Tokio Hotel are identical twin brothers Bill (vocals) & Tom Kaulitz (guitar), Georg Listing (bass) and Gustav Schäfer (drums).
The four guys have been a band since 2001, when they first started
playing together in their hometown of Magdeburg,. In 2005, they were
signed by Universal and on August 15, 2005, their first single “Durch
Den Monsun” was released. It hit #1 the same month. Since then, Tokio
Hotel have sold over five records & DVDs. They are the most
successful German band in decades. They have also gone gold and/or
platinum, (multiple in some cases), in France, Austria, Switzerland,
Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium and
Russia.
Their first album, Schrei, produced four Top 5 singles and the live
tour for that album was the most successful debut live tour ever on
German stages.
Three singles from their next album, Zimmer 483, went into the top 5
in Germany and into the top of the charts in other European countries.
The Zimmer 483 Tour went to 12 European countries.
Tokio Hotel does not just sell amazing records and have record
breaking concerts though. They have changed the face of history. In
2007, the French President invited them to sing on Bastille Day and they
performed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in front of a crowd of over
600,000 people. Later that same year, the Israeli Embassy contacted
Tokio Hotel, and the band from Germany made history playing to a sold
out crowd in Tel Aviv in October.
They smashed another wall by becoming the first German band to be
nominated for two International Awardsa at the MTV European Awards,
where they won Best Inter-Act. Performing their hit Monsoon that night
on stage to a global television audience in the millions, under gallons
of water, was rated by many as the best performance of the evening!
Next up? 2008 and the release of Scream, an English album comprised
of songs from both the earlier Schrei and Zimmer 483 albums. Tokio Hotel
first sang on the North American continent in February of 2008 before
returning to Europe for another round of touring.
Bill Kaulitz, the lead singer had a bit of a scare in March 2008 when
a cyst on his vocal cords required surgery and made it necessary for
the band to cancel 16 concerts. The fans rallied around the band though
with a global outpouring of love and support and in May 2008, Tokio
Hotel was back on stage, with Bill singing better than ever.
In September 2008, after making a LOUD entrance to their first
American awards show on the back of a customized Tokio Hotel Monster
truck, the band was thrilled and surprised to win Best New Artist at the
American MTV Video Music Awards. If the screaming of joy of the fans
could be harnessed and made into fuel, it could have sent that Monster
Truck to the moon.
Then, in November, Tokio Hotel picked up another award, “Best
Headliner” and the MTV European Music Awards in Liverpool. Within just a
few weeks after that, their latest DVD, Caught on Camera, went double
platinum in France, gold in Portugal and entered the USA charts at #6.
Fast forward to 2009, because we really could use pages and pages to
list all of their achievements so far, but for now? Tokio Hotel is in
the studio, recording their third album. The title is not yet released,
but it is due to be released worldwide in late 2009. Fans are in a
frenzy waiting for it!
Stay tuned with us here at their Official USA Fanclub for the latest
news and developments. We are so proud to be their fans and their
fanclub and glad you have found them!
