Nevada Tan

Fusing melodic hard rock with emotional lyrics and aspects of hip-hop (i.e., rapping, turntablism), Nevada Tan shot to instant stardom with their debut album, Niemand Hört Dich (2007), which was embraced by legions of German-speaking teenagers. Founded in 2002 in Neumünster, a city of roughly 80,000 in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost Bundesland in Germany, the band relocated to nearby Hamburg and is comprised of vocalist Frank Ziegler (aka Franky; born April 4, 1987, in Heidelberg), vocalist/rapper Timo Sonnenschein (aka T:mo; September 20, 1987; Neumünster), turntablist Jan Werner (March, 1, 1988; Neumünster), guitarist David Bonk (February 6, 1988; Neumünster), bassist Christian Linke (aka Linke; March 11, 1987; Neumünster), and drummer Juri Schewe (November 24, 1986; Hamburg). Originally named Panik, the band switched to Nevada Tan which, notoriously, was the name (i.e., Nevada-tan) of an 11-year-old Japanese schoolgirl who used a retractable knife to murder a classmate in 2004. Signed to Vertigo, a fashionable division of Universal Music, Nevada Tan made their official debut in March 2007. Early in the month, the band performed at The Dome 41, which was held in Mannheim, and later in the month came the debut single "Revolution." Nevada Tan's debut album, Niemand Hört Dich, was released two weeks later, on April 13, 2007. The album proved broadly popular, charting in Germany (peaking at number eight), Austria (number 21), and Switzerland (number 63); the singles "Vorbei" and "Neustart" succeeded "Revolution." The popularity of Nevada Tan was partly enabled by the German media, particularly Bravo, the most-read German-language teen magazine, and VIVA, a Berlin-based music television channel that competes with MTV Germany — both media outlets were key early supporters of the band. Besides supporters, Nevada Tan had their fair share of critics, of course, many of whom likened the band to Linkin Park, an English-language rock-rap act that was similarly popular among teens.