Hallöchen!
Listening to music is a very effective way of improving your language skills and can be very entertaining too. German music traditionally may not seem very modern, but there is a huge variety of music beyond the classics such as Wagner, Beethoven and Bach. The leading music market in Europe is Germany, where the most popular music genres are rock and pop music. In this blog post, we have picked out six current German music artists that we think you should be listening to.
Namika
Born and raised in Frankfurt, hip-hop has been the main musical source of inspiration for Namika. The title of her debut album “Nador”, released in 2015, is taken from the hometown of her Moroccan parents. Her single “Lieblingsmensch” (see video) topped the charts for weeks when it was released and the album itself was nominated for and won many awards. Her music is certainty “feel-good”.
Photo: Harald Krichel
Clueso
Clueso is a German singer, rapper and songwriter from Erfurt who has released a multitude of albums already with plenty to listen to. His music is a mixture of electronic, pop and hip-hop. He released his first album “Text und Ton” in 2001. Listen to his new single “Tanzen” below.
Photo: clueso.de
LEA
LEA is a singer-songwriter and musician with a delicate but powerful voice. With hits like “Leiser” (see video), “Immer wenn wir uns sehn” and “110, she is one of the most successful modern artists in Germany. Her songs are inspired by her life which mean that they are personal, vulnerable and always authentic. LEA wants to be heard as an artist and to reach people with her music and lyrics.
Photo: @thisislealea
Cro
Cro is a popular German rapper who describes his music as a mixture of rap and pop, coining it “Raop”. He is known for witty lyrics, feel good tunes and his panda mask which he wears to keep his identity hidden. Listen to his popular single “Traum” below.
Photo: Glenn Francis
AnnenMayKantereit
AnnenMayKantereit are a four-person rock band from Cologne. They sing predominantly in German but sometimes also publish cover songs in English. Their most recent single “Ausgehen” (see video) was released in February this year.
Photo: Henning Kaiser
Apache 207
Apache 207 is a German rapper of Turkish descent. He became best known for his breakthrough hit “Roller” (see video) in August 2019 and his fame didn’t end there. His new single “Unterwegs” is currently #2 in the German music charts and four more of his songs are in the Top 30 in Germany right now too, alluding to his popularity and success.
Photo: wegow.com
We hope you enjoy these German artists as much as we do. Be sure to practice your German by finding the lyrics of songs online and sing along to your heart’s delight! Our next blog post will be in September with some back to school tips, whatever “back to school” may be. Don’t forget to keep up to date with us on social media for lots of German language and culture.
Tschüss!
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