JEANETTE BIEDERMANN
Jeanette Biedermann (born Jean Biedermann, 22 February 1980) is a German singer, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in the greater Berlin area, Biedermann began performing as a member of a troupe of acrobats in a children’s circus at the age of six. She later attended beauty school before dropping out to pursue her music career following her participation and win of the Bild-Schlagerwettbewerb competition in 1998. The following year, Biedermann placed fourth in the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest and was propelled to stardom when she was cast in a main role in the soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. In 2000, she made her musical breakthrough with her first two full English-language albums Enjoy! (2000) and Delicious (2001).
Trying to reinvent her image, Biedermann shifted to pop rock music for her next albums – Rock My Life (2002), Break On Through (2003) and Naked Truth (2006). Following her departure from GZSZ and a longer hiatus, she had a starring role in the telenovela Anna und die Liebe and released her dance pop-led album Undress to the Beat (2009), which was less successful commercially and led to a decline in her musical career. In 2012, Biedermann became the lead singer of the German-language group Ewig which eventually disbanded in 2019. The same year, she appeared in the sixth season of Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert, the German version of the Best Singers series, and announced the release of her eighth solo effort DNA (2019).
Lending her musical knowledge to others, Biedermann served as a member of the judging panel of reality television competition series such as Star Search and Stars auf Ice in 2003 and 2006, respectively. Since then, she has also starred in various films, theatrical projects and television shows, including crime series Tatort (2006) and spoofing film Dörte’s Dancing (2008). With album and single sales in excess of ten million copies, Biedermann is ranked among the highest-selling German music artists to emerge in the early 2000s. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two ECHO Awards, a Goldene Kamera and a Top of the Pops Award.
Biedermann was born in Bernau bei Berlin on 22 February 1980 as the only child of Bernd and Marion Biedermann. Before Jeanette was born her parents lost three children. Two in the pregnancy, the third child, Dennis, died three weeks after the birth. At the age of six she began performing professionally on stage of the Circus Lilliput, appearing as a member of a troupe of acrobats and she went on to attend beauty school once she graduated from high school. After her secondary school graduation she started receiving vocational training as a hairdresser. The singer discontinued her studies in 1999, however, after she participated in and won the Bild-Schlager wettbewerb competition, winning out over 270,000 other contestants. She released her debut single, “Das tut unheimlich weh”, soon after that. To date, it remains her only song performed entirely in German.
One month later after the competition she continued becoming an actress when she appeared on the German soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten, where she played the role of Marie Balzer from 1999 to 2004. Biedermann’s blossoming TV career only boosted her music career. In May 2008, she has played the main role of Anna Polauke with German actor Roy Peter Link [de] in the new TV series Anna und die Liebe aired in August 2008, which has brought her further success within Germany. The series broke many records with more than 2.5 million people watching Anna und die Liebe. In October 2009, Jeanette confirmed that she will leave Anna und die Liebe in January 2010. The last episode with her will be aired in April 2010 and she will focus on her music career and going on Tour.
Her second album, “Delicious”, came out soon after her debut album, and it became her first album which was certified Gold in Germany. A few months later after her debut on Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten, she signed a music contract with Polydor and recorded her first album. In September 2000 she released her first English speaking single Go Back which became the first single of Biedermann’s debut album “Enjoy”. The album peaked at number 39 in the national album charts and in Switzerland at number 67. Biedermann won an ECHO in 2001 for best-selling “Female Artist National” one year later.
Trying to distance herself from her dance pop image, Biedermann reinvented her musical direction by developing a more rock pop-oriented sound with her third album, Rock My Life (2002). Upon its release, the album peaked at number seven on the German Albums Chart and was eventually certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). Its same-titled lead single became her first top five hit, reaching number three on the German Singles Chart, and peaked at number six in Austria. Rock My Life spawned three further top ten singles, including “It’s Over Now”, “Right Now” and a cover version of Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight”, a duet with Boyzone member Ronan Keating that was initially recorded for his second album Destination (2002). Afterwards Biedermann started her second live tour, the Rock My Life Tour. It sold over 130,000 tickets and became a sellout.