Cascada

Cascada (/kəˈskɑːdə/;^[1][2] Spanish for Waterfall) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler, DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most" and "Evacuate the Dancefloor". Cascada have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, an estimated 15 million digital downloads, and have an estimated net worth of over 7 million. Cascada represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. While being one of the most successful acts of the dance music genre in itself, Cascada are named the most successful German act of the 21st century.^[3]

Music career

2004–05: Early career

When Natalie Horler was 17, she was doing studio work for various DJs. Eventually she met Yanou and DJ Manian. Originally, they released music under the name Cascade, but due to Kaskade, another artist with a similar name, threatening legal action, they changed it to Cascada.^[4] They simultaneously released music under the names of Siria and Akira as well, but ended those projects due to the success of Cascada. Under Andorfine Records, they produced their debut and hit single, "Miracle", and its follow-up, "Bad Boy", in Germany.^[5] This caught the attention of the American dance label Robbins Entertainment. They negotiated a contract and "Miracle" was released in 2004. However, it did not attract much attention, so Cascada offered them "Everytime We Touch".

2005–07: Everytime We Touch

Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name.^[6][7] The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.^[8][9] Soon after the popularity of the single skyrocketed, an album was recorded and released in a matter of months,^[10] and a music video for "Everytime We Touch" was also distributed for promotion.^[11]

A total of eight singles were released from the album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom: "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden),"Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" (originally by X-Perience), all of which gained top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream", which charted at #46.^[12] The U.S. saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of the U.S. charts.^[13] Their album Everytime We Touch has experienced success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the top forty for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #2.^[14][15] The album experienced success on the U.S. charts as well.^[16] The success of the album gained them two World Music Award nominations, winning them World's Best-Selling German Artist.^[17] Additionally, the album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

2007–09: Perfect Day

Horler first announced that Cascada were working on their second album during a Japanese interview, which was posted on their blog on MySpace.^[18] There are a few cover songs on the album, most notably Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", P!nk's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and Mark Wills's song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It", that were previously recorded by Horler and DJ Manian under the discontinued Siria name.^[19] However, the U.S. release replaced the Siria songs,^[20] P!nk, and Avril Lavigne covers with three newer tracks, because they did not have the North American rights. Two of these songs were "Faded", a cover of a Kate DeAraugo song, and "Holiday", a cover of a Jenny May song.^[21] The second album was released at the end of 2007 in the UK, and several parts of Northern Europe.^[22] Perfect Day was released to the remaining markets, in the first quarter of 2008, with the U.S. release being the last.^[23] Horler also stated in a French interview, before the release, that she would take a hand in writing parts of the album;^[24] however, she did not write any of the final tracks on the album.^[25]

The world-wide lead single, "What Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".^[26] The single had high success, reaching the top ten in most countries.^[27] The U.K. and German follow-up to "What Hurts the Most", is "What Do You Want From Me?",^[28][29] originally thought to be called "Tell Me Why".^[30] The third release from the album in the UK and Germany was "Because the Night".^[31][32] The United States instead received both "Faded" and "Perfect Day" as singles, however each of these releases received little airplay outside of the dance-radio circuit.

2009–10: Evacuate the Dancefloor

On 29 June 2009, "Evacuate the Dancefloor" was released in the UK. The release, just four days after the death of Michael Jackson, was expected to chart within the top ten, underneath a plethora of the deceased King of Pop's former hits, due to a resurgence of sales after the news. To the surprise of many, the single debuted at No. 1, over Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The song went on to achieve top five success in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as top ten success in many more. The song slowly rose on the U.S. chart after a late September release, eventually reaching a peak of No. 25 after a seventeen-week climb, becoming the group's second top-forty hit. The song has become a club staple, used in many dance-

Cascada's logo

oriented video games, and even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The album, also named Evacuate the Dancefloor, was released a week later on 6 July in the UK and Germany. The album continued Cascada's progression into electro-pop, the change was welcomed by mainstream audiences and fans, yet many fans still remorsed the euro-pop feel, which some felt was integral to the Cascada project. The album itself did not mirror the success of the single, yet it did chart in the top ten of many territories, including the UK. However, the album did not have lasting sales and quickly fell out of the charts. "Dangerous" and "Fever" were follow-up singles released from the album, the former in the UK, and the latter in the US, Australia, and the rest of Europe, neither experiencing success in terms of radio spins, digital, or physical sales. Nevertheless, the group toured extensively to promote the album, even opening for Britney Spears during a stop in Germany.

2010–11: Original Me

A new single "Pyromania" was released in 2010, continuing their new electropop sound. A second single, "Night Nurse", was released along with a music video featuring Horler in full body paint of various colors in many scenes. This single was never actually released until a year later on 16 December 2011 when it got an exclusive release in the U.S.

On the weekend of 26 March, Cascada shot two music videos for the upcoming singles "San Francisco" and "Au Revoir". Both videos were directed by Lisa Mann and choreographed by Luther Brown, and both singles were featured on the album Original Me which was released on 20 June 2011 (UK),^[33] and 29 Nov 2011 in the US.

After the release of the album, Horler posed for Playboy Deutschland in July 2011,^[34] to mixed reactions from fans and critics. On 1 September 2011, US label Robbins Entertainment announced on their message board that Cascada and Robbins have amicably parted ways, and Cascada were released from the label, citing creative differences as the reason for their departure. It was also announced that Original Me would still be released, under their Zooland label.^[35][36]

2012–13: The Best of Cascada, Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and Acoustic Sessions

On 7 January 2012, Horler joined the judging panel of season 9 of German singing contest Deutschland sucht den Superstar.^[37] On 16 March 2012, the music video for "Summer of Love" premiered in Germany.^[38] and was released on 30 March followed by the compilation album titled Back on the Dancefloor.

On 24 May 2012, Horler posted a video blog, announcing that they were getting ready to release the next single.^[39] In early June, a video clip of Horler performing a cover of Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" surfaced online.^[40] "The Rhythm of the Night" was released on 22 June 2012 in Germany and in the USA,^[41][42] with the music video for the song premiering on Cascada's Facebook page on the same day as the release.

On 12 November 2012, Horler announced via Facebook that their long awaited Christmas Album would be released and would feature her father, David Horler, playing the trombone on two of the tracks.^[43] On 30 November 2012, the album It's Christmas Time was released digitally via Zooland Records, and features 11 well known Christmas songs, as well as the brand new track "Somewhere At Christmas Time" written especially for the album.^[44]

Cascada represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

On 17 December 2012, the north German regional broadcaster NDR announced that Cascada would take part in the German national final Unser Song für Malmö for a chance to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with their single "Glorious". Cascada won the German national final which was held on 14 February 2013 in Hannover, and therefore will represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Despite being considered one of the favorites to win the competition (placing the song in 4th place among OGAE voting), on 18 May 2013, Cascada's "Glorious" earned 18 points in the Eurovision Final, putting them in 21st place.

On 8 Feb 2013, Cascada released the single "Glorious" followed by the release of their second greatest hits album, The Best of Cascada, on 29 Mar 2013. After the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, Cascada released a second single "The World is in My Hands" on 2 Aug.^[45] They also returned to the studio to work on their promised acoustic album which was released as Acoustic Sessions on 1 November 2013.^[46] The album features acoustic versions of past hits from the band as well as a few covers of other songs. The most notable cover version was "You" performed by both Natalie and Robin Stjernberg.

2014: "Blink" and "Madness"

On 12 December 2013, German DJ/producer CJ Stone revealed that he was working on a remix for the latest Cascada release. He shared with eager fans that the single is titled "Blink" and would be released in early 2014.^[47] On 10 January 2014, Natalie posted on Facebook that they were busy planning the music video for the new single.^[48] "Blink" was released on 28 March in Germany with the video premier on the same day.^[49] The track was originally recorded by pop group U.V.U.K.^[50] In April 2014, "Blink" was released in Australia and France, and also began getting airplay in the UK, with the UK release expected to be soon. Robbins Entertainment also announced that they will release and promote "Blink" in the United States,^[51] thus signing Cascada back to their label.

A recent interview with Natalie confirmed that the group currently has no plans to release a 5th studio album just yet, however Natalie did mention that they will be back in the studio very soon to work on the next single.^[52]

On 7 September 2014 Cascada revealed that the new single, "Madness" featuring Manchester-based rapper Tristan 'Tris' Henry, will be released 26 September. A few days later, the artwork for the single was posted on Facebook.^[53] Madness was released on iTunes on 26 September worldwide.^[54] A video for "Madness" premiered on YouTube on 30 September.^[55]

2015: "Reason" and Pregnancy Break

After teasing fans with news of a new single and video shoot, Natalie confirmed via Facebook that they will be releasing a re-work of "Reason", which was released on 20 February 2015.^[56] The track was originally released in 2004, under their previous alias 'Diamond', which was one of many side projects Natalie, Manian and Yanou were involved in before they were successful with Cascada. The video was shot in Mallorca, Spain and premiered on 20 February 2015.^[57] On 28 May 2015, it was announced that Natalie would be taking a short break due to her pregnancy. All upcoming shows were cancelled, and fans were rest-assured that new music was "in the works", with Natalie posting several times during the summer that she was in the studio.^[58] In September 2015, Natalie gave birth to her daughter Jamie.^[59]

Natalie returns to the stage in December 2015, with upcoming shows in Norway, Austria, Germany and the UK where she will also be performing at London's G-A-Y on New Year's Eve along with X-Factor contestant Fleur East.^[60]

Discography

• 2006: Everytime We Touch
• 2007: Perfect Day
• 2009: Evacuate the Dancefloor
• 2011: Original Me

Tours

• 2007: Everytime We Touch Tour
• 2008: Clubland Live Tour
• 2008: Perfect Day Tour
• 2009: Clubland Live Tour
• 2011: Original Me Tour

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official Cascada Site

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 1950s Walter Andreas Schwarz Freddy Quinn Margot Hielscher Margot Hielscher Alice & Ellen Kessler 1960s Wyn Hoop Lale Andersen Conny Froboess Heidi Brühl Nora Nova Ulla Wiesner Margot Eskens Inge Brück Wenche Myhre Siw Malmkvist 1970s Katja Ebstein Katja Ebstein Mary Roos Gitte Cindy & Bert Joy Fleming Les Humphries Singers Silver Convention Ireen Sheer Dschinghis Khan 1980s Katja Ebstein Lena Valaitis Nicole Hoffmann & Hoffmann Mary Roos Wind Ingrid Peters Wind Maxi & Chris Garden Nino de Angelo 1990s Chris Kempers & Daniel Kovac Atlantis 2000 Wind Münchener Freiheit Mekado Leon Stone & Stone Bianca Shomburg Guildo Horn Sürpriz 2000s Stefan Raab Michelle Corinna May Lou Max Gracia Texas Lightning Roger Cicero No Angels Alex Swings Oscar Sings 2010s Lena Lena Roman Lob Cascada Elaiza Ann Sophie   Songs 1950s "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" "So geht das jede Nacht" "Telefon, Telefon" "Für zwei Groschen Musik" "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n" 1960s "Bonne nuit ma chérie" "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder" "Zwei kleine Italiener" "Marcel" "Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne" "Paradies, wo bist du?" "Die Zeiger der Uhr" "Anouschka" "Ein Hoch der Liebe" "Primaballerina" 1970s "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" "Diese Welt" "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben" "Junger Tag" "Die Sommermelodie" "Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein" "Sing Sang Song" "Telegram" "Feuer" "Dschinghis Khan" 1980s "Theater" "Johnny Blue" "Ein bißchen Frieden" "Rücksicht" "Aufrecht geh'n" "Für alle " "Über die Brücke geh'n" "Lass die Sonne in dein Herz" "Lied für einen Freund" "Flieger" 1990s "Frei zu leben" "Dieser Traum darf niemals sterben" "Träume sind für alle da" "Viel zu weit" "Wir geben 'ne Party" "Verliebt in Dich" "Planet of Blue" "Zeit" "Guildo hat euch lieb!" "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e seyahat" 2000s "Wadde hadde dudde da?" "Wer Liebe lebt" "I Can't Live Without Music" "Let's Get Happy" "Can't Wait Until Tonight" "Run & Hide" "No No Never" "Frauen regier'n die Welt" "Disappear" "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" 2010s "Satellite" "Taken by a Stranger" "Standing Still" "Glorious" "Is It Right" "Black Smoke" (Note: Entries scored out are when Germany did not compete)