Alexander Klaws

Alexander Klaws is a German singer, songwriter, actor, and television host born on 3 September 1983. He rose to fame in 2003 after winning the debut season of the reality television series Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Following his victory, he established a career in both the music industry and musical theatre, releasing multiple chart-topping albums and starring in major stage productions.

Klaws was born in Ahlen and raised in Sendenhorst alongside his older sister Melanie by their parents, Richard and Hildegard Klaws. An avid football player who later joined charity soccer teams, Klaws displayed musical talent during elementary school. At age ten, he made his first television appearance performing "What Is Love" on a national children's show. By the age of thirteen, he began taking vocal and piano lessons.

In 2002, Klaws auditioned for the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, winning the competition on 8 March 2003 with 70.1 percent of the votes. His debut single, "Take Me Tonight," reached number one on the German and Swiss Singles Charts and became one of the top-selling singles of 2003 in Germany. His debut studio album, Take Your Chance, released in May 2003, debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart and was followed by the hit soundtrack single "Free Like the Wind." In late 2003, he represented Germany on the World Idol television special, placing ninth.

Klaws released his second consecutive number-one album, Here I Am, in July 2004, which generated hit singles such as "Behind the Sun" and "Sunshine After the Rain." After studying song and acting at the Joop van den Ende Academie in Hamburg, he released his pop rock third album, Attention!, in 2006. He followed it with Was willst du noch?! in 2008—his first album recorded primarily in German—as well as Für alle Zeiten in 2011 and Auf die Bühne, fertig, los! in 2015. Outside of recording, Klaws appeared in television shows including Das Traumhotel and originated the role of Lars Hauschke in the telenovela Anna und die Liebe in 2008.

In December 2006, Klaws made his musical theatre debut playing Alfred in Dance of the Vampires at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. He went on to lead several major stage productions, playing Tarzan in Tarzan from 2010 to 2013, Ranger in Der Schuh des Manitu, Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Tony in Saturday Night Fever, and Sam in Ghost the Musical. He also performed as Old Surehand at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg in 2017.

In addition to acting and singing, Klaws hosted the music programme Goldschlager – Die Hits der Stars on Sat.1 Gold in 2013. He has also competed on television contests, winning the seventh season of the dance contest Let's Dance in 2014 and the fifth season of The Masked Singer in 2021.