|
Sarah Marianne Corina Lewe (born June 13, 1980), better known by her stage name Sarah Connor, is a German singer, songwriter and television personality. Connor debuted in 2001 under the guidance of artist manager George Glueck and became the first solo act to ever have four consecutive chart-topping hits on the German Singles Chart. Following success in mainland Europe with her single "From Sarah with Love" and her R&B-oriented debut album Green Eyed Soul, a series of hit records established her position as the most successful German pop female vocalists to emerge in the 2000s with sales in excess of 15 million copies worldwide. Her latest effort, seventh studio album Real Love, was released in October 2010, amid her engagement as judge on the German reality television show X Factor.
Awarded with several prizes and accolades, Connor has received four Comets, a Top of the Pops Award, a Goldene Kamera, a Goldene Europa, a World Music Award, and an Echo. married American pop-rock musician Marc Terenzi in 2004, with whom she appeared in two reality shows, Sarah & Marc in Love (2007) and Crazy and Sexy: Sarah Connor (2008). They ended their relationship with divorce in 2008.
Connor is the eldest of six siblings born to Michael Lewe, an advertising writer of American descent, and his wife Soraya Lewe-Tacke (née Gray), a former fashion model and homemaker of Scottish, Irish and German heritage, in Hamburg. She has four sisters: Anna Maria, Marisa, Sophia-Luisa, and Valentina; and one brother, Robin. Her maternal half-brothers Mick and Lex were born in 2008.
Connor grew up listening to soul music, mostly influenced by her paternal grandfather who was born in New Orleans. A church choir became her first experience in the gospel music field at a very young age. In her teen years Connor tried out and was accepted to a performing arts school. Although all students were required to choose an instrument, Connor was the only one allowed to study voice. She took vocal lessons once a week and worked as a waitress in a hotel to pay for them.
In 1997, Connor was picked to sing with the backing choir during the performance of "Heal the World" at Michael Jackson's HIStory concert tour in Bremen, Germany. Overwhelmed by a personal meeting with Jackson at the end of the show, she signed a contract with her first management the following year, that resulted in her pseudonym Sarah Gray and the recording of a number of demo tapes, including cover versions such as "Silent Night" and "This Christmas" and the local radio success "Ula la Ula." In 1999, she provided the leading vocals for producer Marc van Linden's dance remix of the 1982 record "Last Unicorn," which reached number 86 on the German Singles Chart. Unhappy with her management though, Connor teamed up with manager Carlo Vista, who got her signed as Sarah Connor with producer George Glueck's label X-Cell Records a short time after. As a direct consequence, she decided to quit school and leave home at the age of 19.
Connor fluctuated between Hamburg, Hannover and Berlin to work on her debut album, involving producers such as Bülent Aris, Toni Cottura, Diane Warren, and the production duo Rob Tyger and Kay Denar. Green Eyed Soul, which was eventually released on November 26, 2001 in German-speaking Europe, yielded her first two singles "Let's Get Back to Bed – Boy!," a collaboration with American rapper TQ, and "French Kissing," a song based on BLACKstreet’s "No Diggity." However, it was the album’s third single "From Sarah with Love" which reached the top position in Germany, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland and raised Connor’s fame all over Europe. The song garnered the singer a Comet and an ECHO Award. Album reviews were generally positive, with laut.de especially praising Connor’s vocal strengths.
Only ten months later, her second album Unbelievable (2002) was released in Europe. Wyclef Jean wrote, produced and rapped on the album’s lead single, "One Nite Stand (of Wolves and Sheep)," which once again entered the top 5. Unbelievable simultaneously achieved gold status in Germany within 48 hours and spawned another three singles, including Diane Warren-penned "Skin on Skin," "He's Unbelievable" and "Bounce" (which would be released as a single on 3 different occasions and countries including the United States.)
In October 2003, Connor released a live DVD branded Sarah Connor Live – A Night to Remember: Pop Meets Classic, whose performance had been recorded at the Alten Kasselhaus in Düsseldorf on January 24, including individual performances of own songs with a classical orchestra backing her up. In November 2003, in spite of being heavily pregnant with her first child, Connor released her third album called, Key to My Soul. The album’s first single, "Music Is the Key" featuring New York a cappella singers Naturally 7, became her second number-one hit in Germany. "Just One Last Dance", the album's second and final single, was a re-recorded edition of the album’s original version, including new vocals by Marc Terenzi’s band Natural. The duet once again reached number-one in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and the top 20 on a composite World Top 40.
The album "Sarah Connor" featured the first single, "Bounce". It was released in many countries. including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In Germany, the single made it to #14 on the charts. In England and Ireland it peaked at number 14 and was certified gold in Australia. In America, the song only managed a #54 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album made it to number 106 and took off in the U.S., selling almost 100.000 copies.
|
