DJ Bobo
Encyclopedia
Peter René Cipiriano Baumann (born January 5, 1968 in Kölliken
, Aargau
), better known as DJ BoBo, is a Swiss
singer, songwriter
, dancer and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 10 studio albums as well as a few compilation albums which have included his previous hits in a reworked format. DJ BoBo has also released as many as 34 singles to date, some of which have charted quite high, not only in German speaking countries, but also in other European territories.
As a dance music producer, his first big success came with the single "Somebody Dance With Me", which borrows its melody from Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me
. After this, he charted well with the singles "Keep on Dancing", "Take Control", "Everybody", "Let the Dream Come True", "Love is All Around", "Freedom", "Pray" and "What a Feeling", as well as "Chihuahua", almost all of which comprised fast-paced Eurodance
techno sound with female catchy refrains and rap performed by René. Between 1992 through 2007, he had 27 single chart-hits in Switzerland and Germany, and has won 10 World Music Awards for being Switzerland's best selling artist. René has received numerous Gold and Platinum certifications for his singles and albums and has found success in Europe
(primarily in Germany
and Switzerland
), Asia
and South America
.
, Switzerland
, to Italian father Luigi Cipiriano and Swiss mother Ruth Baumann. Initially, Baumann wanted to work in the area of confectionery and bakery. This, however, did not last long as his desire for dancing clicked with the development of breakdancing after his high-school graduation. Having been involved in numerous dance-contests, René managed to reach the top-10 of the German dance-contest "Disco Kings" with his acrobatic dance style.
Baumann began his DJ career in 1985, a year after which he was a runner-up in the Swiss DJ Championships. He continued to work as a DJ at numerous night-clubs such as Don Paco and the Hazyland, both in Switzerland, through which he gathered enough experience and later decided to produce his own record. His first single "I Love You" came out in late 1989 during which time he would still spin records as a DJ but focused on future releases of his own production. In 1991, DJ BoBo released two other singles, "Ladies in the House" and "Let's Groove On".
as well as rap performance by himself, the single shot to number 1 in Switzerland and Sweden, while it landed in the top-5 in numerous other European countries including Germany. "Somebody Dance with Me" was certified Gold in Germany for selling well over 250,000 units. His second hit "Keep on Dancing", which followed the same technique as its predecessor, reached the top-5 both at home and in Germany, and landed in the top-10 in other parts of Europe. The single reached a Gold status in Germany for sales of 250,000 units sold. The long awaited album, Dance with Me was released in October, 1993 and remained in the charts all over Europe for quite some time which was followed by another single, "Take Control", again from his debut album, earning him yet another Gold-award in Germany for sales of over 250,000 units, which also entered the top-20 in numerous countries. While DJ BoBo appeared to have already separated himself from one-hit wonders, he released his next single "Everybody", in the summer of 1994, which climbed as high as number 2 in Germany and was certified Platinum for selling 500,000 units there. "Everybody" differed from the previously released singles in terms of its structure, it diverged from techno leaning towards a mixture of house and hip-hop with female catchy refrains and rap performed again by René.
In the fall of 1994, his second studio album There is a Party saw light. While the album peaked at number 4 in Switzerland where it was certified Platinum for selling over 50,000 units, it entered the top-10 in Germany where it spent total of 26 weeks on the chart eventually reaching a Gold status for selling over 250,000 units. The first single "Let the Dream Come True" from the album topped the charts in Switzerland and entered the top-5 in Germany where it was certified Gold for sales over 250,000 units. While the follow-up second single "Love Is All Around" entered the top-20 in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway, it was certified Gold in Germany being the sixth golden record in a row. During the course of this ongoing success, in 1995, DJ BoBo represented Switzerland in the World Music Awards in Monaco with his "Everybody" for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year."
In the summer of 1995, DJ BoBo went on a tour which took place in most parts of Asia which was followed by a promotional tour in Australia. Later that year, DJ BoBo also traveled all over Europe performing before as many as 400,000 spectators.
DJ BoBo released his first ballad "Love Is the Price" in January, 1996, which was introduced in Thomas Gottschalk
's TV show Wetten, dass..?
. Baumann, later that year, ended up again at the World Music Awards in Monaco for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" performing there two songs back to back, "Freedom" (which was his eighth Golden Record in a row in Germany) as well as his newly released ballad "Love Is the Price".
In April 1997, DJ BoBo received his third World Music Award in Monaco for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" where he performed his single "Respect Yourself".
DJ BoBo maintained his original sound and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements when he introduced his singing skills first on his single "Where is Your Love", which was released in March, 1998. A month thereafter, in April 1998, his album Magic was released which managed to stay in the number 1 position for four consecutive weeks in his native country and earned him a Platinum-award for sales of over 50,000 units. In Germany, the album peaked at number 5 and spent total of 21 weeks on the chart, eventually earning the Swiss artist another Gold-award for sales of over 250,000 units. In May of that the same year, DJ BoBo received the World Music Award for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" once again for the fourth time. Soon after, his single "Celebrate" was released introducing his The Ultimate Megamix '99. During this time René and his crew were busy preparing for his "Life on Tour" concert as well as the shows of the Magic, which were watched by 250,000 people in 35 concert arenas in Europe. Shortly thereafter, DJ BoBo was rewarded with yet another World Music Award for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" for the fifth time in a row.
René and his co-producer Axel Breitung managed to complete DJ BoBo's next album Planet Colors within a period of seven months which they released on the 5th of February, 2001. The first single "What a Feeling" featuring Irene Cara
from this album, which was the cover version of her original hit Flashdance... What a Feeling
, peaked at number 2 in Switzerland, number 11 in Austria and in Germany it peaked at number 3. Two other singles were followed "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "Colors of Life". His tour "Planet Colors-The Show" was enjoyed by more than a million spectators within Europe.
on "Where is Your Love", Melanie Thornton
on "Love of My Life", Emilia
on "Everybody" and A Touch of Class on "Together". Besides DJ BoBo being Switzerland's Best Selling Recording Artist at the World Music Awards in 2002 for the seventh time, in 2002, René and Axel Breitung were recognized as "Best Producers of 2001" at Echo awards for being the most-talented musical team.
DJ BoBo's next studio album called Visions, released in February 2003, brought somewhat a new side to his music which aside from the usual dance-sounds, portrayed him in more acoustic elements, the good examples of this would be the songs like "Angel" and "Do You Remember" wherein one could notice guitars coming into the picture. The Album Visions which peaked at number 3 in Switzerland, eventually became a Platinum record in Switzerland. In 2003, DJ BoBo received yet another World Music Award for being Switzerland's Best Selling Artist of the year.
One of Baumann's most successful singles turned out to be his single "Chihuahua" which initially was released in 2002 and later re-released again Europe-wide. The track was produced upon the request of Coca-Cola in Spain. They were in search of an artist who could produce an attention-drawing mambo-song for their new campaign. However, the condition was that it had to be done within a period of ten days. This task was completed and handed over to Coca-Cola by René and his co-producer Axel Breitung within the given time-limit. It took only a couple of weeks for the single "Chihuahua" to reach the number 1 position on the Spanish single chart. The song eventually became number 1 in Switzerland and France also. It was certified Platinum in Switzerland for sales of over 40,000 units and in France the single reached a Diamond status for sales of over one million units.
René released his Greatest hits album in 2006, which contained his previous hits, some re-recorded and some remaining in their original format. The single "Secrets of Love
", released before the album, was a pleasant pop-dance duet with '80's mega-star Sandra
. The song's music video was filmed at Disney Resort Paris. His Greatest hits compilation album eventually earned him a Gold certification in Switzerland.
On October 11, 2006, DJ BoBo announced in a press conference that he had applied to represent Switzerland
at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
.
In past years, Switzerland's entry has not necessarily been a Swiss national. Most notably, Canadian Celine Dion
won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988
representing Switzerland. In DJ BoBo's press conference, he told reporters that "It's a shame for Swiss tax payer money from the TV licence fees go to fund a foreign act, and the people should resist that."
In December 2006, the Swiss TV Council announced that they had chosen BoBo out of over 200 applicants to represent Switzerland in Helsinki
. The council earned some negative comments for the selection as not having been fair towards lesser known Swiss artists.
On February 21, 2007, DJ BoBo revealed both the song and the video he would enter in the Eurovision Song Contest
in Helsinki
, "Vampires Are Alive
."
Despite being one of the favorites to win the contest according to many bookmakers, the song failed to get past the semi-final stage on May 12. It finished twentieth out of twenty eight semi-finalists.
DJ BoBo released his next album Vampires on May 11, 2007, which climbed as high as number 2 on the Swiss album chart. The first single "Vampires Are Alive", reached the number 3 in Switzerland and charted moderately in the rest of the German speaking countries, but gained success in Finland where it reached the number 7. Two other singles were released, "We Gotta Hold On" and "Because of You" off the album Vampires.
In 2007, René was chosen to sing the official 2008 UEFA
European Football Championship song. On the DJ BoBo website, he put a poll on to choose which song out of two would be the official song. The public chose "Ole Ole" over "Let the Games Begin". On 11 April 2008, "Olé Olé" was released as a single, being accompanied by an album called Olé Olé - Party. Olé Olé - Party included 5 new songs, 9 party hits, a medley, a newly remixed version of DJ BoBo's mega-hit "Everybody" and a new version of "Vampires Are Alive" (EAPM Remix).
A brand new material from DJ Bobo, entitled Dancing Las Vegas is to be released on November 25, 2011. The album contains 13 brand new tracks, which comes with a DVD, which in its turn is composed of six parts including the videoclip of DJ Bobo's brand new single "Everybody's Gonna Dance", released on November 11, 2011.
World Food Programme
National Ambassador Against Hunger in October 2006, becoming the first Swiss celebrity to take up the role. He was also a participant in the 2006 Geneva Walk the World
event.
Kölliken
Kölliken is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Kölliken has an area, , of . Of this area, or 32.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 43.3% is forested...
, Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
), better known as DJ BoBo, is a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, dancer and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 10 studio albums as well as a few compilation albums which have included his previous hits in a reworked format. DJ BoBo has also released as many as 34 singles to date, some of which have charted quite high, not only in German speaking countries, but also in other European territories.
As a dance music producer, his first big success came with the single "Somebody Dance With Me", which borrows its melody from Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me
Somebody's Watching Me
"Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984. The song's lyrics relate the narrator's paranoid fear of being followed and watched. It featured former Motown artists Michael Jackson on the chorus and Jermaine Jackson on additional backing...
. After this, he charted well with the singles "Keep on Dancing", "Take Control", "Everybody", "Let the Dream Come True", "Love is All Around", "Freedom", "Pray" and "What a Feeling", as well as "Chihuahua", almost all of which comprised fast-paced Eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
techno sound with female catchy refrains and rap performed by René. Between 1992 through 2007, he had 27 single chart-hits in Switzerland and Germany, and has won 10 World Music Awards for being Switzerland's best selling artist. René has received numerous Gold and Platinum certifications for his singles and albums and has found success in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(primarily in 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 Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
), Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
1985–1991: Early beginnings
Peter René Baumann was born in KöllikenKölliken
Kölliken is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Kölliken has an area, , of . Of this area, or 32.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 43.3% is forested...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, to Italian father Luigi Cipiriano and Swiss mother Ruth Baumann. Initially, Baumann wanted to work in the area of confectionery and bakery. This, however, did not last long as his desire for dancing clicked with the development of breakdancing after his high-school graduation. Having been involved in numerous dance-contests, René managed to reach the top-10 of the German dance-contest "Disco Kings" with his acrobatic dance style.
Baumann began his DJ career in 1985, a year after which he was a runner-up in the Swiss DJ Championships. He continued to work as a DJ at numerous night-clubs such as Don Paco and the Hazyland, both in Switzerland, through which he gathered enough experience and later decided to produce his own record. His first single "I Love You" came out in late 1989 during which time he would still spin records as a DJ but focused on future releases of his own production. In 1991, DJ BoBo released two other singles, "Ladies in the House" and "Let's Groove On".
1992–1996: Career breakthrough
René gained immense international popularity when he released his Europe-wide smash hit "Somebody Dance with Me" in November, 1992. Employing catchy refrains by Emel AykanatEmel Aykanat
Emel Aykanat better known as Emel, is a Turkish-Swiss singer. Her first big success came with the single Somebody Dance With Me with DJ BoBo.- Career :...
as well as rap performance by himself, the single shot to number 1 in Switzerland and Sweden, while it landed in the top-5 in numerous other European countries including Germany. "Somebody Dance with Me" was certified Gold in Germany for selling well over 250,000 units. His second hit "Keep on Dancing", which followed the same technique as its predecessor, reached the top-5 both at home and in Germany, and landed in the top-10 in other parts of Europe. The single reached a Gold status in Germany for sales of 250,000 units sold. The long awaited album, Dance with Me was released in October, 1993 and remained in the charts all over Europe for quite some time which was followed by another single, "Take Control", again from his debut album, earning him yet another Gold-award in Germany for sales of over 250,000 units, which also entered the top-20 in numerous countries. While DJ BoBo appeared to have already separated himself from one-hit wonders, he released his next single "Everybody", in the summer of 1994, which climbed as high as number 2 in Germany and was certified Platinum for selling 500,000 units there. "Everybody" differed from the previously released singles in terms of its structure, it diverged from techno leaning towards a mixture of house and hip-hop with female catchy refrains and rap performed again by René.
In the fall of 1994, his second studio album There is a Party saw light. While the album peaked at number 4 in Switzerland where it was certified Platinum for selling over 50,000 units, it entered the top-10 in Germany where it spent total of 26 weeks on the chart eventually reaching a Gold status for selling over 250,000 units. The first single "Let the Dream Come True" from the album topped the charts in Switzerland and entered the top-5 in Germany where it was certified Gold for sales over 250,000 units. While the follow-up second single "Love Is All Around" entered the top-20 in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway, it was certified Gold in Germany being the sixth golden record in a row. During the course of this ongoing success, in 1995, DJ BoBo represented Switzerland in the World Music Awards in Monaco with his "Everybody" for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year."
In the summer of 1995, DJ BoBo went on a tour which took place in most parts of Asia which was followed by a promotional tour in Australia. Later that year, DJ BoBo also traveled all over Europe performing before as many as 400,000 spectators.
DJ BoBo released his first ballad "Love Is the Price" in January, 1996, which was introduced in Thomas Gottschalk
Thomas Gottschalk
Thomas Johannes Gottschalk is a German TV host. He is best-known for hosting the popular show Wetten, dass..?, which he has led to a huge success in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol.-Early life:...
's TV show Wetten, dass..?
Wetten, dass..?
Wetten, dass..? is a long-running German-language entertainment television show. It is the most successful Saturday television show in Europe...
. Baumann, later that year, ended up again at the World Music Awards in Monaco for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" performing there two songs back to back, "Freedom" (which was his eighth Golden Record in a row in Germany) as well as his newly released ballad "Love Is the Price".
1996–1999: Popularity established
The release of the album World in Motion in September, 1996, proved not only DJ BoBo's consistent presence within the charts, but with this album, René managed to break all his previous records. It took only a few weeks for the album to reach the number 3 position in Germany which quickly was awarded Platinum for selling 500,000 units. In Switzerland, the album jumped from 0 to number 1 and was awarded Double-Platinum for selling 100,000 units which was ranked in the top 40 albums of all-time, after remaining on the Swiss album chart for a staggering 67 weeks. Shortly after the release of World in Motion, Baumann went on a promotional tour in Asia for twenty days, which was then followed by another one month-tour in Brazil, Chile and Colombia.In April 1997, DJ BoBo received his third World Music Award in Monaco for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" where he performed his single "Respect Yourself".
DJ BoBo maintained his original sound and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements when he introduced his singing skills first on his single "Where is Your Love", which was released in March, 1998. A month thereafter, in April 1998, his album Magic was released which managed to stay in the number 1 position for four consecutive weeks in his native country and earned him a Platinum-award for sales of over 50,000 units. In Germany, the album peaked at number 5 and spent total of 21 weeks on the chart, eventually earning the Swiss artist another Gold-award for sales of over 250,000 units. In May of that the same year, DJ BoBo received the World Music Award for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" once again for the fourth time. Soon after, his single "Celebrate" was released introducing his The Ultimate Megamix '99. During this time René and his crew were busy preparing for his "Life on Tour" concert as well as the shows of the Magic, which were watched by 250,000 people in 35 concert arenas in Europe. Shortly thereafter, DJ BoBo was rewarded with yet another World Music Award for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year" for the fifth time in a row.
1999–2001
Baumann's sixth album entitled Level 6 was released in October, 1999 and immediately hit the number 1 position in the Swiss album charts which eventually went Platinum at his home as well as Gold in Germany for sales of over 150,000 units. Two singles were released off this album, "Together" and "Lies". DJ BoBo's success continued, as once again in the spring of 2000, he received yet another trophy at the World Music Award for the sixth time in a row for being Switzerland's "Best Selling Artist of the Year".René and his co-producer Axel Breitung managed to complete DJ BoBo's next album Planet Colors within a period of seven months which they released on the 5th of February, 2001. The first single "What a Feeling" featuring Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
from this album, which was the cover version of her original hit Flashdance... What a Feeling
Flashdance... What a Feeling
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance, written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and Irene Cara, and performed by Cara. Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics; however, the line "In a flash, take a hold of my heart" refers to the...
, peaked at number 2 in Switzerland, number 11 in Austria and in Germany it peaked at number 3. Two other singles were followed "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "Colors of Life". His tour "Planet Colors-The Show" was enjoyed by more than a million spectators within Europe.
2001–2003: 10 Year Anniversary
As a way of celebrating his 10 year anniversary in the music business, René made the cover version of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration", reviving it with modern instrumentation. The single was to represent his collection album consisting of previous hits, which he also entitled Celebration. The album Celebration, released in April, 2002, comprised the previous hits all of which were re-recorded featuring mostly German renowned artists such as No AngelsNo Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
on "Where is Your Love", Melanie Thornton
Melanie Thornton
Melanie Janene Thornton was an American pop singer who found fame in Germany and fronted the Eurodance group La Bouche, who found success with the singles "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams" in the mid-1990s. She forged a moderately successful solo career in Germany before her death...
on "Love of My Life", Emilia
Emilia Rydberg
Emilia Rydberg is a Swedish pop music and soul singer, mostly known for her hit, "Big Big World". Emilia was discovered in 1996 by Lars Anderson, son of ABBA's manager, Stig Anderson....
on "Everybody" and A Touch of Class on "Together". Besides DJ BoBo being Switzerland's Best Selling Recording Artist at the World Music Awards in 2002 for the seventh time, in 2002, René and Axel Breitung were recognized as "Best Producers of 2001" at Echo awards for being the most-talented musical team.
DJ BoBo's next studio album called Visions, released in February 2003, brought somewhat a new side to his music which aside from the usual dance-sounds, portrayed him in more acoustic elements, the good examples of this would be the songs like "Angel" and "Do You Remember" wherein one could notice guitars coming into the picture. The Album Visions which peaked at number 3 in Switzerland, eventually became a Platinum record in Switzerland. In 2003, DJ BoBo received yet another World Music Award for being Switzerland's Best Selling Artist of the year.
One of Baumann's most successful singles turned out to be his single "Chihuahua" which initially was released in 2002 and later re-released again Europe-wide. The track was produced upon the request of Coca-Cola in Spain. They were in search of an artist who could produce an attention-drawing mambo-song for their new campaign. However, the condition was that it had to be done within a period of ten days. This task was completed and handed over to Coca-Cola by René and his co-producer Axel Breitung within the given time-limit. It took only a couple of weeks for the single "Chihuahua" to reach the number 1 position on the Spanish single chart. The song eventually became number 1 in Switzerland and France also. It was certified Platinum in Switzerland for sales of over 40,000 units and in France the single reached a Diamond status for sales of over one million units.
2005–2008: Eurovision & 10th World Music Award
The next studio album Pirates of Dance, released in February 2005, which included two singles called "Pirates of Dance" and "Amazing Life" shot straight to number 1 in Switzerland. DJ BoBo and his crew began The Pirates of Dance Tour in April 2005. The tour took off in Switzerland, followed by Germany and Poland, which concluded with two concerts at Disneyland Paris. 2005 was the year that made DJ BoBo Switzerland's Best Selling Recording Artist of the Year for the 10th time.René released his Greatest hits album in 2006, which contained his previous hits, some re-recorded and some remaining in their original format. The single "Secrets of Love
Secrets of Love
"Secrets of Love" is a 2006 song recorded as a pop duet by German singer Sandra and Swiss artist DJ BoBo. Released on March 3, 2006, as a single from DJ BoBo's compilation Greatest Hits, the song achieved success in Switzerland and Germany where it was a top 15 hit...
", released before the album, was a pleasant pop-dance duet with '80's mega-star Sandra
Sandra
Sandra may refer to:*Sandra *Sandra , popular 1980s European singer–songwriter*Margaretha Sandra , Dutch woman soldier*Şandra, a commune in Timiş County, Romania*Şandra, a village in Beltiug Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania...
. The song's music video was filmed at Disney Resort Paris. His Greatest hits compilation album eventually earned him a Gold certification in Switzerland.
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest every year since it began, except 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956, and won it themselves. Switzerland has won the contest twice, in 1956 and 1988. A third victory in 1963 could have been possibly...
at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
.
In past years, Switzerland's entry has not necessarily been a Swiss national. Most notably, Canadian 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...
won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988
Eurovision Song Contest 1988
The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1988 in Dublin. The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca...
representing Switzerland. In DJ BoBo's press conference, he told reporters that "It's a shame for Swiss tax payer money from the TV licence fees go to fund a foreign act, and the people should resist that."
In December 2006, the Swiss TV Council announced that they had chosen BoBo out of over 200 applicants to represent Switzerland in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. The council earned some negative comments for the selection as not having been fair towards lesser known Swiss artists.
On February 21, 2007, DJ BoBo revealed both the song and the video he would enter in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, "Vampires Are Alive
Vampires Are Alive
"Vampires Are Alive" was a Swiss entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 that was held in Helsinki 2007, performed by DJ BoBo. Since Switzerland's entry in 2006, "If We All Give A Little", didn't reach the top ten, Vampires Are Alive was entered in the semi-final of the Contest on 10 May...
."
Despite being one of the favorites to win the contest according to many bookmakers, the song failed to get past the semi-final stage on May 12. It finished twentieth out of twenty eight semi-finalists.
DJ BoBo released his next album Vampires on May 11, 2007, which climbed as high as number 2 on the Swiss album chart. The first single "Vampires Are Alive", reached the number 3 in Switzerland and charted moderately in the rest of the German speaking countries, but gained success in Finland where it reached the number 7. Two other singles were released, "We Gotta Hold On" and "Because of You" off the album Vampires.
In 2007, René was chosen to sing the official 2008 UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
European Football Championship song. On the DJ BoBo website, he put a poll on to choose which song out of two would be the official song. The public chose "Ole Ole" over "Let the Games Begin". On 11 April 2008, "Olé Olé" was released as a single, being accompanied by an album called Olé Olé - Party. Olé Olé - Party included 5 new songs, 9 party hits, a medley, a newly remixed version of DJ BoBo's mega-hit "Everybody" and a new version of "Vampires Are Alive" (EAPM Remix).
2008–present
DJ Bobo's album Fantasy was released on February 26, 2010, the album peaked at number 2 in Switzerland and was certified Gold for selling over 15,000 units. The first official single from the album is Superstar. It was released on February 5, 2010. The second official single from the album is This Is My Time.A brand new material from DJ Bobo, entitled Dancing Las Vegas is to be released on November 25, 2011. The album contains 13 brand new tracks, which comes with a DVD, which in its turn is composed of six parts including the videoclip of DJ Bobo's brand new single "Everybody's Gonna Dance", released on November 11, 2011.
World Food Programme
DJ BoBo became a United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
World Food Programme
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
National Ambassador Against Hunger in October 2006, becoming the first Swiss celebrity to take up the role. He was also a participant in the 2006 Geneva Walk the World
Fight Hunger
Fight Hunger is a global initiative, based in Rome, Italy, calling for the end of child hunger by 2015. It is organised by the World Food Programme and its partners, and comprises different activities throughout the year...
event.
Personal life
From 1989 to 1994, DJ BoBo was married to Daniela Bock. In 1993, René met Nancy Rentzsch; she joined his team in 1995. René and Nancy got married on 9 August 2001. René and Nancy have two children. Jamiro-René was born on the 8th of October 2002 and Kayley-Nancy was born on 29 September 2006. In 2008 his family moved to a new house in Kastanienbaum, canton Lucerne.Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
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| SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
FIN |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
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| 1993 | Dance with Me | 4 | 16 | — | 18 | 15 | |
| 1994 | There is a Party | 4 | 17 | — | 9 | 41 |
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| 1996 | World in Motion | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3 | — |
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| 1998 | Magic | 1 | 8 | — | 5 | — |
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| 1999 | Level 6 | 1 | 24 | — | 11 | — |
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| 2001 | Planet Colors Planet Colors "Planet Colors" is the seventh studio album by Swiss singer DJ BoBo, released in 2001. Three singles were released from the album during the same year: "What a Feeling", "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" and "Colors of Life".... |
2 | 27 | — | 4 | — |
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| 2003 | Visions | 3 | — | — | 11 | — |
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| 2005 | Pirates of Dance | 1 | — | — | 13 | — | |
| 2007 | Vampires | 2 | 74 | — | 15 | — |
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| 2010 | Fantasy | 2 | 43 | — | 10 | — |
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| 2011 | Dancing Las Vegas | — | — | — | — | — |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
FIN |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
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| 1995 | Just for You | 5 | 26 | 28 | 25 | — |
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| 1999 | The Ultimate Megamix '99 | 2 | — | — | 20 | — | |
| 2002 | Celebration Celebration (DJ BoBo album) "Celebration" is a compilation album by Swiss singer DJ BoBo, released in 2002.-Track listing:# Celebration# Somebody Dance With Me 2002# Everybody # Tell Me Why # Where Is Your Love # Pray 2002... |
2 | 18 | — | 4 | — | |
| 2003 | Chihuahua-The Album | 1 | — | — | — | — |
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| 2006 | Greatest Hits | 1 | 58 | — | 11 | — |
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| 2008 | Olé Olé-The Party | 11 | — | — | 85 | — |
Live album(s)
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
FIN |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
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| 2003 | Live in Concert | 28 | — | — | 36 | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
BEL Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
FIN |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NDL Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
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| 1989 | I Love You | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album track | |
| 1990 | Ladies in the House | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Non-album track | |
| 1991 | Let's Groove On | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Dance with Me | |
| 1992 | Somebody Dance with Me Somebody Dance with Me Somebody Dance with Me is a DJ BoBo 1992 song that is based on some parts on sampling from "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell.-Tracklist:CD Single# Somebody Dance With Me # Somebody Dance With Me... |
1 | 13 | 3 | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
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| 1993 | Keep on Dancing | 2 | - | 7 | - | - | - | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
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| 1994 | Take Control | 4 | - | 9 | - | - | - | 12 | 18 | - | 21 |
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| Everybody | 3 | - | 24 | - | - | - | 2 | 12 | - | 20 |
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| Let the Dream Come True | 1 | 49 | 6 | - | - | - | 4 | 11 | - | 11 |
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There is a Party | |
| 1995 | Love is All Around | 16 | 24 | 13 | 18 | - | 42 | 10 | 36 | 17 | 14 |
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| There is a Party | 13 | - | 29 | 9 | - | 35 | 17 | 24 | - | - |
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| Freedom | 4 | - | 7 | - | 7 | - | 8 | 22 | - | 31 |
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| 1996 | Love is the Price | 11 | - | 13 | - | 12 | - | 11 | - | - | - | Just for You | |
| Pray | 2 | - | 6 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - |
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World in Motion | |
| Respect Yourself | 16 | - | 23 | - | 7 | - | 31 | - | - | - | |||
| 1997 | It's My Life | 7 | - | 16 | - | 17 | - | 16 | - | - | - | ||
| Shadows of the Night | 7 | - | 25 | - | - | - | 23 | - | - | - | |||
| 1998 | Where is Your Love | 3 | - | 20 | - | - | - | 21 | - | - | - | Magic | |
| Around the World | 23 | - | - | - | - | - | 55 | - | - | - | |||
| Celebrate | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | 48 | - | - | - | The Ultimate Megamix 99 | ||
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
Album | |||||||||
| SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
BEL Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
FIN |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NDL Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
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| 1999 | Together | 4 | - | 34 | - | - | - | 26 | - | - | - | Level 6 | |
| Lies | 48 | - | - | 14 | - | - | 73 | - | - | - | |||
| 2001 | What a Feeling (with Irene Cara Irene Cara Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman... ) |
2 | - | 11 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | Planet Colors | |
| Hard to Say I'm Sorry | 25 | - | - | - | - | - | 60 | - | - | - | |||
| Colors of Life | 37 | - | - | - | - | - | 75 | - | - | - | |||
| 2002 | Celebration | 14 | - | 48 | - | - | - | 29 | - | - | - | Celebration | |
| Chihuahua Chihuahua (song) "Chihuahua" is a 2002 song recorded by Swiss artist DJ BoBo. It was the first single from his tenth album, Visions, and was released in late 2002 and early 2003 in many countries. It was his most successful single, topping the charts in France and Switzerland and becoming one the summer hit of the... |
1 | - | 48 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 19 | 41 | 15 | 10 |
IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... : Platinum Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... : Diamond |
Visions | |
| 2003 | I Believe | 13 | - | 61 | - | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | ||
| 2005 | Pirates of Dance | 3 | - | 43 | - | - | - | 16 | - | - | - | Pirates of Dance | |
| Amazing Life | 27 | - | - | - | - | - | 48 | - | - | - | |||
| 2006 | Secrets of Love Secrets of Love "Secrets of Love" is a 2006 song recorded as a pop duet by German singer Sandra and Swiss artist DJ BoBo. Released on March 3, 2006, as a single from DJ BoBo's compilation Greatest Hits, the song achieved success in Switzerland and Germany where it was a top 15 hit... (with Sandra) |
5 | - | 39 | - | - | - | 13 | - | - | - | Greatest Hits | |
| 2007 | Vampires Are Alive | 3 | - | 62 | - | 7 | - | 24 | - | - | - |
|
Vampires |
| We Gotta Hold On | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| Because of You | - | - | - | - | - | - | 47 | - | - | - | |||
| 2008 | Olé Olé | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | 58 | - | - | - | Olé Olé | |
| 2010 | Superstar | 14 | - | 72 | - | - | - | 41 | - | - | - | Fantasy | |
| 2011 | Everybody's Gonna Dance (11.11.2011) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 70 | - | - | - | Dancing Las Vegas | |
External links
- Full Discography and Swiss Chart Overview of DJ Bobo
- DJ Bobo at World Food ProgrammeWorld Food ProgrammeThe World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
- Full information about DJ BoBo
- DJ BoBo Chile and SouthAmerica