No Angels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the German pop group. For the British television series, see No Angels (TV series).
| No Angels | ||
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 Promotional photo (2003)
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Germany |
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| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Years active | 2000-2003 | |
| Label(s) | Cheyenne / Polydor | |
| Website | Official site | |
| Members | ||
| Nadja Benaissa Lucy Diakovska Sandy Mölling Vanessa Petruo Jessica Wahls |
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The No Angels were an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000 on the international television talent show Popstars. Originally a quintet, the group eventually became a quartet, selling more than 10 million albums and singles worldwide. On September 5, 2003, the girls announced, that they will no longer be performing together, instead pursuing individual careers in music, theatre, television and film.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
Over the course of three months in fall 2000, more than 4,500 hopeful singers attended open television auditions for RTL 2’s Popstars talent show. The contestants were judged by Dutch entertainer Simone Angel, booker Mario M. Mendryzcki and Rainer Moslener, a director of A&R. The judges reduced the contestants to a final group of eleven, before visiting each of them at their homes to reveal whether or not they had been selected for the band.
The five chosen singers – Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo and Jessica Wahls – formed the No Angels.
[edit] Elle'ments
On February 5, 2001 the No Angels released their debut single "Daylight in Your Eyes" in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The pop song was a partial remake of the same-titled unreleased Victoria Faiella single from 2000. However, the song entered the charts at number 1 on the German singles chart and stayed there for six weeks, simultaneously reaching the top of the Austrian, and Swiss airplay and singles charts. The song also proved to be a hit outside the German speaking countries - hitting number 1 in Brazil, Luxembourg and entering the Top 100 in France, the UK, Poland and Bulgaria. Although a "less sexy" second version of the video was filmed for the American market, both the video and the song saw minor success in the United States only.
In March 2001, the band released their debut album, Elle'ments in Europe. Due to the sheer volume of interest in the group the album managed to sell more than 640,000 copies in Germany alone, making it the biggest selling album of 2000. Elle'ments sold over 2 million copies worldwide and was eventually certified triple Platinum for its sales.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group followed their debut single up quickly by releasing "Rivers of Joy" in April and "There Must Be an Angel", a cover of the 1985 hit by British pop duo Eurythmics, in August 2001. While the No Angels' second single failed to link on the success of "Daylight", entering the Top 10 of the charts "only", the band's third single continued the group's remarkable sales by topping the charts once again in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Brazil. The last release from Elle'ments was a double A-side of "When the Angels Sing/Atlantis", latter song (a duet with the song's original singer Donovan) being used as the European soundtrack for Walt Disney's animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
[edit] Now ... Us!
In June 2002, the No Angels released their second studio album, Now ... Us!. Preceded by the group's third number one single "Something about Us", a song which delt with circulating but wrong rumours about the band and earned the group a third ECHO Award, the album went on to sell over 1,2 million copies. Though the album's sales couldn't link on the unexpected success of Elle'ments the band remained the biggest selling European girl group of 2002. Further singles released from the album included summer-lite "Still in Love with You" and a remix version of "Let's Go to Bed", produced by DJ Mousse T. – latter being the band's first and only track not to enter the Top 10 in Germany.
In the course of a special concert at the Berlin Tränenpalast the No Angels soon followed with a DVD and CD entitled When The Angels Swing featuring their biggest hits and selected songs from their first two albums done in the style of classic swing music. They also re-released Now ... Us! in a special Winter Edition, including the band's next single "All Cried Out", a cover by Alison Moyet. The song was released in two versions, one pop and one classical, and spawned two music videos to promote both the re-release and When The Angels Swing.
Soon after the girls experienced a bit of turbulence when Jessica Wahls announced she was taking a break from the band to give birth to her first child. Although the girls had agreed upon Jessica's return the following year, Wahls decided not to return to the band after her daughter's birth in March 2003, and instead started pursuing a solo career.
[edit] Pure
Returning from yet another hiatus, the four remaining girls released their third album, Pure, in August 2003. Sporting a more mature side of pop music, the album received a positive response - even though it failed to achieve the success of its two best selling predecessors with a final amount of 400.000 sold copies. The lead single from the album, "No Angels (It's All in Your Mind)", however, became the group's fourth number one single in Germany and seventh Top 10 hit in Austria. With Spanish-lite "Someday", and R&B driven "Feelgood Lies" the album spwaned two further Top 5 singles.
Further planned single releases off the album (including "Eleven out of Ten") never materialised: On September 5, 2003, after three years of travelling, and constant promotional appearances, the No Angels announced their official disbandment towards the end of the year. While the girls and their management decided to cancel all dates of their scheduled 2004 Pure Acoustic Tour, the band (now re-joined by Jessica) agreed on releasing a final album, The Best of No Angels, in December of the same year. Apart from a collection of all of the radio-ready singles the girls had released over the years, the album also contained a reworked version of one of the debut album tracks, "Reason". Released as the band's final single in November 2003, the song became another Top 10 success for the group.
After a final performance in Munich on November 28, 2003 the No Angels each went their separate ways after that, some going for motherhood and others a solo career. Since then the girls have made very different statements about a possible reunion of the group. Especially Jessica and Sandy expressed interest in a new CD, whereas Lucy, Nadja and Vanessa came out vehemtly against a reunion.
[edit] Discography
- For complete discography, see No Angels discography.
[edit] Albums
- Elle'ments (2001) #1 GER
- Now ... Us! (2002) #1 GER
- When The Angels Swing (2002) #9 GER
- Pure (2003) #1 GER
- The Best of No Angels (2003) #5 GER
- Acoustic Angels (2004) #80 GER
[edit] Awards
[edit] 2001
- Bambi - "Pop National"
- Comet - "Best Act National"
- Eins Live Krone - "Best Newcomer"
- Top Of The Pops Award - "Top Single Germany"
[edit] 2002
- World Music Awards - "Best-selling German Act"
- ECHO - "Best National Group - Rock/Pop"
- ECHO - "Best National Single - Rock/Pop"
- Bravo Otto (Gold) - "Superband Pop"
- Comet - "Act National"
- Eins Live Krone - "Best Band"
[edit] 2003
- ECHO - "Best National Videoclip"
- Goldene Kamera - "Best Band"
- Bravo Otto (Gold) - "Superband Pop"
- Comet - "Band National"
- Eins Live Krone - "Best Single"
[edit] External links
| No Angels |
|---|
| Nadja Benaissa • Lucy Diakovska • Sandy Mölling Vanessa Petruo • Jessica Wahls |
| Albums: Elle'ments · Now ... Us! · When the Angels Swing Pure · The Best of No Angels · Acoustic Angels |
| Singles: "Daylight in Your Eyes" · "Rivers of Joy" · "There Must Be an Angel" "Something about Us" · "Still in Love with You" · "Let's Go to Bed" "All Cried Out" · "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" · "Someday" · "Feelgood Lies" · "Reason" |
| Discography |
