| Sandy Mölling | |
|---|---|
Mölling backstage at The Dome 33 in Salzburg, Austria on February 25, 2005. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sandy Mölling |
| Born | April 27, 1981 Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Origin | Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock, urban pop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, dancer, presenter, actress |
| Years active | 2000–present (group) 2004–present (solo) |
| Labels | Cheyenne, Starwatch |
| Associated acts | Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, No Angels, Vanessa Petruo, Jessica Wahls |
| Website | Sandy.tv |
Sandy Mölling (born April 27, 1981), known professionally as Sandy, is a German singer-songwriter, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German media.[1]
After a series of commercially successful releases with the group between the years of 2001 and 2003, she launched a solo career which produced two studio albums, Unexpected (2004) and Frame of Mind (2006), and a number of top ten hits, resulting into an ECHO Award nomination for "Female Artist National." In addition, she has since also ventured into acting and television presenting, predominantly starring in comedies.
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Mölling was born in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany to Lothar Mölling and his first wife Dagmar Sprenger.[2] She has three brothers, Brian, Kevin and Dustin and a younger half sister named Melina.[3] After her parents divorce Mölling, her mother, and her siblings moved from Remscheid to Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, where she finished secondary school and later quit the gymnasium to start an apprenticeship as a retail saleswoman at a jeans retailer.[3]
In 2000, Mölling auditioned for the debut installment of the German reality television program Popstars, entering the competition with thousands of other women. She earned a position in the top thirty finalists and immediately travelled to Majorca, Spain to join her competitors for a workshop, where she made it to the final ten on the show despite of her struggle with dancing choreographies. During a special episode in November 2000, jury member Moslener eventually disclosed that Sandy was chosen to become part of the final five-member girl group No Angels.
With the final five members of the band in place, Popstars continued tracking the development and struggles of the group who left homes to move into a shared flat near Munich, Bavaria. However, it took another four months until the band released their debut single "Daylight in Your Eyes," which would subsequently appear on the band's debut album Elle'ments (2001). Both the single and the album became an unexpected but record-breaking success, when both instantly entered the top position on the Austrian, German and Swiss Media Control singles, albums and airplay charts, making the No Angels one of the most successful debuts in years.[4]
In the following years the No Angels released another two number-one studio albums, Now ... Us! and Pure, a live album and a successful swing album branded When the Angels Swing, totalling twelve singles altogether - including four-number one singles. Eventually selling more than five million singles and albums worldwide, the No Angels became the best-selling German girl band to date[1] and the second most successful girl group of Continental Europe between the years of 2001 and 2003 after Atomic Kitten.[1] On September 5, 2003, the four remaining members of the band (Jessica Wahls had left the band following the birth of her first child in March 2003) announced that they would no longer be performing together after three years of continual touring and increasing cases of illness. The release of The Best of No Angels in November of the same year marked the end of the band, with each member going their separate ways in early 2004.[1]
Mölling spend much of early 2004 with the recording of her solo debut album. After months of intensive recording sessions in Sweden and Great Britain Sandy released her first solo single "Unnatural Blonde," which became a Top 10 success and the highest charting single of all solo releases by all former band members. The summer-laid follow-up "Tell Me", a ballad, saw similar success in August of the same year, becoming another Top 10 hit.
Following the successful release of the singles, Mölling's full-length debut album Unexpected was released on September 13, 2004. It debuted at number 13 on the German albums chart. A third single, "Unexpected" (featuring German rapper Manuellsen), was released when Sandy was chosen to represent Rhineland-Palatinate on the 1st Bundesvision Song Contest. The singer eventually finished last with 10 points, while the single entered a moderate number 29 on the German singles chart. Around the same time Sandy received an ECHO nomination for "Female Artist National (2005)".
After a few hosting jobs and a sudden label change Sandy released her minor succeeded second album, Frame of Mind (#53), in May 2006 via Starwatch Music. The album's first single, "Crash", was a cover version of the same-titled 1988 UK hit (released by The Primitives) and peaked at number 24 on the German singles chart. Additionally Sandy was seen as a competitor in TV contest Let's Dance, eventually ending third. The album's second single, "Living without You" was released in November 2006 and entered the German single chart at number 36.The song was lyrically dedicated to her step father who died in early 2005.
In mid-2006, Mölling agreed upon former bandmate Lucy Diakovska's request to reunite for a musical comeback. However, all band members have affirmed that they will continue to pursue individual careers as solo artists at suitable opportunities. Sandy has also presented three television programes on two different German networks, including Autsch TV on Das Vierte and both Du bist... and Damenwahl on the music channel VIVA.
Mölling's ex-boyfriend is the father of her only child. They got to know each other in 2002 and separated in 2008. The couple had their first baby boy, Jayden, on 27 March 2009. Since 2009 she has been romantically involved with the Canadian singer and songwriter, Nasri Atweh. The two have met in the work on No Angels album Welcome to the Dance.
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | ||
| 2004 | Unexpected | 13 | 73 | 91 |
| 2006 | Frame of Mind | 53 | — | — |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | |||
| 2004 | "Unnatural Blonde" | 8 | 29 | 41 | Unexpected |
| "Tell Me" | 10 | 34 | 46 | ||
| 2005 | "Unexpected" (featuring Manuell) | 29 | 52 | — | |
| 2006 | "Crash" | 24 | — | — | Frame of Mind |
| "Living Without You" | 36 | 71 | — | ||
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