Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel is a German pop-rock band. The band began in 2001, and were first called Devilish. The people who are in the band all came from Magdeburg in Germany. The youngest, the Kaulitz twins, were born two months before the Berlin Wall was taken down.
Tokio Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Tokio Hotel, 2010. L-R: Georg Listing, Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Gustav Schäfer | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Magdeburg, Germany |
| Genres | Alternative rock, electronic rock, pop rock,[1][2] teen pop[3][4][5] emo,[6] pop punk (early) |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Universal Music Germany, Cherrytree, Interscope |
| Website | www |
| Members | Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Georg Listing Gustav Schäfer |
History
Tokio Hotel was started by singer Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers. Their step father owns a music school named "Rock School". The drummer is Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist is Georg Listing. The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage. Using the name "Devilish", the band began playing in talent shows and small concerts. After Bill Kaulitz took part in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to "Tokio Hotel": "Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, because they love the city, and "Hotel" because of their constant touring and living in hotels. Soon after Sony BMG took them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors. They guided the teens on songwriting and instrument playing; most of the songs of the first album were written by Hoffmann, Jost, Benzer, and Bill Kaulitz (including the singles "Scream" and "Rescue me" which were completely written by them). Only the single "Unendlichkeit" was written completely by Tokio Hotel themselves. However, shortly before release of their first album, Sony ended their contract. In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan. The band has now become one of the biggest acts from Germany.
Members
- Bill Kaulitz (Vocals)
Bill Kaulitz (born September 1 1989, in Leipzig, Germany) is the lead singer of Tokio Hotel. He is the twin brother of Tom Kaulitz. Bill is ten minutes younger than Tom. They used to live in Magdeburg, Germany. Before making Tokio Hotel, the band was called Devilish. Bill was on the German star search but he lost in 2001. Because of Bill going on the Star Search he came to be known by Peter Hoffman. Tokio Hotel soon got a job with Sony but in 2005 Sony ended it. After the first European tour, Bill lost his voice and found out he had cyst on his vocal cords. He had surgery and it took three weeks to get better. He then went back to having concerts with the band.
- Tom Kaulitz (Lead Guitar)
Tom Kaulitz was born on September 1 1989, in Leipzig ten minutes before his identical twin brother, Bill. He is from Magdeburg in Germany. Tom and Bill now live in Berlin, Germany. As of September 2007, Tom is using Gibson guitars. He has stated his musical influences to be Aerosmith and German hip-hop such as Samy Deluxe.
- Georg Listing (Bass Guitar)
Georg Listing was born on March 31 1987. His hometown is Halle. He began playing bass when he was thirteen years old, as of September 2007, uses a Sandberg bass. He has said that his playing style was heavily influenced by Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other musical influences include Die Ärzte and Oasis.
- Gustav Schäfer (Drummer)
Gustav Schäfer was born on September 8 1988, in his hometown of Magdeburg, and has an older sister. Gustav has been playing the drums since he was five. His musical influences include Metallica, Joe Cocker and Rod Stewart.
Awards
2005
- Oct 2005: Comet Awards: Best Newcomer
- Oct 2005: Comet Awards: Super Comet
- Nov 2005: Eins Live Krone: Best Newcomer
- Dec 2005: Bambi Awards: Best Pop National
- 2005: Golden Penguin: Best Single
- 2005: Golden Penguin: Best Pop
- 2005: Golden Penguin: Rock Band
2006
- Feb 2006: Golden Penguin: Album of the year
- Feb 2006: Golden Penguin: Band of the year
- Feb 2006: Golden Penguin: Song of the year - ‘Der Letzte Tag’
- March 2006: Sold-out-Award of Königpilsen Arena: Ausverkaufte Tourhalle
- March 2006: ECHO Awards: Best Newcomer
- March 2006: Steiger Awards: Best Newcomer
- Nov 2006: Bambi Awards: Best Pop National Act
2007
- Jan 2007: European Border Breakers Award (for the album "Schrei")
- Jan 2007: BZ-Kulturpreis: (Rock)
- Mar 2007: Echo: Best Music Video
- Apr 2007: Bravo - Goldener Otto: Superrockband
- May 2007: Viva Comet: Supercomet
- May 2007: Viva Comet: Best Band
- May 2007: Viva Comet: Best Music Video
- Jul 2007: Jabra Music: Die Beste Band )(The Best Band)
- Sep 2007: Festivalbar Premio Digital
- Sep 2007: Goldene Stimmgabel: Best Rock International
- Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Video
- Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Album
- Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Pop
- Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best New Artist
- Nov 2007: MTV Europe Music Awards (Munich): Inter Act
- Nov 2007: Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards (Milão) - Best Band
2008
- Jan 2008: NRJ Music: Best International Band
- Feb 2008: Echo Awards: Best Music Video
- Feb 2008: Comet Awards: Best Band
- Feb 2008: Comet Awards: Best Video
- Feb 2008: Comet Awards: Best Live Act
- Feb 2008: Comet Awards: Super Comet
- Sep 2008: MTV VMA Music Awards: Best New Artist
- Oct 2008: TMF Awards: Best Male Artist International(Bill Kaulitz)
- Oct 2008: TMF Awards: Best Video International
- Oct 2008: MTV Latin America Awards: Song of the Year
- Oct 2008: MTV Latin America Awards: Best Fanclub-Venezuela
- Oct 2008: MTV Latin America Awards: Best New Artist-International
- Oct 2008: MTV Latin America Awards: Best Ringtone
- Nov 2008: MTV EMA Music Awards: Headliner
2010
Discography
Singles
- August 15, 2005: Durch Den Monsun
- November 25, 2005: Schrei
- March 10, 2006: Rette Mich
- August 28, 2006: Der Letzte Tag / Wir Schließen Uns Ein
- January 26, 2007: Übers Ende der Welt
- April 7, 2007: Spring Nicht
- May 12, 2007: Monsoon
- August 27, 2007: Ready, Set, Go!
- November 16, 2007: An Deiner Seite (Ich Bin Da) / 1000 Meere
- September 18, 2009: Automatic / Automatisch
- December 18, 2009: World behind my wall / Lass uns laufen
DVD's
- December 2, 2005: Leb die Sekunde - Behind The Scenes
- April 7, 2006: Schrei Live
- April 7, 2007: Spring Nicht
- November 30, 2007: Zimmer 483 - Live In Europe
- December 5, 2008: Tokio Hotel TV - Caught on Camera
References
- ↑ Elke Buhr for Frankfurter Rundschau. February 22, 2007. English translation by Sign and Sight.com
Straightforward pop-rock with catchy melodies and a well-calculated mix of stolen Metallica riffs and romantic ballad elements. Everything is played on the safe side, and the production is technically perfect.
- ↑ ABC – Tokio Hotel: The Latest German Export
- ↑ "German Pop Sensation Tokio Hotel Wins MTV Video Music Award". Dw-world.de. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ↑ Elke Buhr for Frankfurter Rundschau. February 22, 2007. English translation by Sign and Sight.com
Straightforward pop-rock with catchy melodies and a well-calculated mix of stolen Metallica riffs and romantic ballad elements. Everything is played on the safe side, and the production is technically perfect.
- ↑ ABC - Tokio Hotel: The Latest German Export
- ↑ Ankeny, Jason (2006-12-29). "TH en allmusic". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ↑ "Tokio Hotel Songwriters Snag German Authors' Award". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
- ↑ "MTV EMA 2010 :: 07.11.2010 :: Madrid :: Tokio Hotel". ema.mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2010.