Nena

Gabriele Susanne Kerner, known professionally as Nena, is a German singer who achieved major international success as the lead vocalist of the band Nena and later as a solo artist. Combined with her band years, she has sold over 25 million records, making her the most successful German pop singer in chart history. She is best known for the 1983 Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons" and its English-language version, "99 Red Balloons."

Kerner was born on 24 March 1960 in Hagen, West Germany, while her family lived in nearby Breckerfeld. The oldest of three children of a teacher father, she spent her early childhood in Breckerfeld before living in Hagen. She acquired her nickname while on a vacation to Mallorca, Spain, with her parents, derived from a Catalan word meaning "baby girl." She left high school in 1977 before completing her Abitur and subsequently trained as a goldsmith for three years without obtaining her journeyman's licence.

Her musical career began in July 1979 when she joined the Hagen-based group The Stripes as lead singer after being invited to audition by guitarist Rainer Kitzmann. Following the group's disbandment in March 1982, record label CBS offered her a deal on the condition that she move to Berlin and perform music with German lyrics. In May 1982, she relocated to West Berlin with her boyfriend Rolf Brendel and formed the band Nena alongside Carlo Karges, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, and Jürgen Dehmel. The band gained immediate national attention with their debut single "Nur geträumt" after appearing on the German television show Musikladen.

In 1983, the band released their debut album, Nena, featuring "99 Luftballons." The track became a number one hit in West Germany and the Netherlands, and achieved global success in 1984, reaching No. 1 in the UK with an English version and No. 2 in the US with the original German release. Despite continued popularity across European countries, the band eventually split in 1987, prompting Kerner to embark on a solo career.

Kerner launched her solo career in November 1989 with the album Wunder gescheh'n. Her solo popularity experienced a major resurgence in 2002 with the anniversary album Nena feat. Nena, produced by former band colleague Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen. This was followed by successful original albums, including the platinum-selling Willst du mit mir gehn in 2005, which yielded the German number one single "Liebe ist."

In 2009, Kerner established her own record label, The Laugh & Peas Company, releasing her album Made in Germany. She continued publishing albums in subsequent years, including Du bist gut in 2012, Oldschool in 2015, and Licht in 2020. Throughout her career, she has toured extensively, collaborated with various international artists, and engaged in live performances across Europe and the United States. Following tour cancellations and controversy regarding COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2021, she announced a full resumption of her pre-pandemic touring pattern in late 2022.