Sarah Connor (singer)

Connor fluctuated between Berlin, Hamburg, and Hannover to work on her R&B and hip hop-driven debut album, involving German music producers Bülent Aris, Rob Tyger and Kay Denar as well as international collaborators such as Eddie Martin and rapper TQ.[5] Its release was preceded by the top five and top 20 hit singles "Let's Get Back to Bed – Boy!" and "French Kissing", respectively, as well as her breakthrough hit, the ballad "From Sarah with Love", which reached the top position in Germany, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland and raised Connor's fame all over Europe.[5] Eventually released in November 2001, Green Eyed Soul generally had mixed reception from music critics, who declared it a mixed bag but considered it a solid career launcher.[13] The album debuted at number two on the German Albums Chart, and charted within the top five in Austria, Finland and Switzerland, reaching gold status in Austria, Czechia, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland, while earning platinum certifications in Finland and Germany.[5] Connor was subsequently awarded a Goldene Europa and won the Echo Music Prize for Best National Rock/Pop Female Artist, among three nominations.[5]

Connor in 2002 at Verstehen Sie Spaß?

The following year, Connor embarked on the Green Eyed Soul Tour in 2002 and began production on her second studio album Unbelievable. A continuation of Green Eyed Soul, she reteamed with Aris, Denar and Tyger to work on the majority of the album, with American musicians Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis, and Diane Warren also joining the project.[5] 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 "Skin on Skin", "He's Unbelievable" and "Bounce".

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.

After a lengthy hiatus that saw the birth of her son Tyler, Connor returned to music in fall 2004 with the release of her single "Living to Love You." The ballad reached number-one in Germany and Switzerland, becoming her third consecutive chart-topper, and preceded her fourth album Naughty But Nice (2005).[14] Connor re-teamed with longtime contributors Booya, Kay Denar und Rob Tyger to work on the album, whose release coincided with the broadcast of her ProSieben reality series Sarah & Marc in Love. Her highest-charting effort yet, Naughty But Nice debuted on top of the German Albums Chart and reached the top three in Austria and Switzerland, selling 100,000 copies within the first two days of its release.[15] Critical reaction towards the album was generally mixed, with Allmusic rating it three starts out of five,[16] and laut.de summing it as "underclass music for the disco around the corner."[17] Spawning just one another single, "From Zero to Hero" was picked to be used as the theme song to the computer-animated movie Robots (2005),The song became her fifth chart-topping single in Germany and the fourth number-one hit single in a row.[18]

Connor performing live in 2008

In fall 2005, Connor embarked on the Naughty but Nice concert tour. Compiling twenty-three dates in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the tour concluded a month later. In December 2005, she released a holiday album named Christmas in My Heart. Containing a mix of traditional but contemporary English standards and re-written German songs in English language, both the album and its same-titled lead single reached number four on the charts.[19][20] Eventually certified platinum by the IFPI,[21] the album was re-released the following year, including the previously unreleased single "The Best Side of Life," another top four success.[22]

Returning from yet another hiatus after the birth of her daughter Summer in 2006, Connor released her sixth studio album Soulicious in March 2007. Mainly made up of 1960s and 70s Motown covers, but also including two original songs, recording for the entire album took place at the former main building of the Berliner Rundfunk, where Connor was backed by a symphonic orchestra of forty-eight musicians.[23] Upon its release, the album reached the top ten in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, where it each reached gold status.[21] Critics, again, gave Soulicious a mixed response, with CDStarts.de calling it "a sterile soul adaption for The Dome stage."[24] Leading single "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)," which was featured in a publicity campaign for the comeback fight of German boxer Henry Maske, and "Sexual Healing," a duet with American singer Ne-Yo, reached the top ten and top twenty of the singles charts respectively.[25][26]

Heading into a new musical direction, Connor intensified work on her next original album with producers such as Remee, Thomas Troelsen and J. R. Rotem. In May 2008, it was announced Connor and her family would once again participate in an eight-part reality show titled Sarah and Marc: Still Crazy in Love" on ProSieben. The special began airing on July 3, 2008, and followed the recording and promotional events for the new album, branded Sexy as Hell.[27][28] Its first single, "Under My Skin," co-written by Troelsen, was released on August 1, 2008, in German-speaking Europe, with the album following on August 22, 2008. Subsequently, she was nominated for an ECHO.

Connor performing at the Muttersprache Tour in March 2016

In 2009, Connor contributed to a re-recorded version of Enrique Iglesias' duet "Takin' Back My Love," replacing American singer Ciara's original vocals on the song. Released as the second single from Iglesias' 2008 Greatest Hits album in German-speaking Europe, Poland and the Czech Republic, it reached the top ten of the German Singles Chart.[29] In April 2010, it was announced that Connor would appear alongside mentor George Glueck and musician Till Brönner as a judge on the debut series of X Factor, broadcast on the German VOX network.[30] Connor was given the 16-24s category (made up of solo contestants between 16 and 24) but failed to reach the final show when her contestant Mati Gavriel was eliminated in his seventh week and Edita Abdieski was crowned the winner of X Factor instead.[30] Amid her appearances on X Factor, Connor released her eighth studio album Real Love on October 22, 2010. It earned a lukewarm reception by critics,[31] and debuted at number eight on the German Albums Chart.[32] Altogether, Real Love produced two singles, including "Cold as Ice," which reached the top twenty on the German Singles Chart, and its title track, both of which became her lowest-charting singles in years.[33][34] Connor returned for the second and third X Factor series in 2011 and 2012 and was given the groups and over 25s categories, respectively. Again, her contestants Nica & Joe and Björn Paulsen each placed third, losing to David Pfeffer and Mrs. Greenbird.[30]

Following a hiatus, in 2014, Connor appeared in the reality television series Sing meinen Song - Das Tauschkonzert, the German version of The Best Singers series. In 2015, Connor released her ninth studio album Muttersprache, her first album to be entirely recorded in German.[35] Encouraged to record songs in her native language, following her performances on Sing meinen Song, Connor worked with a smaller range of producers on the album, including Daniel Faust, Peter Plate, and Ulf Leo Sommer. Upon its release, Muttersprache debuted on top of on the German Albums Chart, becoming her second number-one album following 2005's Naughty but Nice. With first week sales of more than 100,000 copies in Germany, Muttersprache was certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) just days after its release.[36] It has since been certified platinum.[37] The album also debuted at number-one on the Swiss Albums Chart, her first album to do so.[36] "Wie schön du bist" became Connor's highest-charting single in a decade, reaching number two on the German Singles Chart, and sold over 260,000 copies.[37]

• Green Eyed Soul (2001)
• Unbelievable (2002)
• Key to My Soul (2003)
• Naughty but Nice (2005)
• Christmas in My Heart (2005)
• Soulicious (2007)
• Sexy as Hell (2008)
• Real Love (2010)
• Muttersprache (2015)
• Herz Kraft Werke (2019)