Haddaway
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| Haddaway | |
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 Haddaway in 2004
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Nestor Haddaway |
| Born | January 9, 1965 |
| Origin |  Trinidad |
| Genre(s) | eurodance/house |
| Occupation(s) | musician |
| Years active | 1993 - Present |
Haddaway (born Alexander Nestor Haddaway, January 9, 1965, Trinidad) is a Trinidadian eurodance and house musician. The son of a Dutch oceanographer and a local Trinidadian nurse, he grew up in Europe and the United States, and moved to Cologne, Germany, in 1989. He now resides in Kitzbühel, Austria.
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[edit] Career
Haddaway's biggest hit, "What Is Love", became very popular across Europe (reaching #2 in the UK) and North America after its 1993 release.
Haddaway's only other major hit in North America was the second single from his self titled debut album called "Life", which peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, although his debut album spawned four major European hit singles: "Life", "Mama's House", "I Miss You", and "Rock My Heart".
Haddaway enjoyed a popularity in many of Europe's Post-Soviet states, where his music came to represent the newborn independence.
In 1998, Haddaway returned with his third album, Let's Do It Again. It again stepped further away from the soulful Eurodance songs he was known for, in a favour of a more commercial mainstream dance sound. The album did not make the pop record charts or the dance charts in North America, but it was a moderate success in Europe.
"What Is Love" has been re-mixed and re-released a number of times. The track had a prominent role in a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch that later became the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury. The song was also featured in a Pepsi commercial in 2008, parodying the Roxbury sketch.
Haddaway appeared on the Comeback reality television show in Germany in 2004. He appeared on a similar UK show, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version of that show.
In July 2005, in Germany he released a new single called "Spaceman" and an album called Pop Splits.
In Spring 2008, he plans a comeback, a single with the Swedish-Nigerian pop-star of the '90s, Dr. Alban.
Haddaway holds a PhD in political science and history from George Washington University of Washington DC[1].
[edit] "What is Love" in popular culture
Haddaway's song "What is Love" was used in many sketches on SNL in the 90s, as well as in a Super Bowl XLII Diet Pepsi Max commercial, and in episode 8 of David Lovelace's popular flash cartoon series, Retarded Animal Babies.
Also featured on the British sports quiz show A Question of Sport during a round of Mystery Guest.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1993 Haddaway (GER #5, UK #9)
- 1995 The Drive (GER #32)
- 1998 Let's Do It Now
- 1999 All The Best His Greatest Hits
- 2001 My Face
- 2002 The Greatest Hits
- 2002 Love Makes
- 2004 What Is Love - The Greatest Hits
- 2005 Pop Splits
- 2008 Crucified
[edit] Singles
- 1993 "What Is Love" (Ireland #1 / Netherlands # 1 / Norway # 1 / Australia # 1 / Spain #1 / Switzerland # 1 / Mexico # 1 / Finland # 1 / Belgium # 1 / Italy # 1 / Latvia # 1 / Israel # 1 / Denmark # 1 / Sweden # 1 / France # 1 / Europa # 1 / U.K # 2 / Germany # 2 / U.S # 11 / Australia #12)
- 1993 "Life" (UK # 6 / GER # 2 / NL # 3 / ISR # 1 / US # 41 / AUS #34 / SP #1)
- 1993 "I Miss You" (UK # 9 / GER # 18 / NL # 21 / ISR # 7 / AUS #43)
- 1994 "Rock My Heart" (UK # 9 / GER # 10 / NL # 12 / ISR # 1 / AUS #83)
- 1995 "Fly Away" (UK # 20 / GER # 25 / ISR # 5 / NL # 9)
- 1995 "Catch a Fire" (UK # 39 / GER # 38 / ISR # 4 / NL # 17)
- 1995 "Lover Be Thy Name" (GER # 65)
- 1997 "What About Me"
- 1998 "Who Do You Love" (GER # 93)
- 1998 "You're Taking My Heart"
- 2001 "Deep"
- 2002 "Love Makes" (GER # 81)
- 2003 "What Is Love Reloaded" (GER # 51)
- 2005 "Spaceman" (GER # 67)
- 2005 "Missionary Man"
- 2007 "Follow Me"
- 2008 "I Love the 90s" (feat. Dr Alban)
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Official site (German, but an English version is available)
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