Nena

Nena is a famous singer from Germany. She became very well known with her band. They sang a hit song called "99 Luftballons." This song was about balloons. She also sang the same song in English.

Nena has sold many records. She is a very successful pop singer. She even started her own record company. Nena loves to sing for fans. She goes on tour many times each year. She loves to share her music with the world.

Nena is a very famous pop singer from Germany. She first became a star with her band. They sang a hit song called "99 Luftballons." This song was a big success in 1983. The band also made an English version. It was called "99 Red Balloons." This song became famous all over the world.

Nena has had a long career. She worked with her band for many years. Then she began to work as a solo artist. In 2002, she had a big comeback. She released new versions of her old hits. This helped her find success again. She has sold more than 25 million records. This makes her a top German pop singer.

Nena also runs her own record company. It is called The Laugh & Peas Company. She uses it to share her music. She also helps other singers. Nena loves to perform live for her fans. She often goes on tour. She plays many concerts every year. Sometimes she even plays in her old school.

Nena is a very famous pop singer from Germany. She is known for her many hits and her long career in music. People all over the world know her name because of her catchy songs. She has sold over 25 million records in her lifetime. This makes her the most successful German pop singer in history. She brings joy to many fans through her singing and her live shows.

Her journey into music started with a band called Nena. In 1982, she moved to West Berlin to work with new musicians. They met a guitarist, a keyboard player, and a bass player. Together, they released a song called "Nur geträumt" in June 1982. This song became a hit after they appeared on a TV show. The band then released their first album in 1983. It included the famous song "99 Luftballons."

Nena was born Gabriele Susanne Kerner on March 24, 1960. She grew up in the towns of Breckerfeld and Hagen. Her father worked as a teacher. She got her nickname while on vacation in Spain. The word means "baby girl" in the Catalan language. Before she was a singer, she trained as a goldsmith. This is a person who works with gold to make jewelry. She left this job before she finished her training.

In 1983, the song "99 Luftballons" became a number one hit. It was a huge success in West Germany and the Netherlands. The band even made an English version called "99 Red Balloons." In 1984, a radio show played a mixed version of both. This helped the song reach many more people in the US. Nena also had a hit called "Just a Dream" in the UK. Later, she released a solo album in 1989 called "Wunder gescheh'n."

After the band split in 1987, Nena became a solo artist. She had a big comeback in 2002 with new versions of her old hits. She worked with her old friend Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen again. Now, she even has her own record label called The Laugh & Peas Company. She uses it to help other singers like her daughter. Nena also loves to tour and play many concerts every year. Some of her tours have attracted over 250,000 fans.

Nena is a highly influential German pop singer. She is widely recognized as the most successful German pop artist in chart history. Throughout her career, she has sold more than 25 million records. She first achieved international stardom in 1983 as the lead vocalist for the band Nena. Her music helped define the Neue Deutsche Welle, a movement in German music. This style combined pop melodies with a distinct German energy. Today, she remains a major figure in the music industry through solo work and live performances.

Born Gabriele Susanne Kerner on March 24, 1960, her journey began in West Germany. She spent her childhood in Breckerfeld and Hagen. Her father worked as a teacher. Interestingly, she acquired her stage name while vacationing in Mallorca, Spain. The name "Nena" comes from the Catalan language and means "baby girl." Before finding musical fame, she pursued a different craft. She trained as a goldsmith, which is a person who works with precious metals. She left this training before she could earn her journeyman's licence.

Her professional music career started in July 1979 with a group called the Stripes. The guitarist, Rainer Kitzmann, recruited her after seeing her dance at a local disco. The Stripes performed songs with English lyrics. They had a minor hit with a song titled "Ecstasy," but the group disbanded in early 1982. Following this, the record company CBS offered Nena a new opportunity. They wanted her to move to West Berlin to record music using German lyrics. This change led to the formation of the band Nena in May 1982.

In the band, she worked with guitarist Carlo Karges, keyboard player Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, and bass player Jürgen Dehmel. Their first single, "Nur geträumt," became an instant hit in Germany. This success followed an appearance on the television show Musikladen in August 1982. The single sold 40,000 copies just one day after the broadcast. In 1983, the band released their self-titled debut album. This album featured the massive hit "99 Luftballons." The song reached number one in West Germany and the Netherlands.

"99 Luftballons" achieved significant international success. In 1984, the band released an English version called "99 Red Balloons." A radio show called American Top 40 played a "mixed" version that spliced the German and English lyrics together. This helped the song reach listeners in the United States. During a UK tour in 1984, Nena faced unexpected media attention regarding her unshaved armpits. While this was common in continental Europe, it was unusual in English-speaking countries. Nena later noted in her 2005 memoirs that she simply had no idea about these different cultural expectations. The band eventually split in 1987, leading to her solo career.

Nena's solo career has seen various stages of success and challenge. She released her first solo album, Wunder gescheh'n, in November 1989. The title track, which means "Miracles Happen," is closely associated with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the 1990s, her commercial success slowed down. After her second solo album, Bongo Girl, had an indifferent performance, Sony did not renew her contract in 1993. However, she experienced a massive comeback in 2002. She released the album Nena feat. Nena, which featured new arrangements of her old hits. This album was produced by her former band colleague, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen.

Her return to the charts was significant and long-lasting. In 2005, her album Willst du mit mir gehn achieved platinum status. The single "Liebe ist" reached the top of the German charts. This achievement marked the longest span between a first and last number one hit in German chart history. Since 2009, she has operated her own record label, The Laugh & Peas Company. This label publishes her music and supports other artists, including her daughter's group, Adameva.

Nena is also a prolific live performer. Since 1997, she has toured Germany and neighboring countries almost every year. She typically performs between 15 and 50 concerts annually. Her 2018 Nichts versäumt tour was especially successful. It attracted more than 250,000 fans across 45 cities. This tour won the German Live Entertainment Award for "concert hall tour of the year." Her ability to connect with audiences through both new recordings and live shows has maintained her status as a pop icon.