DJ BoBo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| DJ BoBo | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter René Baumann |
| Born | January 5, 1968 Kölliken, Switzerland |
| Origin | Kölliken, Switzerland |
| Genre(s) | Dance, Eurodance, Europop, Rap, Reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, dancer and music producer |
| Years active | 1989 - present |
| Label(s) | 1993 Fresh Music; 1994-2001 EAMS; 2002-2003 BMG; 2004-present Yes Music |
Peter René Baumann (born January 5, 1968) better known as DJ BoBo, is a successful Swiss singer, songwriter, dancer and music producer.
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[edit] Music career
Peter René Baumann was born in Kölliken, Switzerland, to Italian father Luigi Cipriano and Swiss mother Ruth Baumann. As a dance music producer, his first big success came with the single "Somebody Dance with Me", which borrows its melody from Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me. After this, he charted well with the singles "Keep on Dancing" and "Take Control". From 1992 till 2007 he had 27 single chart-hits in Switzerland and Germany, and has won 10 World Music Awards.
René has received numerous golds and platinums for his songs and has found success in Europe (primarily Germany, Switzerland and Bosnia-Herzegovina), Israel, and South America. René's more recent songs are a departure from eurodance, but he hasn't completely abandoned the genre, as seen from non-single tracks such as "Moscow" (2001), "No More Pain" (2003), and "Amazing Life" (2005).
One of his singles, "Chihuahua", was used in a 2002 Spanish Coca-Cola commercial and went on number one in the single-charts of Spain and Mexico. In 2003 it was re-released due to its huge success and it ended being the best selling single of the year 2003 world wide. With this song DJ Bobo went on number one in the charts of Switzerland and France, number two in Czech Republic and Italy and number 36 in United Kingdom. In December 2004, the Cantonese version of "Chihuahua" was written by Wyman Wong as the theme song of the same product. This version was performed by Joey Yung.
In 2004, as a result of the success of "Chihuahua", René was awarded the Swiss award for show business at the Swiss awards, an annual event meant to recognise high achieving Swiss people.
As well as being a eurodance performer and producer, René is also a choreographic dancer. In 2007, René was chosen to sing the official 2008 UEFA European Football Championship song. On the DJ Bobo website, he put a poll on to choose which song out of two would be the official song. The public chose 'Ole Ole' over 'Let The Games Begin'. Hence on 11 April 2008, Olé Olé will be released as a single. The Single will be accompanied by an album "Olé Olé - Party". Olé Olé - Party includes 5 brand new songs, 9 party hits, a medley and a newly remixed version of DJ BoBo's megahit "Everybody".
[edit] 2007 Eurovision Song Contest
On October 11, 2006 DJ Bobo announced in a press conference that he had applied to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.[1]
In past years, Switzerland's entry has not necessarily been a Swiss national. Most notably, Canadian Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 representing Switzerland. In DJ Bobo's press conference, he told reporters that "It's a shame for Swiss tax payer money from the TV licence fees to go to fund a foreign act, and the people should resist that."
In December 2006 the Swiss TV Council announced that they had chosen Bobo out of over 200 applicants to represent Switzerland in Helsinki. The council earned some negative comments for the selection as not having been fair towards lesser known Swiss artists.
On February 21 2007, DJ Bobo revealed both the song and video he would enter in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. The song was titled "Vampires Are Alive."
Despite being one of the favorites to win the contest according to many bookmakers, the song failed to get past the semi-final stage on May 12. It finished twentieth out of twenty eight semi-finalists.
[edit] World Food Programme
DJ Bobo became a United Nations World Food Programme National Ambassador Against Hunger in October 2006, becoming the first Swiss celebrity to take up the role. He was also a participant in the 2006 Geneva Walk the World event.[2]
[edit] Family
1989-1994 DJ BoBo was married to Daniela Bock. In 1993 René met Nancy Rentzsch; she joined his team in 1995. René and Nancy got married on 9th August 2001. René and Nancy have two children. Jamiro-René was born on the 8th of October 2002 and Kayley-Nancy was born on 29th September 2006. In 2008 his family moved to a new house in Kastanienbaum, canton Lucerne.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1993 Dance with Me [#16 Austria, #4 Sweden, #4 Switzerland]
- 1994 Live & Remixes
- 1994 There Is a Party [#17 Austria, #2 Sweden, #4 Switzerland]
- 1995 Just for You' [#26 Austria, #5 Switzerland, #1 Poland]
- 1996 World in Motion [#18 Austria (Gold), #1 Switzerland]
- 1998 Magic [#8 Austria, #1 Switzerland]
- 1999 The Ultimate Megamix '99 [#2 Switzerland, #17 Germany]
- 1999 Level 6 [#24 Austria, #1 Switzerland]
- 1999 Hits & Remixes
- 2001 Planet Colors [#27 Austria, #2 Switzerland]
- 2002 Celebration [#18 Austria, #2 Switzerland]
- 2003 Visions [#3 Switzerland]
- 2003 Chihuahua [#1 Switzerland]
- 2003 Live in Concert [#28 Switzerland]
- 2005 Pirates of Dance [#1 Switzerland]
- 2006 Greatest Hits [#58 Austria, #1 Switzerland]
- 2007 Vampires [#74 Austria, #2 Switzerland]
- 2008 Olé Olé - The Party [#11 Switzerland]
[edit] Singles
- 1989 - I Love You
- 1990 - Ladies In The House
- 1991 - Let's Groove On
- 1992 - Somebody Dance With Me [#3 Austria, #13 Australia, #3 Netherlands, #3 Norway, #1 Sweden, #1 Switzerland, #4 Germany]
- 1993 - Keep On Dancing [#7 Austria #9 Netherlands, #9 Norway, #7 Sweden, #2 Switzerland, #5 Germany]
- 1993 - Take Control [#9 Austria, #18 Netherlands, #21 Sweden, #4 Switzerland, #12 Germany]
- 1994 - Everybody [#24 Austria #12 Netherlands, #20 Sweden, #3 Switzerland, #2 Germany, #1 Brazil, #1 Argentina]
- 1994 - Let The Dream Come True [#6 Austria, #49 Australia, #11 Netherlands, #11 Sweden, #1 Switzerland, #4 Germany]
- 1995 - Love Is All Around [#13 Austria, #24 Australia, #42 France, #36 Netherlands, #17 Norway, #14 Sweden, #16 Switzerland, #10 Germany]
- 1995 - There Is A Party [#29 Austria, #35 France, #24 Netherlands, #13 Switzerland]
- 1995 - Freedom [#7 Austria, #7 Finland, #22 Netherlands, #31 Sweden, #4 Switzerland]
- 1996 - Love Is The Price [#13 Austria, #12 Finland, #11 Switzerland, #11 Germany]
- 1996 - Pray [#6 Austria, #2 Finland, #2 Switzerland, #3 Germany]
- 1997 - Respect Yourself [#23 Austria, #7 Finland, #16 Switzerland]
- 1997 - It's My Life [#16 Austria, #17 Finland, #7 Switzerland, #16 Germany]
- 1997 - Shadows Of The Night [#25 Austria, #7 Switzerland]
- 1998 - Where Is Your Love [#20 Austria, #3 Switzerland]
- 1998 - Around The World [#23 Switzerland]
- 1998 - Celebrate [#8 Switzerland]
- 1999 - Together [#34 Austria, #4 Switzerland]
- 1999 - Lies [#48 Switzerland]
- 2001 - What A Feeling (with Irene Cara) [#11 Austria, #2 Switzerland, #3 Germany]
- 2001 - Hard To Say I'm Sorry [#25 Switzerland]
- 2001 - The Way To Your Heart (with Betty Love)
- 2001 - Colours Of Life [#37 Switzerland]
- 2002 - Chihuahua (Spain only) #1
- 2002 - Celebration [#48 Austria, #14 Switzerland]
- 2003 - I Believe [#61 Austria, #13 Switzerland, #18 Germany]
- 2003 - Chihuahua (European release) [#48 Austria, #12 Finland, #1 France, #2 Italy, #41 Netherlands, #15 Norway, #10 Sweden, #1 Switzerland]
- 2003 - Chihuahua (German edition) [#19 Germany]
- 2004 - Pirates Of Dance [#43 Austria, #3 Switzerland, #16 Germany]
- 2005 - Amazing Life [#27 Switzerland] [#48 Germany]
- 2006 - Secrets Of Love (with Sandra) [#39 Austria, #5 Switzerland]
- 2007 - Vampires Are Alive [#62 Austria, #7 Finland, #3 Switzerland]
- 2007 - We Gotta Hold On [#24 Switzerland]
- 2007 - Because Of You
- 2008 - Olé Olé [#35 Switzerland]
[edit] References
- ^ Viniker, Barry (2006-10-12). Official: DJ Bobo enters Swiss selection. esctoday.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
- ^ World Food Programme (2006-10-25). DJ Bobo takes up the fight against world hunger for WFP. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
