Superstar Helene Fischer and the girl next door
Published: Tuesday, Jul 30th 2024, 12:50
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German pop singer Helene Fischer not only has reason to celebrate her upcoming 40th birthday. She sings, dances and is extremely successful. There are several reasons for this.
Helene Fischer is what you would call a superstar. She has sold almost 18 million records and even those who don't know much about her music are sure to have heard songs like "Atemlos durch die Nacht" or "Achterbahn" - at the Oktoberfest, at carnival, in the pub, as the theme song in the cinema or wherever.
And even the German national football team celebrated to her music after winning the World Cup title in 2014. A dream career for the pop singer, who turns 40 on Monday.
From Siberia to Germany
Fischer was born in 1984 in Krasnoyarsk in the Siberian region. Back then it was still the Soviet Union, now Russia. The family soon moved to Germany, to Wöllstein in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Even then, Helene loved singing and dancing and trained as a musical actress in Frankfurt am Main.
Then, at the age of just under 20, she was given a huge opportunity: she made her television debut in 2005 on ARD's "Hochzeitsfest der Volksmusik". At her side: presenter Florian Silbereisen, with whom she sang the romantic "Komm mit nach Varaždin", about roses, love and happiness.
"I really just held on to him a little bit. I was very happy that he was by my side and that we mastered it together in a playful way," she recalled in the 2021 documentary "15 Jahre im Rausch" on the TV channel Vox. Was there already a sizzle between them back then?
A few years later, they were together and for ten years were considered the dream couple of the pop world. She is now in a relationship with acrobat Thomas Seitel and has a daughter.
My friend Helene
The fact that Fischer became so famous is not only due to the catchiness of her songs, which quickly become catchy tunes whether you like it or not. Her personality also plays a major role. On the one hand flawlessly enraptured and perfect, on the other down-to-earth and warm, an ideal projection screen for wishes and desires. Helene, the girl next door you'd like to be friends with.
She sings about things that almost everyone has already experienced, as the Bochum-based pop music researcher Ingo Grabowsky once put it. Love, longing, sorrow, hopes, wishes - her songs cover the whole range of human sensitivities. A mixture that appeals to people across all generations. "Helene Fischer always came on stage as innocent as an angel, at least in the beginning, and was someone that men could adore without the woman getting jealous," says Grabowsky.
On a first-name basis with fans - no problem for Fischer, as she proved at a concert in Vienna in the fall. As can be seen on a video, a child bluntly asks the question: "How is your baby?". Fischer seems surprised, laughs and doesn't hold back the answer: "The baby is doing great, it's already become a very, very sweet mouse," she says in a friendly manner. And she reveals: "We are very, very happy."
Singing upside down
But it's not just the human element that makes Fischer so attractive to her fans. It's also the artistic performances that audiences want to see. Hanging upside down from the ceiling and singing at the same time? No problem for the singer. On her "Rausch" tour in 2023, she worked with artists from Cirque de Soleil, swinging through the air on a trapeze or hanging from a pole, her microphone firmly in her hand and her body under high tension.
"I'm not reckless," she told the TV station RTL. "I'm an artist who likes to take on challenges." That only works with hard training - and a few injuries. Fischer broke a rib during acrobatic rehearsals and in June 2023, she injured her face with a trapeze bar at a concert in Hanover. The concert was canceled, but Fischer resumed her tour just two months later. "I'm doing fantastic," she shouted to her fans.
Top secret
The downside of her fame: an insatiable interest in her private life. Silbereisen described what this feels like in 2018 when her love break-up became public. "For ten years, the media has been speculating week after week about marriage, children or separation. For years, people haven't even shied away from rummaging through our garbage can to find anything private and construct a story out of it," Silbereisen wrote on social media.
While other celebrities post vacation photos and moments from their lives, Fischer shields her private life. Even where and how she celebrates her birthday is not revealed. The 2013 documentary "Alone in the Light" provided rare insights, but is no longer available. Fischer was accompanied by a camera for months, even away from the limelight.
"Of course, the audience only ever sees the perfect show. Of course I'm an entertainer on stage and in my role, but in private I'm someone who doesn't really need show and glamor," Fischer revealed. The public Helene loves make-up, styling, fancy clothes and high heels. "In private, I like it totally pared down: preferably jeans."
Kreative Pause
The pop star is currently taking a creative break. Fans will therefore have to wait until her next series of concerts. Her 360-degree stadium tour is not due to start until summer 2026 - with a performance on July 14 at Zurich's Letzigrund Stadium.
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