Sandy Mölling
Encyclopedia
Sandy Mölling 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
.
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.
, North Rhine-Westphalia
, West Germany
to Lothar Mölling and his first wife Dagmar Sprenger. She has three brothers, Brian, Kevin and Dustin and a younger half sister named Melina. 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.
, 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.
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 and the second most successful girl group of Continental Europe
between the years of 2001 and 2003 after Atomic Kitten
. 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.
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.
es on two different German networks, including Autsch TV on Das Vierte and both Du bist... and Damenwahl on the music channel VIVA.
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.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
pop band No Angels
No 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...
, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
," according to the German media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
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
Frame of Mind (album)
Frame of Mind is the second solo album by German singer-songwriter Sandy, released by Starwatch and Warner Music on May 25, 2006 . It includes fourteen songs, five co-written by Sandy. The album's debuted at number 53 on the German Albums Chart.-Track listing:-Album:...
(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
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
and television presenting
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, predominantly starring in comedies.
Early life
Mölling was born in WuppertalWuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to Lothar Mölling and his first wife Dagmar Sprenger. She has three brothers, Brian, Kevin and Dustin and a younger half sister named Melina. After her parents divorce Mölling, her mother, and her siblings moved from Remscheid
Remscheid
Remscheid is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on south side of the Ruhr area....
to Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, where she finished secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
and later quit the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
to start an apprenticeship as a retail saleswoman at a jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
retailer.
2000—2003: Breakthrough with the No Angels
In 2000, Mölling auditioned for the debut installment of the German reality television program PopstarsPopstars
Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss...
, 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
No 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...
.
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
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...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. However, it took another four months until the band released their debut single "Daylight in Your Eyes
Daylight in Your Eyes
"Daylight in Your Eyes" is a dance-pop song written by American musicians Tony Bruno and Tommy Byrnes. Originally composed for Colombian singer Victoria Faiella's debut album Drama , it was re-recorded by German pop band No Angels' for their 2001 first studio album Elle'ments, following their...
," which would subsequently appear on the band's debut album Elle'ments
Elle'ments
Special Winter Edition-Credits and personnel:* Laszlo Bencker - various* Thorsten Brötzmann - keyboards* Nico Fintzen - keyboards* Stefan Hansen - keyboards* Tony Laketos - sax* Ralf Lübke - guitar* Lesli Mandoki - various* Ossi Schaller - guitar...
(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
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...
singles, albums and airplay charts, making the No Angels one of the most successful debuts in years.
In the following years the No Angels released another two number-one studio albums, Now ... Us!
Now ... Us!
Now ... Us! is the second studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor subsidiary Cheyenne Records on June 24, 2002 in German speaking Europe...
and Pure
Pure (No Angels album)
Limited edition bonus CD-Credits and personnel:* Thomas Blug - guitar* Thorsten Brötzmann - keyboards* Alan Darby - acoustic guitar, electric guitar* Flo Daunber - drums* Stefan Hansen - keyboards* Clemens Heger - bass* Jeo - keyboards...
, a live album and a successful swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
album branded When the Angels Swing
When the Angels Swing
When the Angels Swing is a swing album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor's sublabel Cheyenne Recordson on November 29, 2002. While the album failed to chart on the Swiss albums chart, it managed to peaked at number 9 in Germany and number 22 in Austria. Primarily produced and...
, 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
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
to date and the second most successful girl group of Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
between the years of 2001 and 2003 after Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
. On September 5, 2003, the four remaining members of the band (Jessica Wahls
Jessica Wahls
Jessica Martina Wahls , also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, songwriter and television host, 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.-Early...
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
The Best of No Angels
- Charts :...
in November of the same year marked the end of the band, with each member going their separate ways in early 2004.
2004—2006: Career development
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
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
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
Frame of Mind (album)
Frame of Mind is the second solo album by German singer-songwriter Sandy, released by Starwatch and Warner Music on May 25, 2006 . It includes fourteen songs, five co-written by Sandy. The album's debuted at number 53 on the German Albums Chart.-Track listing:-Album:...
(#53), in May 2006 via Starwatch Music
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The album's first single, "Crash
Crash (The Primitives song)
"Crash" is a song written by The Primitives band members Paul Court, Steve Dullaghan and Tracy Spencer. The song was first recorded by The Primitives for their 1988 debut album Lovely. This version of the song was released as a single and a cassette in 1988 and peaked at number five on United...
", was a cover version of the same-titled 1988 UK hit (released by The Primitives
The Primitives
The Primitives are a British indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash".-Biography:The Primitives were part of the indie music scene of the mid-1980s alongside bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, the Soup...
) 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.
2007—present: Reformation of the band
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 programTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
es on two different German networks, including Autsch TV on Das Vierte and both Du bist... and Damenwahl on the music channel VIVA.
Personal life
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.
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER 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... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
SWI 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.... |
||
| 2004 | Unexpected | 13 | 73 | 91 |
| 2006 | Frame of Mind Frame of Mind (album) Frame of Mind is the second solo album by German singer-songwriter Sandy, released by Starwatch and Warner Music on May 25, 2006 . It includes fourteen songs, five co-written by Sandy. The album's debuted at number 53 on the German Albums Chart.-Track listing:-Album:... |
53 | — | — |
Singles
| 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 Crash (The Primitives song) "Crash" is a song written by The Primitives band members Paul Court, Steve Dullaghan and Tracy Spencer. The song was first recorded by The Primitives for their 1988 debut album Lovely. This version of the song was released as a single and a cassette in 1988 and peaked at number five on United... " |
24 | — | — | Frame of Mind |
| "Living Without You" | 36 | 71 | — | ||