Monrose
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Monrose | |
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.jpg/220px-Cover_me_2007_-_0195_(Monrose).jpg) From left to right: Bahar Kızıl, Senna Guemmour, and Mandy Capristo at a charity concert in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in November 2007
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Germany |
| Genre(s) | Pop, dance-pop, R&B |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Label(s) | Starwatch/Warner |
| Website | www.monrose.de |
| Members | |
| Mandy Capristo Senna Guemmour Bahar Kızıl |
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Monrose is an ECHO Award-nominated German all-female pop band, first established in 2006. Formed on the fifth installment of the German version of the international television talent show Popstars, the trio is comprised of singers and songwriters Mandy Capristo, Senna Guemmour, and Bahar Kızıl.
The band's debut album Temptation was released in December 2006 and achieved major success throughout Central Europe, selling more than a 400,000 copies combined,[1] while spawning two singles with number-one hit "Shame" and the ballad "Even Heaven Cries." Monrose's second studio album, Strictly Physical, was released in September 2007 following the release of their second chart topper "Hot Summer," and has since been certified double gold.[2]
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
Under the motto "Neue Engel braucht das Land" ("The country needs new angels") Popstars returned with a fifth installment in August 2006, this time searching for the legal successors of the show's first and most successful formation, the No Angels. More than 5,100 hopeful female singers attended open television auditions in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hanover, Munich and Dortmund, judged by choreographer and dancer Detlef "D!" Soost, music producer Dieter Falk and singer Nina Hagen. Over the course of several recalls and re-recalls the three judges reduced the contestants to a group of 20 who immediately travelled to Ischgl, Tyrol to get trained in singing, dancing, and fitness. In the end eleven girls remained who again moved into a mansion in Pullach, Munich to start working on their performance and publicity skills. While Soost, Falk, and Hagen continued eliminating one or two girls each week, the six remaining finalists went on with the recordings of alternative versions of their debut album Temptation and the video shoot for their first single "Shame."
On the season's finale on Thursday, November 23, 2006, three of the six were chosen to make the band: Mandy Capristo, Senna Guemmour, and Bahar Kızıl beat out Arjeta Zuta, Katarzyna Zinkiewicz and Romina Reinhardt - and eventually formed the trio Monrose.
[edit] Temptation
.jpg/175px-Temptation_(Monrose).jpg)
On December 1, 2006, Monrose released their debut single "Shame". The Jiant & Snowflakers-produced pop song became an instant success and reached number one in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, making it one of the most successful debuts of the year.[3] Outselling 3/4 of the German Top 100's singles sales combined, the song also emerged as the fastest selling CD single of 2006 and the biggest-downloaded song since the introduction of the legal digital download charts in Germany in 2004.[3] The band's debut album, Temptation was released on December 8 in all German-speaking countries. Popstars judge Dieter Falk, Toni Cottura, Marc Mozart, and Marcus Brosch consulted on the album which debuted on top of the Austrian, German and Swiss albums charts and was certified platinum by the IFPI for more than 200,000 copies sold within its first two weeks of release.[4] It eventually sold more than 400,000 copies domestically.[1] Critics rated Temptation generally positively, with laut.de's Stefan Johannesburg praising Monrose and their team for wisely finding a very "British and catchy" musical middle ground between the Pussycat Dolls and Destiny's Child.[5]
In January 2007, it was announced that the trio had qualified for the German national pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, organized and broadcasted by the ARD.[6] Following several weeks of promotional appearances, Monrose entered the competition on March 8, 2007 with their second single "Even Heaven Cries," and although considered as early favourites by the media,[6] the band received 20 per cent of all 900,000 phone votes only and eventually finished second,[7] falling against swing singer Roger Cicero and his song "Frauen regier'n die Welt." Meanwhile "Even Heaven Cries" peaked at number 6 on the German Singles Chart and within the top 20 in Austria and Switzerland. Following this, the band announced their Venus Temptation Tour with twenty dates, beginning at the Hanover Capitol on April 29, 2007. Sponsored by Global Gillette, the concert tour was accompanied by intense media coverage since it failed to produce any sold-out show, and thus four concerts had to be cancelled due to low ticket sales.[8][9]
[edit] Strictly Physical
While touring Monrose began preparing work on their second studio album, Strictly Physical which was preceded by "Hot Summer," the band's second number-one hit in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and one of the biggest-selling songs of the year on German online music stores.[10] Obtaining international success in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and the Benelux states, the single confirmed the trio's intentions to expand their career on foreign language markets and as a result Strictly Physical received a simultaneous release in most of Continental Europe on September 21, 2007.[11] Featuring main production by Danish producers Remee and Thomas Troelsen, the album earned mixed reviews, with most professional critics calling the longplayer a "more mature and individual" but "well-snitched" output in comparison with band's debut album.[12] With "Strictly Physical" and the Billymann-penned ballad "What You Don't Know" the album spawned another two top 10 entries.
On September 1, Monrose contested in the Sopot Song Festival 2007 in Poland, representing Germany with their debut single "Shame." Rivaled by other international artists such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Thierry Amiel, The Cloud Room and September, the trio eventually lost to Polish rock band Feel and their song "A gdy już jest ciemno."
[edit] Current activities
As recently confirmed, the trio has started work on their yet-untitled third studio album, involving procution by Ryan Tedder among others.[13] The album's lead single, "Strike the Match," was released on June 6, 2008.[14] On March 20, 2008, their non-album song "We Love," a promotional song for German-based network ProSieben, was released as a digital download single.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Information | Chart positions | Sales | IFPI certifications | |||
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| GER | AUT | SWI | POL | ||||
| 2006 | Temptation
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400,000 | |
| 2007 | Strictly Physical
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110,000(+) | |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | FIN | POL | EUR | WOR | |||
| 2006 | "Shame" | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 10 | 10 | 36 | Temptation |
| 2007 | "Even Heaven Cries" | 6 | 17 | 19 | — | 49 | 16 | — | |
| "Hot Summer" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 58 | 10 | — | Strictly Physical | |
| "Strictly Physical" | 6 | 16 | 29 | — | 7 | 18 | — | ||
| "What You Don't Know" | 6 | 16 | 34 | — | — | 21 | — | ||
| 2008 | "We Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA |
| "Strike the Match" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
[edit] Tours
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Singen und tanzen". N-TV.de. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- ^ a b c Austrian Certification. IFPI. Retrieved on 2006-02-14.
- ^ a b "Monrose mit Verkaufsrekord". Media Control. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
- ^ "Monrose". Etain Me. Retrieved on 2007-05-15.
- ^ Stefan Johannesburg. Temptation review. LAUT. Retrieved on 2006-03-10.
- ^ a b "Grand Prix Vorentscheid 2007". LetMeEntertainYou. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ Folker Kramer. "Sieg für die Manufactum-Generation". Spiegel. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
- ^ Nicole Pohl. "Schon wieder alles aus?". Bild-Zeitung. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ Sven Kuschel. "Von Popstars zu Flopstars". Bild-Zeitung. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ "37 Prozent mehr legale Musikdownloads". Media Control. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ Chart History (German). Swisscharts. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
- ^ Julian Stetter. Strictly Physical review. laut.de. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Ryan Tedder: Konkurrenz für Top-Produzent Timbaland?". Bild-Zeitung. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
- ^ Diary entry. Official fanclub. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ German Certification. IFPI. Retrieved on 2006-02-14.
- ^ Swiss Certification. HitParade.ch. Retrieved on 2006-02-14.
- ^ Swiss Certification. Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
[edit] External links
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