Dieter Günter Bohlen (; born 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of the pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German and international artists. He is also a judge on casting shows Deutschland sucht den Superstar and Das Supertalent.

Life and career

1954–1984: Early life and career beginnings

thumb|left|Bohlen (right) with the band Sunday in 1981

Bohlen is the eldest son of building contractor Hans Bohlen (born 1928) and his wife Edith (born 1936), and grew up in East Frisia. His maternal grandmother is originally from Königsberg. He was named Dieter Günter Bohlen but later expressed dissatisfaction with his second given name and had it officially struck. After getting his Abitur at the Wirtschaftsgymnasium der Berufsbildenden Schulen in Oldenburg-Haarentor, he moved to Göttingen. There, he studied business administration at his parents' request at the Georg-August-Universität, finishing his studies in 1978 with a degree. (whom he signed when she was fifteen years old), and boy band Touché.

In 1986, Bohlen wrote the title song "Midnight Lady" of Tatort episode ', which was performed by former Smokie singer Chris Norman and was major hit in Central Europe, topping several charts. The song appeared on Norman's second solo album Some Hearts Are Diamonds, which was produced by Bohlen. In 1988, he wrote the title song of Tatort episode ', "Silent Water", which he performed himself as Blue System. In 1989, two songs written and produced by him were sent to the Eurovision Song Contest: Nino de Angelo represented Germany with the song "Flieger" and reached place 14, while Thomas Forstner represented Austria with the song "Nur ein Lied" and reached place 5. Also in 1989, Bohlen wrote the soundtrack to the ZDF series Rivalen der Rennbahn, which was certified platinum in Germany that same year and reached the top 5 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In 1991, Bohlen produced Roy Black's final album Rosenzeit. From 1991 to 1993, he worked with Bonnie Tyler on the albums Bitterblue, Angel Heart, and Silhouette in Red. The collaboration spawned a number of successful singles, such as "Bitterblue", "Against the Wind" (which was used as the title song of Tatort episode '), and "Fools Lullaby". In 1992, another Bohlen composition represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest. Titled "Zusammen geh'n", it was performed by Tony Wegas and reached place 10. In 1998, Modern Talking made a successful comeback, releasing singles such as "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98, "You Are Not Alone", or Formula One songs "Win the Race" and "Ready for the Victory", but split up again in 2003.

thumb|Bohlen (left) and [[Thomas Anders performing as Modern Talking in 2003]]

In 2002, Deutschland sucht den Superstar (often shortened as DSDS), the German version of Pop Idol and American Idol, was launched with Bohlen as one of the judges. While the other judges are changed regularly, he has been a judge each season. He has produced most of the winners, yielding several hits such as "We Have a Dream". That same year, he published his first book, an autobiography titled Nichts als die Wahrheit, written in collaboration with Bild journalist Katja Kessler, which sold over a million copies in Germany and got a Goldene Feder. A second autobiography written with Kessler, Hinter den Kulissen, was published the next year. It was criticised for its unfairness and charges were pressed by his former bandmate Thomas Anders. Frank Farian published the book Stupid Dieser Bohlen: Die Wahrheit und nichts als die Wahrheit über den Pop-Hochstapler as a response, in which he tried to expose Bohlen as a fraud. Both Nichts als die Wahrheit and Hinter den Kulissen were also released as audiobooks read by Bohlen. In 2004, he won the ECHO for Producer of the Year, while "We Have a Dream" earned the ECHO for Rock/Pop Single of the Year (National).

thumb|left|Bohlen performing in Moscow in 2006

In March 2006, Dieter: Der Film, a satirical cartoon film based on Nichts als die Wahrheit, premiered. Bohlen did not voice his own role, but voiced the narrator. He wrote and produced the entirety of the film's soundtrack, which includes the previously unreleased Modern Talking song "Shooting Star". Later that year, he produced the song "Be My Boyfriend" for the duo Indiggo, which reached the seventh place of the Romanian pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Also in 2006, he published his third book, Meine Hammer-Sprüche.

In 2007, the German installment of the Got Talent franchise, Das Supertalent, was launched with Bohlen as one of the judges. Similarly to Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the fellow judges are changed regularly but he has been a judge each season. In 2008, he published two more books, Nur die Harten kommen in den Garten! Der Weg zum Superstar and Der Bohlenweg: Planieren statt Sanieren.

In 2010, Bohlen began working with Schlager singer Andrea Berg. All of her albums produced by him (Schwerelos, Abenteuer, Atlantis, and Seelenbeben) topped the German and Austrian album charts. He ended their collaboration per email on 17 March 2018. On 3 April 2019, Bohlen and Berg announced they would publish two new songs together.

Artistry

Bohlen's productions are characterised by simply structured compositions. In the 1980s and 1990s, often working in the studio with Spanish producer Luis Rodríguez, he produced Euro disco and Eurodance songs for Modern Talking, Blue System, and C. C. Catch with falsetto choruses. Those choruses were achieved with the help of session singers, such as Rolf Köhler, Michael Scholz, and Detlef Wiedeke. With Deutschland sucht den Superstar winners, Bohlen tends to focus on pop ballads.

Copyright expert Paul Hertin from Berlin repeatedly claimed that Bohlen plagiarized several songs and thus breached copyright. For example, Hertin says that Bohlen used the melody of Babyface's "What If" for the production of Yvonne Catterfeld's "Für dich". Based on Hertin's expert assessment regarding the plagiarism allegations, the Berlin prosecutor's office initiated a preliminary investigation against Bohlen, which was dropped.

Other ventures

thumb|right|Bohlen signing autographs while attending a [[Camp David (fashion)|Camp David store opening in Oldenburg in April 2016]]

Casting shows

Bohlen has been on Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol and American Idol, since the show was launched in 2002. He often makes blunt and controversial comments, including insults and wisecracks about contestants and their singing abilities (such as "You sing like a garden gnome on ecstasy" or "Your voice sounds like Kermit getting his arse kicked"), which led to comparisons with Simon Cowell in the German-speaking press. He earns 1.2 million euros per season. In 2020, he had been the face of Camp David for 10 years.

Between 2002 and 2008, Bohlen published five books, ranging from autobiographies to advice books. In 2005, he released a perfume named Provocation. In 2011, he founded the clothing label "Needs Clothing" along with Felix Werner. In 2013, he released a line of wallpapers through P+S.

Personal life

thumb|left|Bohlen in 2013|alt=A man with light-brown hair wearing sunglasses and a navy blue polo shirt. His mouth is slightly open. He is in front of a yellow wall with numerous items, such as a blackboard.

From 1983 to 1989, Bohlen was married to Erika Sauerland, whom he had met in 1974 in Göttingen. They have three children: Marc, Marvin, and Marielin. On 13 May 1996, Bohlen married model Verona Feldbusch in Las Vegas, but they separated after four weeks. The divorce was finalised on 27 May 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he was in a relationship with Abd el Farrag again. Since 2006, he has been in a relationship with Fatma Carina Walz, who he met in Mallorca, Spain, and a son named Maximilian (born 7 September 2013).

Bohlen lives in the village of Tötensen near Hamburg. He is left-handed, but was forced to learn how to write with his right hand at grammar school. He plays tennis with his left hand because he started tennis after leaving school. According to an article by the Manager Magazine in 2018, Bohlen has a net worth of €250 million, making him one of the thousand richest Germans.

Discography

Solo releases

Albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:13em;"| Title

! scope="col" colspan="5"| Charts positions

|-

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| GER<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUT<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWI<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| PL<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| iTunes<br />

|-

|Dieter: Der Film soundtrack (2006)

|13

| — || — || — || — |—

|-

|Dreamcatcher feat. Mark Medlock (2007)

|2

|6 || 14|| — || — |—

|-

|Das Mega Album! (2019)

|4

|7 || 9 || 46

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:13em;"| Title

! scope="col" colspan="5"| Charts positions

|-

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| GER<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUT<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWI<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| FI<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| iTunes<br />

|-

| "You Can Get It" feat. Mark Medlock (2007)

|1

| 3 || 3 |||20

||-

|-

|"Unbelievable" feat. Mark Medlock (2007)

|4

| 19 || 27 || – |-

||-

|}

With Modern Talking

With Blue System

No. 1 hits in West Germany/Germany

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Title

!Artist

|-

|rowspan=3|1985

|"You're My Heart, You're My Soul"

|rowspan=4|Modern Talking

|-

|"You Can Win If You Want"

|-

|"Cheri, Cheri Lady"

|-

|rowspan=3|1986

|"Brother Louie"

|-

|"Midnight Lady"

|Chris Norman

|-

|"Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)"

|Modern Talking

|-

|rowspan=5|2003

|"We Have a Dream"

|DSDS

|-

|"Take Me Tonight"

|rowspan=2|Alexander Klaws

|-

|"Free Like the Wind"

|-

|"You Drive Me Crazy"

|Daniel Küblböck

|-

|"Für dich"

|rowspan=2|Yvonne Catterfeld

|-

|2004

|"Du hast mein Herz gebrochen"

|-

|rowspan=2|2007

|"Now or Never"

|rowspan=3|Mark Medlock

|-

|"You Can Get It"

|-

|2008

|"Summer Love"

|-

|2009

|"Anything but Love"

|Daniel Schuhmacher

|-

|2010

|"Don't Believe"

|Mehrzad Marashi

|-

|2011

|"Call My Name"

|Pietro Lombardi

|-

|2012

|"Don't Think About Me"

|Luca Hänni

|-

|2013

|"Mein Herz"

|Beatrice Egli

|-

|2016

|"Glücksmoment"

|Prince Damien

|-

|2019

|"Cherry Lady"

|Capital Bra

|-

|2020

|"Eine Nacht"

|Ramon Roselly

|}

Artists with Bohlen as producer (selection)

Awards

  • 1985: Goldene Stimmgabel, Most successful composer and producer
  • 1998: VIVA Comet – Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 2001: Top of the Pops Award, Top Artist Germany
  • 2003: German Book Prize, Second according to the public audience
  • 2003: Goldene Feder
  • 2003: Media Control Award, 25 Jahre Media Control
  • 2003: GQ Man of the Year
  • 2003: Unsere Besten, position No. 30 as the greatest German ever
  • 2003: Bambi, Pop National
  • 2004: Echo, best national producer
  • 2004: Echo, Single of the year We have a dream
  • 2008: Platin-Otto, Lifetime achievement award

Literature

By Dieter Bohlen

  • Dieter Bohlen, Katja Kessler: Nichts als die Wahrheit, Heyne, Munich 2002,
  • Dieter Bohlen, Katja Kessler: Hinter den Kulissen, Blanvalet, Munich 2003,
  • Dieter Bohlen: Meine Hammer-Sprüche, Heyne, Munich 2006,
  • Dieter Bohlen: Nur die Harten kommen in den Garten! Der Weg zum Superstar, Heyne, Munich 2008,
  • Dieter Bohlen: Der Bohlenweg – Planieren statt Sanieren, Heyne 2008, ; also as audio by Random House Audio, spoken by Bohlen,

About Dieter Bohlen

  • Frank Farian, Reginald Rudorf, Dieter Kaltwasser – Stupid Dieser Bohlen. Die Wahrheit und nichts als die Wahrheit über den Pop-Hochstapler, Franks Kleiner Buchverlag, Berlin 2004,

References

  • Official website
  • Dieter Bohlen on laut.de (in German)