (Extended Version) 3) Love Is
In The Air 4) I Don’t Wanna Live Another Life 5) Love Of My Life 6) Little
Satellite 7) Heartbreaker 8) Pretty Woman 9) R+R Hero 10) Life Is Too Short
11) Call Me Mr. Lover 12) Superman (Eggenfelden Mix) 13) Everytime You Go
Away.
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May 27, 2003: “Heartbeat”, the second single by
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” contestant Daniel K. enters the German
singles charts at number two – right behind another Dieter Bohlen production,
Yvonne Catterfeld’s “Für dich”
(third week at number one). “Heartbeat” is the 27th Dieter Bohlen
production to reach the Top 10 of the German singles charts. In Switzerland,
“Für dich” climbs from number 12 to number one (the 6th number one
for a Dieter Bohlen production in Switzerland), while “Heartbeat” enters the
charts at number 11.
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May 13, 2003: This week, Yvonne Catterfeld enters
the German singles sales charts at number one with the Dieter Bohlen
production “Für dich”. The single is the 4th number one single for
a Dieter Bohlen production in Germany this year, which makes 2003 the year
with the most number one singles for Dieter Bohlen. In total, “Für dich” is
the 10th number one single for Dieter Bohlen in Germany. The song
was originally intended for “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” finalist
Juliette, who declined to record the song with Dieter Bohlen.
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May
13, 2003: According to BMG, the second single from Alexander’s debut album
“Take Your Chance” (produced by Dieter Bohlen) will be “Stay With Me”. The
single will be released on June 02 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Addendum: May 24, 2003: According to BMG, the Maxi-CD will contain
the following tracks: 1) Stay With Me (Radio Version) 2) Stay With Me
(Retro-Mix) 3) I’ll Love You ‘Til The Day I Die 4) Stay With Me
(Instrumental). Track number three is exclusive to this Maxi-CD and cannot be
found on Alexander’s album.
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May 11, 2003: According to German news agency dpa, Dieter
Bohlen and his co-author Katja Kessler received the “Goldene Feder” (“Golden
Feather”) award from German publishing house Bauer Verlag for being the most
successful book authors of the year 2002. They reiveived the award for their
collaboration on Dieter Bohlen’s auto-biography “Nichts als die Wahrheit”
(“Nothing But The Truth”). The award ceremony took place in Hamburg (Germany)
on Friday. Earlier this year, Dieter Bohlen narrowly missed receiving the
“Deutscher Bücherpreis“ (“German Book Award”) Reader’s Choice award. More
than 25,000 readers voted for the award and Dieter Bohlen ranked number two
in the final tally, right behind award winner Henning Mankell from Sweden.
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May 06, 2003: “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner
Alexander enters the German album sales charts at number one this week with
his Dieter Bohlen produced debut album “Take Your Chance”. This is the 8’th
number one album for a Dieter Bohlen production in Germany. The album has
already achieved Gold status in Germany (150,000 units sold).
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May 06, 2003: Yet another single that was written
and produced by Dieter Bohlen was released in Germany yesterday. Twenty-three
year old singer Yvonne Catterfeld - who stars on daily soap “Gute Zeiten,
Schlechte Zeiten” on German TV (RTL) and also co-hosts the TV music show “The
Dome” (RTL2) - recorded the single “Für dich” with Dieter Bohlen. The Maxi-CD
contains the following tracks: 1) Für dich (Video Edit) 2) Für dich (Jiggy
Joint Radio Mix) 3) Für dich (Full Version) 4) Für dich (GZSZ Version) 5) If
You. Track number five is the English language version of the song. Dieter
Bohlen wrote the lyrics for the English version of the song but not for the
German version of the song. With the exception of the second track (remixed
by another producer), all tracks on the Maxi-CD were produced by Dieter
Bohlen. The single is already ranked number one in the charts of German
online retailer Amazon.de.
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April 29, 2003: According to BMG, there will be no
second single release from Modern Talking’s most current album “Universe”.
The reason for that is Dieter Bohlen’s busy schedule (which would not allow
time for promoting a second single) as a result of the upcoming Modern
Talking and “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” concert tours. Dieter Bohlen
will be on stage together with the “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”
finalists every night during the “Superstars” tour. In addition, Dieter
Bohlen is working on the album and second single for “Superstars” winner
Daniel K. TV appearances that were already scheduled for Modern Talking later
this year will most likely be canceled.
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April 29, 2003: The second single by “Deutschland
sucht den Superstar” finalist Daniel K. will be called “Heartbeat” and will
be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on May 19. Daniel’s first
album will be released in June. Single and album will be produced by Dieter
Bohlen.
Addendum May 11, 2003:
According to BMG, the ‘Heartbeat” Maxi-CD will contain the following tracks:
1) Heartbeat (Radio Version) 2) Heartbeat (Kornfeld-Mix) 3) You Drive Me
Crazy (Hi Positive Energy-Mix) 4) Heartbeat (Instrumental).
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April 15, 2003: Latvian radio
stations have a long tradition of play-listing Blue System and Modern Talking
songs other than the most current single release. This week, last year’s
Modern Talking single “Juliet” (which already received radio airplay in
Latvia in 2002) enters the Latvian airplay charts at number 39. In addition,
“I’m No Rockefeller” from Modern Talking’s new album “Universe” enters the
airplay charts of Latvian radio station 102.7 Mix FM at number 18 this week.
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April 11, 2003:
According to BMG, the first album by “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner
Alexander will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on April 28.
All songs on the album are produced by Dieter Bohlen. The title of the album
will be “Take Your Chance”.
Addendum April 15, 2003: According to BMG, the album will contain the
following tracks: 1) Take Me Tonight (Radio Edit) 2) I Don’t Wanna Say That
3) From The Heart Of An Angel 4)
Another Day, Another Heart 5) We Had It All 6) Stay With Me 7) I Need You 8)
Anything Is Possible 9) Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do 10) I Believe 11) Anytime
You Want Me 12) Just Tomorrow 13) Maniac 14) Even When Your Love Is Gone 15)
If I Can’t Have You Tonight.
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April 08, 2003: While “Deutschland sucht den
Superstar” contestants Alexander and Daniel K. enjoy tremendous chart success
as a result of working with Dieter Bohlen, contestant Juliette (ranked number
two in the competition) has decided not to work with Dieter Bohlen. Dieter
Bohlen announced on German TV that he considers this to be a “commercial
mistake”. The only “Superstars” contestant to release a single not produced
by Dieter Bohlen is so far Daniel Lopez. Both his single and his album failed
to reach the Top 10 in Germany. This illustrates that the success of “We Have
A Dream”, “United”, “Take Me Tonight” and “You Drive Me Crazy” is not only
driven by the marketing power of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” but also
to a big degree by Dieter Bohlen’s involvement in these productions.
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April 08, 2003: This week, Modern Talking’s new
album “Universe” enters the German album sales charts at number two.
“Universe” is the 11th Top 3 album for Modern Talking in Germany.
“TV Makes The Superstar” spends a fifth week in the Top 10 of the German
singles sales charts at number seven. The last Modern Talking single to spend
five weeks in the Top 10 was “You Are Not Alone” in 1999. In addition to “TV
Makes The Superstar”, two other Dieter Bohlen productions can be found in the
Top 10 of this week’s German singles sales charts. “Deutschland sucht den
Superstar” contestant Daniel K. (ranked number three in the TV talent show)
enters the German charts at number one with „You Drive Me Crazy“. The song
becomes the 9th Bohlen production to top the German singles charts
and the 25th Top 10 hit for Dieter Bohlen. “Deutschland sucht den
Superstar” winner Alexander falls from number one to number two with “Take Me
Tonight”. The last time three Dieter Bohlen productions were simultaneously
in the Top 10 of the German singles charts was in May 1986, when Modern
Talking (“Atlantis Is Calling”), Chris Norman (“Midnight Lady”) and C.C.Catch
(“Strangers By Night”) were all in the Top 10 at the same time.
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April 01, 2003: Earlier today, Thomas Anders appeared on
German TV show TV Total. According to the host of the show, Dieter Bohlen was
also scheduled to come to the show but was unable to show up due to being sick.
Thomas Anders sang “Blackbird” live! during the show. In addition, he
announced that Modern Talking’s new album “Universe” entered the German trend
charts at number one. Today’s trend charts reflect music sales in Germany on
Monday. The trend charts reflecting singles sales are also dominated by
Dieter Bohlen productions. Daniel K. “You Drive Me Crazy” enters the German
trend charts at number one, Alexander “Take Me Tonight” is ranked number two
and Modern Talking’s “TV Makes The Superstar” is listed at number five.
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March
29, 2003: While Modern Talking regularly toped the German radio airplay
charts during the Eighties, the duo had a hard time getting radio airplay in
Germany since their comeback in 1998. During the last few years, all Modern
Talking singles failed to reach the Top 100 of the German airplay charts.
However, a growing number of German radio stations are adding “TV Makes The
Superstar” to their playlist. This week the song enters the Top 100 of the
German airplay charts at number 92. (Source: Music Control).
Addendum April 12, 2003: “TV Makes The Superstar” peaked at number 77
in the German airplay charts and spent two weeks in the Top 100 of these
charts.
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March 29, 2003: According to German TV
station RTL, the Dieter Bohlen produced single “Take Me Tonight” by
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner Alexander has already achieved
Platinum status in Germany. So far, BMG has shipped 970,000 singles to
retailers (30,000 more units will mean double platinum). Sales from retailers
to consumers have already reached 500,000 units.
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March 25, 2003: This week, “Take Me Tonight” by
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner Alexander enters the German singles
charts at number one. The single is the 8th Dieter Bohlen
production to top the singles charts in Germany. Meanwhile, Modern Talking’s
“TV Makes The Superstar” climbs from number three to number two in Germany.
Alexander also enters the singles charts in Switzerland at number one. “Take
Me Tonight” is the 5’th number one single for a Dieter Bohlen production in
Switzerland. Another Bohlen production for a “Deutschland sucht den Superstar
contestant” will be released next Monday (3/31) in Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. The single for Daniel K. (ranked number three in the
competition) will be called “You Drive Me Crazy”. The Maxi-CD will contain
the following tracks: 1) You Drive Me Crazy (Radio Version) 2) You Drive Me
Crazy (Extended Version) 3) You Drive Me Crazy (Instrumental Version) 4)
Superman (Eggenfelden Mix). Meanwhile, Dieter Bohlen is working with Daniel
K. on his first album.
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March 18, 2003: Today, “Take Me Tonight” – the first single Dieter
Bohlen produced for “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” winner Alexander –
entered the German trend charts at number one. Modern Talking’s “TV Makes The
Superstar” is listed at number three (unchanged from yesterday). Today’s trend charts reflect nationwide retail sales
in Germany on Monday.
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March 18, 2003: According to German newspaper “Die
Welt”, Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders were the victims of SMS (mobile phone
text messages) fraud. Friday night a reporter working for German newspaper
“Bild” received an SMS from Dieter Bohlen’s mobile phone number claiming that
Modern Talking have split up. The same night, Thomas Anders received a fake
SMS from the BMG indicating that Dieter Bohlen has pulled the plug on Modern
Talking, and Dieter Bohlen received a fake SMS from Thomas Anders’ mobile
phone number. By Saturday morning both Dieter and Thomas realized that the
SMS messages were fakes. “Die Welt” points out that SMS messages can be sent
via Internet portals, where anybody knowing the right mobile phone number can
enter this number as the originating source of the SMS. According to “Die
Welt”, Dieter Bohlen is investigating whether legal steps can be taken
against the originator of the fake SMS messages. Meanwhile, German newspaper
“Bild” revealed that the originator of the messages is Graf Gerd Bernadotte,
former manager of Dieter Bohlen’s previous girlfriend Nadja, as well as
current manager of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” contestant Daniel Lopez.
Bernadotte indicated to “Bild” that “he just couldn’t stand Thomas Anders’
voice any longer” and therefore decided to arrange for this “early April
Fool’s Day joke”.
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March 12, 2003: Modern Talking’s new single “TV
Makes The Superstar” is the highest new entry in this week’s official German
singles sales charts at number two. This is the highest chart position for a
Modern Talking single since 1998, when “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul ‘98” peaked
at number two. “TV Makes The Superstar” is the 13th Top 10 hit for
Modern Talking in Germany. The Top 10 entry of the single also means that
Modern Talking had Top 10 hits in Germany during six consecutive years
(1998-2003). Based on yesterdays’ sales figures (German daily trend charts),
“TV Makes The Superstar” is still the third best selling single in Germany.
This week, the single also enters the charts in Austria (#17) and in
Switzerland (#74). In addition, the song enters the dance charts in the Czech
Republik at number five this week.
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March
12, 2003: The
two finalists of German music talent show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”
already performed “Take Me Tonight”, a brand-new Dieter Bohlen song, on the
final episode of the show last Saturday. Now, the song will be released as
the very first single for 19-year old “Superstar” winner Alexander. The
single will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on March 17.
According to BMG, the Maxi-CD will contain the following tracks: 1) Take Me
Tonight (Radio Edit) 2) Take Me Tonight (Extended Version) 3) Take Me Tonight
(Instrumental). Alexander’s debut album will be released in April.
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March 07, 2003: Modern Talking’s new single “TV Makes The
Superstar” is enjoying massive sales success in Germany. On Tuesday, the
single entered the German trend charts at number one. The trend charts are compiled by Media Control on a
daily basis and are based on nationwide retail sales in Germany during the
previous business day. “TV Makes The Superstar” fell to number two on
Wednesday’s trend chart. In today’s trend charts, the single remains at
number two for the third day in a row.
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March 07, 2003: According to Modern Talking Support
Infoclub, the new Modern Talking album “Universe” (release date: March
31) will contain the following 12 songs: 1. TV
Makes The Superstar 2. I´m No Rockefeller 3. Mystery 4. Everybody Needs
Somebody 5. Heart Of An Angel 6. Who Will Be There 7. Knocking On My Door 8.
Should I, Would I, Could I 9. Blackbird 10. Life Is Too Short 11. Nothing But
The Truth 12. Superstar.
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March 01, 2002: Today, Modern Talking presented their new
single “TV Makes The Superstar” for the first time on German TV. Modern
Talking appeared as special guest stars on music talent show “Deutschland
sucht den Superstar”. In addition, the three remaining finalists of
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” and Dieter Bohlen (on the piano) presented
the song “Cry On My Shoulder” from the Bohlen produced album “United”. Two
days before its official retail release, pre-orders of “TV Makes The
Superstar” make the single already the 8th best selling Maxi-CD for German
online retailer Amazon.de.
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February 18, 2003: “United”, the album Dieter
Bohlen produced for the finalists of German music talent show “Deutschland
sucht den Superstar” enters the German album sales charts at number one this
week. This is the 7’th number one album for a Dieter Bohlen production in
Germany after “The First Album”, “Ready For Romance”, “In The Middle Of
Nowhere”, “Back For Good”, “Alone” and “Victory” (all Modern Talking).
Meanwhile, “United” has achieved triple platinum status in Germany for sales
of more than 900,000 albums to-date. “United” also enters the album sales
charts in Switzerland at number two.
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February 13, 2003: Today, the music video for Modern
Talking’s new single “TV Makes The Superstar” had its premiere on German
music TV station Viva (the title of the song has changed from the previously
announced “TV Makes A Superstar”). The song is a mid-tempo song that has a
different sound than the “typical” Modern Talking songs. According to BMG,
the single will now already be released on March 03, instead of March 10 as
was previously announced. Modern Talking will first present the song on TV on
March 01 during German music talent show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”.
The popularity of the show and Dieter Bohlen’s role as a juror on the show
are likely to provide a marketing boost to the new Modern Talking single.
According to BMG, the Maxi-CD will contain the following tracks: 1) TV Makes
The Superstar (Radio Edit) 2) TV Makes The Superstar (Extended) 3) TV Makes
The Superstar (Instrumental) 4) Blackbird 5) TV Makes The Superstar (Video).
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February
13, 2003: “United”, the album Dieter Bohlen produced for the finalists of
German music talent show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”, proves to be an
immediate bestseller in Germany. According to German trade magazine
Musikmarkt, on Tuesday the album entered the German trend charts at number
one. Tuesday’s trend charts reflects album sales on Monday – “United’s” day
of release. According to BMG, the album has already sold 830,000 units. This
represents double platinum status (5x gold). Album sales at this point in
time are only 70.000 units short of a triple platinum certification in
Germany. Meanwhile, a music video for the song “Tonight” from the “United”
album had its TV premiere in Germany today. At this point in time, there is
no indication whether or not this song will be released as a single.
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February 04, 2003: According to Thomas-Anders.com, the
new Modern Talking single will be called “TV Makes A Superstar” (in reference
to Dieter Bohlen’s involvement in the TV music talent show “Deutschland sucht
den Superstar”) and will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on
March 10. The new Modern Talking album will be released on March 31. The
title of the album was not yet announced.
Addendum February 08, 2003: According to Modern Talking Support
Infoclub, the name of the new Modern Talking album will be “Universe”.
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February 04, 2003: This
week, “We Have A Dream”, Dieter Bohlen’s single for the ten finalists of
music talent show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” climbs from number three
to number one in the charts in Switzerland. This is the first Dieter Bohlen
produced single that tops the charts in Switzerland since 1986. “We Have A
Dream” is the fourth Bohlen single to rank number one in Switzerland,
previously “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, “Cheri, Cheri Lady” and
“Midnight Lady” made it all the way to the top. Meanwhile “We Have A Dream”
stays at number one in the German sales charts for the fifth week in a row
and climbs from number 49 to number 17 in the German airplay charts (Source:
Music Control).
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February 04, 2003: According to an interview with Dieter
Bohlen in this week’s issue of German magazine “Super Illu”, Dieter Bohlen
intends to get married to his girlfriend Estefania (although most likely not
in 2003) and is hoping to have a child with her. Dieter Bohlen already has
three children between the ages of 12 and 17 with his first wife Erika. In
the interview, Dieter Bohlen also announced that the sequel to his
best-selling autobiography “Nichts als die Wahrheit” will be released in
October this year. In addition, a movie with the working title “Dieter Bohlen
– The Motion Picture” will be released in 2004.
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January 25, 2003: During the 80s, Dieter Bohlen productions
were very successful in the German radio airplay charts. According to Media
Control the following Dieter Bohlen songs reached the Top 10 of the German
airplay charts (all between 1981 and 1989): Hale, Hey Louise #8, You’re My
Heart, You’re My Soul #1, You Can Win If You Want #1, Cheri Cheri Lady #1,
Brother Louie #1, Midnight Lady #1, Atlantis Is Calling #1, Geronimo’s
Cadillac #4, Jet Airliner #9 and Flieger #6. However, during the last decade,
Dieter Bohlen songs were less and less frequently played on German radio
stations (with the exception of a small number of radio stations that
continue to play Modern Talking and other Dieter Bohlen productions). “We
Have A Dream”, the song Dieter Bohlen wrote for the finalists of music talent
show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”, is about to change this situation
again. According to Music & Media, five of the German radio stations
monitored by the trade magazine added the song to their regular playlist
during the last week: BR Bayern 3, NDR2, Radio RPR 1, Radio FFN and HR3. As a
result of these play list additions, “We Have A Dream” enters Music &
Media’s radio airplay charts for the GSA region (Germany, Austria,
Switzerland) at number 20 this week.
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January 22, 2003: Dieter Bohlen is currently
producing an album with the finalists of German music talent show “Deutschland sucht den
Superstar”. The album will be called “United” and will be released in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland on Februar 10, 2003. According to BMG, the
album has the following track list: 1) We Have A Dream (Radio Edit) 2)
Tonight There Is A New Chance 3) Cry On My Shoulder 4) A Young Generation 5) Here We Stand Again
(Stay With Me) 6) Superman 7) How Can We Mend Your Lonely Heart 8) Today,
Tonight, Tomorrow 9) We Are No Heroes 10) Freedom 11) God Gave Love To You
12) It's All Over. All songs on the album were written by Dieter Bohlen. The
album will feature all ten finalist of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” as well as
“replacement” contestant Nicole who was brought into the show when finalist
Judith decided to quit the competition because she could not deal with the
pressure any longer. Meanwhile, the first single of the “Superstar”
contestants (“We Have A Dream”) has achieved Platinum status in Germany for
sales of more than 600,000 singles to-date.
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January 11, 2003: In
Russia, the year 2002 turned out to be somewhat less successful for Modern
Talking than the previous year had been. According
to BMG Russia's website,
“Victory” was the ninth best selling album for BMG Russia in 2002 and Modern
Talking’s “The Very Best Of” ranks number 11 for the year. This compares to
#1 for “America”, #13 for the compilation album “Collection” and #17 for
“Year Of The Dragon” in BMG Russia’s list of its best-selling albums in 2002.
The situation in Germany is similar. In the German year-end charts “Victory”
ranks 56 (compared to #37 for “America”), “Ready For The Victory” is number
91 and “Juliet” is number 278 (compared to #64 for “Win The Race” and #367
for “Last Exit To Brooklyn”).
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January 10, 2003: After 16
years of absence from the top spot of the German singles charts, the newest
Dieter Bohlen production enters the German singles charts at number one this
week. This marks the seventh number one single for producer Dieter Bohlen.
Previously, the first five Modern Talking singles and Chris Norman’s
“Midnight Lady” climbed to the top of the German singles charts. Dieter
Bohlen’s new number one single is called “We Have A Dream” and is a song
recorded by the ten finalists of German music talent show “Deutschland sucht
den Superstar”. German TV station RTL, the station that is broadcasting the
music talent show, heavily
promoted the single during its first week of release (release date: December
23, 2002) by frequently broadcasting a recording of the ten “Superstar”
contestants performing the song and Dieter Bohlen accompanying them on the
piano. “We Have A Dream” has already achieved Gold status in Germany,
indicating sales of more than 250,000 singles. The single also entered the
charts in Austria (#31) and Switzerland (#33) this week. The “We Have A
Dream” Maxi-CD contains three versions of the ballad (Radio Edit, Extended
Version, Instrumental).
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January 10, 2003: Dieter Bohlen’s autobiography “Nichts als
die Wahrheit” (“Nothing
But The Truth”) is the best-selling non-fictional hardcover book of the year
in Germany. According to trade magazine “Buchreport” the book sold an
estimated 500,000 copies by the end of 2002 and ranks number one in the year
end charts. The book spent eight
weeks at number one in the Buchreport charts (also published in popular
German magazine “Der Spiegel”) and still ranks at number two this week in its
14th chart week.
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January 02, 2003: According to German TV station RTL,
Dieter Bohlen and his girl friend Estefania were the passengers of a small
Chesna CJ1 airplane that was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday in
Minsk (Belarus). Dieter and Estefania were on their way back to Germany after
a Modern Talking concert in Moscow on December 31. The airplane had to make
an emergency landing after a fire broke out in the cockpit. Neither Dieter
nor Estefania got injured during this incident.
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