Media Control's head office located in Baden Baden

The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie (Federal Association of Phonographic Industry). Media Control GfK International is the provider of weekly Top-100 single/album, Compilation, Jazz Top-30, Classic Top-20, Schlager Longplay Top-20, Music-DVD Top-20 and the official-Dance (ODC) Top-50 charts.^[2]

Official charts in Germany are presented by various companies who release charts on a weekly basis, online or on television. One example would be VIVA music channel which was founded in 1993.^[3] Another two examples would be MusicLoad and MIX 1 both of which are online associations who post almost all the charts on weekly bases published by Media Control GfK International.^[4][5] The entire batch of the official charts; however, is presented by online enterprise called Charts.de which happens to be the subsidiary of Media Control GfK International.^[6]

History[link]

Charts have been published in Germany since 1959, in a magazine called Der Musikmarkt (The Music Market), which has played an important role in the German music industry.^[7] Since 1959, the growing desire for having a well developed music program has made Bunderverband Musikindustrie work together with charts provider to improve the way the charts were determined.

For this purpose, different research institutes were tested, out of which Media Control, based in Baden Baden was selected. Hence, the first official charts were made available in the magazine Der Musikmarkt in September 1977.^[7]

Initially, there used to be 50 positions only, which later in January 1980, was extended to 75 slots.^[7] Since 1989; however, Media Control has adapted the international standards providing 100 positions, called "Media Control Top 100".^[7] Since 2001, the Top-100 singles charts was modified to reflect the sales of the singles.^[7]

Media Control developed "Music Video charts" in 2001, which later, in 2004, was renamed as "DVD charts".^[7] While Music-videos have their own separate charts, in 2001, Media Control made it possible for the Music-video singles to have the ability to enter the Top-100 singles chart. Similarly, in 2002, it was made available for the Music-video albums to chart on the Top-100 album chart, if the Video album contains at least 50% of audio recording. If not, then, the DVD album could qualify for DVD chart only.^[7] In the same vein, if an audio CD contains at least 50% of Video recording, then, it could qualify to chart on the DVD chart.^[7]

In 2004, Germany became one of the first music markets wherein sales charts were reflected by online digital downloads.^[8]

Digital-only releases came into existence on July 13, 2007 for online downloads only, which also altered the way the sales figures were conducted up to that point. Consequently, chart positions would no longer be affected by the number of sold music downloads as before, but rather, they would be affected by the sales value of the sold product. Thus, the best-selling albums would not necessarily be the ones ending up in the number one position on the charts.^[9]

There are currently 3000 outlets that report their sales on weekly bases in Germany.^[7] The weekly sales data is transmitted to Media Control via communication network channel, PhonoNet.^[7]

Categories[link]

List of charts that are provided by Media Control.^[10]

• Top 100 Singles
• Top 100 Albums
• Top 100 Compilation Charts
• Daily Trends (Top 150 singles and albums, top 50 compilation)
• Download Charts (singles and albums)
• Top 30 Jazz Charts
• Top 20 Classic Charts
• Top 20 Schlager Longplay Charts
• Top 20 Music video Charts
• Top 20 Newcomer Charts
• Top 20 Independent Charts
• Top 10 Comedy Charts
• Top 50 ODC (Official Dance Charts)

See also[link]

• Bundesverband Musikindustrie
• List of number one hits in Germany
• List of best-selling singles by year (Germany)

References[link]

External links[link]

In digital electronics, analogue electronics and entertainment, the user interface of media may include media controls or player controls, to enact and change or adjust the process of watching film or listening to audio.

Symbols[link]

These are common icons on physical devices and application software:

Play

Pause

Stop

Options to increase or decrease speed, search and change chapters:

Rewind or fast forward

Skip to the start or end

Controls to record content or eject media form a device:

Record

Eject

Other symbols are Shuffle and Repeat

Technology[link]

There are many types of entertainment devices that include media controls, some are mobile:

• Blu-ray player
• CD player
• Computer
• DVD player
• Record player
• Remote control
• Tape player
• Television

See also[link]

• List of international common standards
• Loudness
• Media player (application software)
• Power symbol

Thomas Godoj
Thomas Godoj at Jetix Award, Berlin 2008
Background information
Birth name	Tomasz Jacek Godoj
Born	(1978-03-06) March 6, 1978 (age 34) Rybnik, Poland
Origin	Recklinghausen North Rhine-Westphalia Germany
Genres	Poprock Alternative rock
Occupations	Singer Songwriter Draftsman
Years active	2003 (with "Cure of Souls") – present
Labels	SonyBMG
Website	ThomasGodoj.de

Thomas Godoj (born March 6, 1978 in Rybnik, Silesia, Poland) is a Polish-German rock-pop singer and songwriter. He is known most notably for winning the fifth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol.

Early and personal life[link]

Godoj was born on March 6, 1978 in Rybnik, Poland to Danuta and Eugen Godoj. In 1988, he and his parents along with his sister Hannah moved to Recklinghausen. Thomas then attended a secondary school and passed his speciality graduation examination for a career as a technical draftsman. He attended the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, specializing in civil engineering. During his studies, he became interested in music and played with local bands such as Cure of Souls, Fluxkompensator, Tonk! and WINK.

DSDS[link]

Thomas Godoj, Oschersleben

In the summer of 2007, Godoj auditioned in Berlin for the fifth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. The judges enjoyed his rock style and attitude and each one voted him on to the next round, and later to the top 15. In the first live show, Thomas performed Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and received over a minutes standing ovation from the audience while the jury gave him overwhelming praise. Week after week, Thomas performed for Germany until he reached the Top 2. Godoj won the final contest with 62,2%.

Although Thomas was a front-runner from the start of the competition, he landed in the bottom groups twice during live result shows. But after the voting results were published, it was shown that Thomas received the highest percentage of votes every week. This places him in DSDS history, along with Mark Medlock, as a contestant with the highest number of votes each week. Technically, he should also rank with Medlock and Alexander Klaws as the only winner never in the bottom 3, as he ranked the highest every week but the bottom group was picked at complete random. He is the second "rocker" to win the competition alongside Tobias Regner.

After the DSDS show he got back together with his ex girlfriend Jennifer. Their first daughter Lynn Jennifer Godoj was born on January 3, 2009.^[1]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Promesingles[link]

• 2008: Autopilot (Radiosingle with Video from the Album "Plan A")

Awards[link]

Jetix Awards: Newcomer of the Year 2008

2008[link]

• Nick Kids’ Choice Awards: Favorite singer
• Journalia 2008, Preis des polnischen Magazins „Samo Życie“
• Jetix Awards: Newcomer of the Year 2008

2009[link]

• Thomas Godoj won at February 21, 2009 in Berlin, the 18. ECHO (music award) as "Best national Newcomer".

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thomas Godoj

• Official Site
• Thoms-Godoj.de
• Thomas Godoj Community
• Thomas Godoj News

References[link]

Helene Fischer
Helene Fischer on Tour 2010
Background information
Birth name	Елена Петровна Фишер
Born	(1984-08-05) August 5, 1984 (age 27) Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union
Genres	Schlager
Occupations	Singer
Years active	2005–present
Labels	EMI
Website	www.helene-fischer.de

Helene Fischer (Russian: Елена Петровна Фишер (Jelena Petrowna Fischer); born August 5, 1984 in the Soviet Union) is a German singer and entertainer. Since her debut in 2005 she has won several awards, including four Echo awards and three "Krone der Volksmusik" awards. According to record certifications she sold at least 2,905,000 albums.

Upbringing and education[link]

Helene Fischer was born in the Siberian town of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where she spent her early childhood. In 1988 her ethnic German family emigrated to Germany.^[1] In Germany, the family settled in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

After graduating from school, Helene Fischer attended the Frankfurt Stage & Musical School for three years, where she studied singing and acting.^[2] During this time, Helene performed on stage at the State Theatre of Darmstadt, as well as on the stage of National Theatre in Frankfurt.

Musical career[link]

During her time at the Stage & Musical School, her mother secretly copied a demo CD with six songs of Helene and sent it to different recording studios to gauge the reaction of professionals.

Helene's debut on stage took place on May 14, 2005 in a program of the TV channel ARD. It was a duet with the singer Florian Silbereisen. The two later became a couple.^[1]

Helene Fischer on Tour with orchestra May 2011

Her popularity has increased greatly; she has won three prestigious “Echo” (German Grammy) awards, the coveted “Goldene Henne” twice, and the “Krone der Volksmusik” prize three times. All her albums and DVDs have achieved multiple gold and double platinum status. Her songs, with their stories of the everyday worries and woes of home-loving folks, are lyrically close to what the English speaking world calls “Country” although musically quite different.

Her circle of fans extends beyond Germany in large part to Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

She released her first English album, "The English Ones", on June 7, 2010. The album was produced by Jean Frankfurter, one of the most renowned German producers, composers and arrangers of the previous 40 years. The album opens new horizons for Helene: “I have always dreamed of singing my songs in another language. English is the language of Country, the music that we call ’Schlager’. Language is a tool, but it is important that what you sing comes from the heart – and that is what this album is about.”

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Compilations[link]

Remix-Albums[link]

• 2011: Best of Helene Fischer – Der ultimative Dance-Mix

English language albums[link]

• 2010: The English Ones

Singles[link]

• 2006: Feuer am Horizont
• 2006: Von hier bis unendlich
• 2006: Und morgen früh küss’ ich dich wach
• 2006: Im Reigen der Gefühle
• 2007: Du fängst mich auf und lässt mich fliegen
• 2007: Du hast mein Herz berührt
• 2008: Ich glaub dir 100 Lügen
• 2008: Mal ganz ehrlich
• 2008: Ich geb’ nie auf (Am Anfang war das Feuer)
• 2009: Vergeben, vergessen und wieder vertrauen
• 2009: Du läßt mich sein, so wie ich bin
• 2010: Hundert Prozent
• 2010: Nicht von dieser Welt
• 2010: Von Null auf Sehnsucht
• 2010: Manchmal kommt die Liebe einfach so 2010
• 2011: Wär heut mein letzter Tag

DVDs[link]

• 2007: So nah so fern
• 2008: Mut zum Gefühl – Live aus Chemnitz vom 2. Januar 2008 – GER #18
• 2009: Zaubermond live – GER #12
• 2010: Best Of Live – So Wie Ich Bin – Die Tournee – GER #1
• 2011: Live – Zum ersten Mal mit Band und Orchester – GER #14

Awards & Certifications[link]

[edit] Echo

• 2009: for Deutschsprachiger Schlager
• 2009: for DVD Produktion des Jahres (Mut zum Gefühl – Helene Fischer live)
• 2010: for DVD Produktion national (Zaubermond live)
• 2012: for Deutschsprachiger Schlager

Goldene Henne[link]

• 2007: for Aufsteigerin des Jahres
• 2008: for Musik
• 2010: for Musik

Goldene Kamera[link]

• 2012: for Beste Musik national

Krone der Volksmusik[link]

• 2008: for the Erfolg des Jahres 2007
• 2009: for the Erfolg des Jahres 2008
• 2010: as Erfolgreichste Sängerin 2009
• 2012: as Erfolgreichste Sängerin 2011

Gold Record[4] Germany 2012: for the DVD „Live - Helene Fischer - Zum ersten Mal mit Band und Orchester“ Austria 2011: for the album „Für einen Tag“ Denmark 2010: for the Album „Best of“ Switzerland 2010: for the album „So nah wie du“ 2010: for the album „Zaubermond“ 2010: for the album „So wie ich bin“ 2010: for the album „Best of“ 2012: for the album „Für einen Tag“ Platinum Record[4] Austria 2007: for the album „So nah wie du“ 2009: for the album „Zaubermond“ 2010: for the album „Von hier bis unendlich“ 2010: for the album „So wie ich bin“ 2011: for the album „Best of“

3x Gold Record[4] Germany 2011: for the DVD „So nah, so fern“ 2011: for the DVD „Zaubermond (live)“ 2011: for the album „So wie ich bin“ 2012: for the album „Für einen Tag“ 2x Platinum Record[4] Germany 2010: for the album „Zaubermond“ 2011: für die DVD „Mut zum Gefühl (live)“ 5x Gold Record[4] Germany 2010: for the album „Von hier bis unendlich“ 2011: for the album „So nah wie du“ 7x Gold Record[4] Germany 2012: for the album „Best of“ Country Gold Platinum  Denmark 1 0  Germany 9 15  Austria 0 6  Switzerland 5 0 total 15 21

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helene Fischer

• official website from Helene Fischer
• Helene Fischer on YouTube
• Helene Fischer at the Internet Movie Database
• English Lyrics

Natalia Kills
Natalia Kills in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Natalia Keery-Fisher
Also known as	Verbz, Verbalicious,[1] Natalia Noemi Cappuccini,[2] Verse, Candy Rapper, Verbal
Born	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 (age 25) Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Pop, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress, film director
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Adventures in Music, will.i.am, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.nataliakills.com

Natalia Keery-Fisher^[3][4] (born 15 August 1986) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and director who performs under the stage name Natalia Kills. She released her debut album, Perfectionist, in 2011.

Biography[link]

1986–94: Early life[link]

Kills was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to an Afro-Jamaican father and Uruguayan mother,^[5] where she attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. In addition, she studied classical drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[3] She stated in a post on her blog on social website, MySpace that she grew up flying between London and Florida, where she had relatives, resulting in a mixed American and English accent.^[6]

1995–2010: Career beginnings[link]

Kills made her acting debut at age 9 in 1995 in New Voices. She had a regular role as Sima on the TV sitcom All About Me and also played Amy Franks in the BBC's long-running radio drama The Archers. She began writing songs at 14,^[7] some of which were featured in films and television shows, including Bring It On 4, Sleepover, Just My Luck, and Entourage.^[4] After finishing with The Archers in 2003, Kills began pursuing a music career and attributes her musical breakthrough to winning a Radio 1 MC Battle in Leeds under the name "Candy Rapper" in 2003.^[3] She signed to the UK record company Adventures in Music and released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005. Kills' told W that her childhood nickname from her mother was "Verbal" because she talked and sang a lot. She adopted the name and variations of it as her stage name at some points during her career.^[8]

While writing music for films,^[9] Kills posted her self-produced and written demo extended play, Wommanequin on music social website MySpace in 2007 that attracted the attention of blogger Perez Hilton in 2008, her song received 2 million plays on the website and Kills reached the top of the unsigned artists chart.^[8] With offers coming in for concerts and festivals, Kills moved to Los Angeles.^[9] In LA, Kills was approached by producers, A&R and labels with contracts.^[9][10] A DJ introduced her to will.i.am after hearing her demo and learning that she did not have a record deal. In January 2008, will.i.am signed her to his record label, will.i.am Music Group. She did not sign right away as she had reservations about the music industry and will.i.am had to go to London a month later to convince her to record with him.^[9] During this time she also co-wrote and appeared on "They Talk Shit About Me" by French recording artist M. Pokora and met underground director Guillaume Doubet, who would go on to direct many of her videos, in Paris.

[edit] 2011—: Perfectionist

Kills explained in an interview that she adopted the stage name Natalia Kills at the behest of her record company, which found "Natalia Cappuccinni" hard to pronounce.^[9] She had taken on her grandmother's family name a few years prior.^[6] She explained in an interview that her stage name is based on the phrase "you killed it," and represents her tendecy to be a perfectionist.^[11] Kills released her debut album Perfectionist in April 2011 in Germany following a top ten placing by the first single, "Mirrors". The album was described as a concept album by Kills, chronicling the fact that perfection is attainable.^[7] It features production by Jeff Bhasker and Fernando Garibay,^[7] who had worked with Lady Gaga.^[12] The album was accompanied by four singles, "Mirrors", "Wonderland", "Free" and "Kill My Boyfriend". The first three singles were minor hits in some European countries but failed to chart in the US or UK. Kills opened for Kelis' European All Hearts Tour, as well as supported Robyn on her Body Talk Tour in November 2010 and early 2011. She also supported Ke$ha on the UK leg of her Get Sleazy Tour. Throughout August and September 2011, Kills supported Katy Perry on her California Dreams Tour for eight dates in Europe^[13] and São Paulo, Brazil. She also opened for the Black Eyed Peas over the summer of 2011 in Europe.^[8][11]

Kills is featured on a Junior Caldera's single, "Lights Out (Go Crazy)", along with Far East Movement. It was released on March 13, 2012.^[14] Kills also features in Tatana's single, "You Can't Get In My Head (If You Can't Get In My Bed)".

On April 4, 2012, the singer took to Twitter to announce she was back in the studio, potentially beginning work on her second studio album.

Influences[link]

Kills called Kate Bush and Alanis Morissette her most important musical influences, highlighting them as emotional artists who wrote honestly about their own experiences.^[15] She has also gone on to cite Gwen Stefani as her hero. She also claims that Depeche Mode, Prince, Vanity 6 and Freddie Mercury inspire her live performances.^[11]

Discography[link]

• Perfectionist (2011)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Natalia Kills at Allmusic
• Natalia Kills at the Internet Movie Database