Alexis (singer)
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the German pop singer. For the American country singer, see Alexis (country singer)Alexis (country singer)Alexis is an American country pop/rock singer from Albany, Oregon. She is best known for "The Real Me", a song on the soundtrack for the 2004 film Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. She has opened for more prominent artists including Keith Urban, Tracy Byrd and Sawyer Brown.-Career:Alexis has...
.
Alexis is a German pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and gala singer. She is mainly known for participating in the German "Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell , born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar, was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters, Linda de Mol and Sylvie van der Vaart, Carrell was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.He worked as a television entertainer and hosted his...
Show" (a show similar to "Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
" or "Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
") in 1989, singing Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's song "One Moment In Time" (which brought her a major record deal with Sony Records). She later sang the female lead role on the German Top 10 album "Tabaluga
Tabaluga
The little green Dragon Tabaluga is a cartoon character, who lives in the fictional place of Greenland. He is around 7 dragon-years old . He is the creation of the German Rock musician Peter Maffay, children's song writer Rolf Zuckowski and the author Gregor Rottschalk...
& Lilli" (a conceptual pop record for children) and later toured Germany with the musical "Tabaluga & Lilli."
Biography
Alexis studied at the renowned German "Stage School of Dance and Drama" from 1986 – 1989.As a young teenager she released her first single, called "Do You Really Want Me," which was produced by Dieter Bohlen
Dieter Bohlen
Dieter Günter Bohlen is a German songwriter, singer, musician, producer, entertainer, TV personality, and writer. Bohlen is best known for being part of popular pop-duo Modern Talking during 1984–1987 and 1998–2003.-Biography:Bohlen took his Abitur in Oldenburg...
's co-producer Luis Rodriguez
Luis Rodríguez (producer)
Luis Rodríguez Salazar is a Spanish producer, arranger, mixer and engineer, known by his role in the co-production of Modern Talking. He was also involved up to the 1990s in most of Dieter Bohlen's productions, for example, C. C. Catch and Blue System, working as co-producer.- Biography :Rodriguez...
(Modern Talking
Modern Talking
Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music has often been classified as Europop. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top 5 in many countries...
, C. C. Catch) and turned into a small club hit in Germany in 1986. A second single followed one year later, but wasn't as successful as her first single.
On 21 January 1989, Alexis performed her rendition of Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's "One Moment In Time" on the German Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell , born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar, was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters, Linda de Mol and Sylvie van der Vaart, Carrell was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.He worked as a television entertainer and hosted his...
TV show (which had 24 million viewers that night). The "Rudi Carrell Show" was similar to concepts such as "Star Search" or "Pop Idol" and people who performed on that show gained a lot of media attention.
Alexis received offers for a record deal from basically all German record labels, including Sony Records, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, Polydor, etc. Alexis chose an exclusive deal with CBS Records (which is a division of Sony Records these days) and began working on her first solo album.
Her first album, simply entitled "Alexis" was released in early 1990. It was produced by Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s synth-pop in film scores...
(who wrote the soundtrack for the blockbuster movie "Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...
"), and Gunter Mende & Candy Derouge (who have written songs for Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and Lory Bianco
Lory Bianco
Lory Bianco is an American singer and actor from the United States. She started her career in humble surroundings at the age of 10 performing in musicals, fairs, convalescent homes, hospitals, conventions, and beauty pageants...
). Among the songwriters were the German duo Klarmann/Weber
Klarmann/Weber
Klarmann/Weber is a successful German producer and songwriter duo, consisting of Irmgard Klarmann and Felix Weber.The duo is composing and producing music since the late 70's. In the 80's Klarmann/Weber established their name in Germany as successful composers...
(who have already written songs performed by LaToya Jackson or Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
).
Alexis promoted her debut album on more than 20 prime-time TV shows and she was nominated for the German award "Goldene Europa." Another single, produced by Ralf-René Maué (Samantha Fox
Samantha Fox
Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English dance-pop singer, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at the age of 16, she began her topless modeling career on Page Three of The Sun, and went on to become a popular pin-up girl...
) followed in autumn 1990. This, however, was the end of Alexis's collaboration with CBS Records due Sony Records taking over the company in Germany.
In 1992 she released her first single in the German language called "Du Hast So Viel In Dir," which was also the theme of a TV commercial for Granini fruit juice. In the same year she won the annual MMS Music Festival in Portoroz, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
.
In 1993, she was hired by one of Germany's top-selling rock artists, Peter Maffay
Peter Maffay
Peter Alexander Makkay better known as Peter Maffay is a German musician.- Biography :Born in Brasov, Romania, the son of a German , he was 14 when his family relocated to his parents' Germany in 1963. In the same year, he started his first band, The Dukes...
for his legendary rock musical "Tabaluga
Tabaluga
The little green Dragon Tabaluga is a cartoon character, who lives in the fictional place of Greenland. He is around 7 dragon-years old . He is the creation of the German Rock musician Peter Maffay, children's song writer Rolf Zuckowski and the author Gregor Rottschalk...
" and offered her the part of the female lead role, Lilli. Their duet single "Ich Fühl Wie Du" entered the German Top 100 and the album remained in the Top 10 for three consecutive months.
The musical "Tabaluga and Lilli" went on tour and they did almost 100 shows in the biggest halls of Germany, such as Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
or Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
. At the end of the year the musical was broadcast on German television.
Alexis also recorded two songs for the new Willy Bogner
Willy Bogner
Willy Bogner, Jr. is a former alpine ski racer and a renowned fashion designer and inheritor of the Bogner clothing brand, originally set up as "Willy-Bogner-Skivertrieb" by his father, Willy Bogner, Sr.....
film "White Magic" and thus worked together with Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s synth-pop in film scores...
again.
In 1996 she released a new single, entitled "Empire of the Champ" (co-written by Alexis herself), which was her most successful solo hit so far. Alexis wrote the song for the legendary boxing match between Darius Michalczewski and Rocky Graciano. Strangely enough, Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
later used the song as his theme song whenever he did boxing matches.
Throughout her career, Alexis has often made guest appearances on other artist's music projects, such as singing on the cover version of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
` "Owner of A Lonely Heart" for a new dance project called 2 Ruff (the song entered the German Top 100 and peaked at #66). She also worked twice with Edward Simoni.
Alexis lives in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and works as a full-time singer. She does many live performances every year, mainly for fancy gala/dinner events. By now she has performed in almost every country worldwide, including Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
or Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Singles
- 1986 Do You Really Want Me
- 1987 First Night Of Love
- 1990 Prisoner Of Love
- 1990 Close To Heaven
- 1990 Lying Eyes
- 1992 Du Hast So Viel In Dir
- 1993 Ich Fühl Wie Du (duet with Peter MaffayPeter MaffayPeter Alexander Makkay better known as Peter Maffay is a German musician.- Biography :Born in Brasov, Romania, the son of a German , he was 14 when his family relocated to his parents' Germany in 1963. In the same year, he started his first band, The Dukes...
) - 1996 Empire Of The Champ
- 1997 Where Are You?
- 1999 Eine Ferne Melodie (with Edward Simoni)
Albums
- 1990 Alexis
- 1999 Eine Ferne Melodie (Edward Simoni feat. Alexis)
- 2004 Schwerlos Geborgen (Edward Simoni feat. Alexis)
Other projects
- 1993 Tabaluga & Lilli (album by Peter Maffay) - 1 duet song
- 1994 Tabaluga & Lilli (live CD) - 2 titles "Ich Fühl Wie Du"
- 1994 White Magic (soundtrack) - 1 title "Crystal Dreams"
- 1998 2 Ruff feat. Alexis (single) - "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"
- 2000 Harry Calahan feat. Alexis (vinyl DJ maxi) - "Return To The Funk"