Andrea Berg

Andrea Berg
A red-haired woman performing on stage. She is wearing a white outfit and holding a golden microphone.
Andrea Berg at the Schlagernacht des Jahres 2017
Born Andrea Zellen[1]
(1966-01-28) 28 January 1966
Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Residence Aspach, Baden-Württemberg[2]
Occupation Singer
Years active 1992 (1992)–present
Spouse(s)
Children 1
Musical career
Genres Schlager
Instruments Vocals
Labels
  • White
  • Jupiter
  • BMG
Associated acts
Website andrea-berg.de

Andrea Ferber[1] (née Zellen,[1] born 28 January 1966), known professionally as Andrea Berg, is a German schlager singer. Born in Krefeld, she performed at carnivals as a child and began her career in 1992 after being discovered by record producer Eugen Römer. While she released her first studio album Du bist frei that same year, her commercial breakthrough took place with its follow-up Gefühle, released in 1995. The collaboration between Berg and Römer spawned a string of commercially successful albums, with her albums Machtlos (2003), Du (2004), Splitternackt (2006), and Zwischen Himmel & Erde (2009) topping the German charts. Her compilation album Best Of, released in 2001, is the album that spent the most weeks on the charts in Germany and Austria. Between 2010 and 2018, Berg worked with Dieter Bohlen, who produced her albums Schwerelos (2010), Abenteuer (2011), Atlantis (2013), and Seelenbeben (2016), all of which topped the German and Austrian album charts.

Berg has received several awards, including six ECHO Awards and eight Goldene Stimmgabeln. With over 10 million records sold throughout her career,[3] she is one of the best-selling music artists in Germany.

Life and career

1966–1996: Early life and career beginnings

Andrea Berg was born in Krefeld. As a child, she would experiment with performing short sketches at carnivals and other celebrations. She later played with a band, and also worked backstage on stage set-up and drove the band's van. During this time, she supported herself working as a nurse in the intensive care and oncology departments of a hospital.[4][5] Her musical career began in 1992 after producer Eugen Römer obtained a cassette with recordings of hers.[6] He was enthused by her voice, and within a week the first tracks had been recorded for her début studio album Du bist frei (English: "You Are Free"), which contained the singles "Kilimandscharo" (English: "Kilimandjaro") and "Schau mir noch mal ins Gesicht" (English: "Look Me in the Face Once Again"). Römer also produced her second studio album Gefühle (English: "Feelings"), which proved her commercial breakthrough. The singles from the album, "Wenn du mich willst, dann küß mich doch" (English: "If You Want Me, Then Kiss Me") and "Einmal nur mit dir alleine sein", were hits. The album also featured one of her most popular songs, "Die Gefühle haben Schweigepflicht". In 1994, she reached the first place of the ZDF-Hitparade with the song "Steig wieder auf", recorded as part of group Alle für Alle.

1997–2009: Further commercial success

Andrea Berg performing live in Salzwedel in September 2007

In 1997, Berg released her third studio album Träume lügen nicht (English: "Dreams Don't Lie"), which reached place 71 of the German album charts. The first single, "Warum nur träumen" (English: "Why Just Dream"), was a number-one on some radio playlists and stayed in the charts for 15 weeks. Following the birth of her daughter, she released her fourth album Zwischen tausend Gefühlen (English: "Between a Thousand Feelings") in 1998, which contains twelve songs. Three singles were released from the album throughout 1999: "Diese Nacht soll nie enden" (English: "This Night Should Never End"), "Insel der Nacht" (English: "Island of the Night"), and "Jenseits der Zärtlichkeit" (English: "Beyond Tenderness"). That same year, she released her fifth album Weil ich verliebt bin (English: "Because I'm in Love"), of which the single "Vielleicht ein Traum zu viel" reached the third place of the ZDF-Hitparade. She also reached the third place of Hits des Jahres (English: Hits of the Year) in January 2000 and was number-one for several weeks in the German Top 20 airplay charts. Since October 18, 2000, "Andrea Berg" has been a registered trademark in Germany.[7]

In October 2001, Berg released the compilation Best Of, which features twelve of her most successful songs. The album sold two million copies and went double-platinum in 2003.[8] As of 2012, it was seven-times-platinum.[8] In August 2011, Best Of reached place 59 of the Swiss hit-parade and was certified gold.[9] Best-of is the album that spent the most weeks on the German and Austrian album charts.[10][11][12] Berg has sometimes had as many as four releases in the German charts simultaneously. Her 2002 studio album Nah am Feuer (English: "Close to the Fire") went gold in 2003.[13] Her 2006 album Splitternackt (English: "Stark Naked") reached number-one on the German album charts, where it remained for several weeks. Her single "Du hast mich tausendmal belogen" (English: "You Have Lied to Me a Thousand Times"), originally published on her album Wo liegt das Paradies, reached the second place of the GEMA Top 10 of collected international sales in 2007.

2010–present: Collaboration with Dieter Bohlen

Andrea Berg performing live in Leipzig in March 2012

In October 2010, Berg released the album Schwerelos (English: "Weightless"), which was produced by Dieter Bohlen and thus ended her 17-year-long collaboration with Eugen Römer. The album went platinum[14] after six days and topped the German and Austrian album charts. With its follow-up Abenteuer (English: "Adventure"), released in September 2011 and also produced by Bohlen, Berg reached place one in Germany and Austria for the third time in a row.[15] From January to March 2012, she went on an anniversary tour to celebrate her twentieth career anniversary.[16]

In April 2013, Berg was a guest juror on an episode of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol and American Idol.[17] In June, she released the compilation album My Danish Collection exclusively in Denmark, where it went gold[18] in its first week and reached the top of the Danish album charts in its second week,[19] marking Berg's first time in the Danish charts. In September 2013, Berg released the double album Atlantis. The first CD was produced by Bohlen, while the second one contains songs by various other producers. Atlantis topped the German, Austrian, and Swiss album charts.

In April 2016, Berg released the album Seelenbeben (English: "Soul Tremors"), which marks her fourth collaboration with Bohlen and also topped the German, Austrian, and Swiss album charts. It received gold and platinum certifications.[20] At the preview of her tour for Seelenbeben at the Rittal Arena Wetzlar, Berg received burns on her shoulder and upper arm following a pyrotechnics accident.[21] To celebrate her twenty-fifth career anniversary, she released the compilation 25 Jahre Abenteuer Leben.[22] On 17 March 2018, Bohlen informed Berg per email that he was ending their professional relationship and would not produce her future albums.[23]

Private life

Andrea Berg has a daughter, Lena-Marie, born in 1998. From 2002 to 2004, Berg was married to schlager singer Olaf Henning.[24] In 2007, she married sports agent, hotelier, and SG Sonnenhof Großaspach cofounder[25] Ulrich Ferber.[26] They currently live together with Berg's daughter in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg.[2]

Public image and accolades

Andrea Berg performing live in Magdeburg in October 2010

From 2002 to 2007, Andrea Berg won the Goldene Stimmgabel every year, as well as the Amadeus Austrian Music Award for best schlager album in 2004 and 2005. She has also won several ECHOs between 2003 and 2011. On November 3, 2008, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by President of Germany Horst Köhler for her hospice work during a ceremony at the Bellevue Palace.[27] On June 15, 2009, she was awarded the seal of her birth city of Krefeld for her social committment.[28]

Berg is known not only for her music, but also increasingly for her stage outfits. She favours miniskirts, suspenders, and knee-highs. She was quoted as saying that "when you reach 40, you do have to make an effort to keep men looking in your direction".[4] Reviewers often criticise "the textual and musical randomness of Berg's songs, which almost always follow a simple 1-2-1-2 dance rhythm".[29] In 2013, the image of women and relationships in Berg's lyrics was described by Georg Seeßlen as "antifeminist",[30] as they engage in the notion that a woman cannot be happy without a man and that she should forgive him for everything negative.[31] These reproaches were contested by Kerstin Decker in 2016.[32]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Year Album Peak positions Certification
GER
 AUT
[33]		 DEN
[34]		 NL SWI
[35]
1992 Du bist frei 49 40  –  –  –
1995 Gefühle 10 10 14  – 14
1997 Träume lügen nicht 71  –  –  –  –
1998 Zwischen tausend Gefühlen 86  –  –  –  –
1999 Weil ich verliebt bin  –  –  –  –  –
2001 Wo liegt das Paradies 42  –  –  –  –
2002 Nah am Feuer 18 26  –  –  –
2003 Machtlos 1 8  –  –  –
2004 Du 1 1  –  – 33
2006 Splitternackt 1 1  –  – 19
2008 Dezember Nacht 8 9  –  – 95
2009 Zwischen Himmel & Erde 1 1  –  – 9
2010 Schwerelos 1 1  –  – 9
2011 Abenteuer 1 1  –  – 2
2013 Atlantis 1 1 5 27 1
2016 Seelenbeben 1 1  –  – 1

Compilation albums

Year Album Peak positions Certification
GER
 AUT
[33]		 DEN
[34]		 SWI
[35]
2001 Best Of 18 5  – 56
2007 Die neue Best Of 4 1  – 7
2013 My Danish Collection  –  – 1  –
2017 25 Jahre Abenteuer Leben 1 2  – 2

Singles

(selective charting singles)

Year Single Peak positions Album
GER
 AUT
[33]		 SWI
[35]
2001 "Du hast mich tausendmal belogen" 96  –  – Wo liegt das Paradies
2006 "Aba Heidschi Bumbeidschi" 46 65  – Dezembernacht
2010 "Ich liebe das Leben" 81  –  – Schwerelos
"Du kannst noch nicht mal richtig lügen" 91 73  –
2013 "Das Gefühl" 52 58 49 Atlantis
"Atlantis lebt" 84  –  –
2016 "Diese Nacht ist jede Sünde wert" 44 37  – Seelenbeben
"Ich werde lächeln wenn Du gehst"  – 75  –

DVDs and blu-rays

Year Single Peak positions
GER
 AUT
 SWI
2003 Emotionen Hautnah 64  –  –
2004 Eine Reise durch die Seele 51  –  –
2006 Live – Das große Konzert in Oberhausen  –  –  –
2009 Das Konzert – Zwischen Himmel und Erde  – 1  –
2011 Schwerelos – Touredition  – 2 3
2012 Andrea Berg - Abenteuer live!  –  –  –

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ferber family tree (PDF; 18,1 MB) page 7 (in German)
  2. 1 2 RTL Punkt 12 (6 September 2013)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  4. 1 2 "Andrea Berg profile". bunte.de. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  5. ↑ "Andrea Berg im Interview: Privat in Gummistiefeln. (English: Andrea Berg in interview: Private with rubber boots.)". hna.de. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  6. ↑ "Funkenmariechen wird Superstar (English: Funkenmariechen becomes a superstar)". ksta.de (by Jens Höhner). 31 January 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  7. ↑ "Register number: 30000239". dpma.de. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  8. 1 2 "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Andrea Berg; 'Best Of')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  9. ↑ "Swiss hit-parade - Top 100 Albums (August 14, 2011)". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  10. ↑ "Rekord: Andrea Berg ist die Königin der deutschen Charts (English: Record: Andrea Berg is the queen of the German charts)". schlagerplanet.de (by Richard Strobl). 9 February 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  11. ↑ "Chart-Queen Andrea Berg ist unschlagbar (English: Chart queen Andrea Berg is unbeatable)". oe24.at. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  12. ↑ "Dauerbrenner Deutschland (English: Long-running successes Germany)". chartsurfer.de. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  13. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Andrea Berg; 'Nah am Feuer')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  14. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Andrea Berg; 'Schwerelos')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  15. ↑ "Neues Album von Andrea Berg stürmt die Charts (English: Andrea Berg's new album takes the charts by storm)". derwesten.de. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  16. ↑ "20 Jahre Andrea Berg - Abenteuertour 2012". Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2018-03-18. (in German)
  17. ↑ "Unterstützung für Dieter Bohlen: Andrea Berg wird Gastjurorin bei DSDS (English: Support for Dieter Bohlen: Andrea Berg becomes guest juror on DSDS)". n-tv.de. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  18. ↑ "Danish certifications – Andrea Berg – My Danish Collection". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 2018-03-18. Click on næste to go to page if certification is from the official website.
  19. ↑ "Andrea Berg biography". schlager.de. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  20. ↑ "Andrea Berg erobert mit „Seelenbeben" Platz 1 der Charts (English: Andrea Berg conquers the first place of the charts with Seelenbeben)". schlager.de. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  21. ↑ "Andrea Berg: Schwere Verbrennungen bei Konzert! (English: Andrea Berg: Severe burns during [her] concert!)". krone.at. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  22. ↑ "Zum 10. Mal auf 1 – Andrea Berg entert die Charts (English: Number-one for the 10th time – Andrea enters the charts)". schlager.de (by Laura Müller). 22 September 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  23. ↑ "Schlagerbranche: Dieter Bohlen beendet Zusammenarbeit mit Andrea Berg (English: Schlager industry: Dieter Bohlen ends collaboration with Andrea Berg)". tagesspiegel.de. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  24. ↑ "Olaf Henning: Er ist wieder in festen Händen (English: Olaf Henning: He is in firm hands again)". stern.de. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018. (in German)
  25. ↑ "Wenn Andrea Berg singt, hat der Fußball Pause (English: When Andrea Berg sings, football has a break)". welt.de (by Christoph Cöln). 5 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  26. ↑ "Das Erfolgsgeheimnis eines deutschen Phänomens (English: The secret for success of a German phenomenon)". welt.de (by Christine Kensche). 6 September 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  27. ↑ "Andrea Berg erhält Bundesverdienstkreuz (English: Andrea Berg receives the Federal Cross of Merit)". mediabiz.de. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  28. ↑ "Andrea Berg ausgezeichnet (English: Andrea Berg awarded)". Archived from the original on 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  29. ↑ "Andrea Berg biography". musicforum.de. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  30. ↑ "Millionenmal Du (English: A million times you)". freitag.de (by Georg Seeßlen). 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  31. ↑ "Andrea Berg: Sex ist nicht mehr so wichtig. (English: Andrea Berg: Sex is not this important anymore.)". kurier.at. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  32. ↑ "Andrea Berg und der emotionale Merkelismus (English: Andrea Berg and emotional Merkelism)". taggespiegel.de (by Kerstin Decker). 6 November 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018. (in German)
  33. 1 2 3 "Andrea Berg discography". austriancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Andrea Berg discography". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  35. 1 2 3 "Andrea Berg discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
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