Mr. President was a German Eurodance project best known for the crossover world hit "Coco Jamboo," released in 1996. The group is also renowned in Europe for the dance hits "Up'n Away," "I'll Follow the Sun," "I Give You My Heart," "4 on the Floor," "Jojo Action," and the successful albums Up'n Away – The Album and We See the Same Sun.
Mr. President | |
|---|---|
 The final line-up of Mr. President, featuring (from left to right) Franzi, LayZee and Lady Danii, perform Coco Jamboo at Hit Giganten, 2004. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Satellite One |
| Origin | Bremen, Germany |
| Genres | Eurodance, pop, hip hop, reggae fusion |
| Years active | 1991–2008 |
| Labels | Warner Bros. Records (1994–2003) |
| Past members | Delroy Rennalls (LayZee) Judith Hinkelmann (T-Seven) Daniela Haak (Lady Danii) George Jones (Sir Prophet) Myriam Beckmann (Myra) Franziska Frank (Franzi) Nadia Ayche Caren Miller Anne Schroeder William King III |
Mr. President was originally formed in 1991 in Bremen, Germany, by producers Jens Neumann and Kai Matthiesen. Initially, the group consisted of German singers Judith Hinkelmann (T-Seven), Daniela Haak (Lady Danii), and American rapper George Jones (Sir Prophet). In 1994, Jones was replaced by British rapper Delroy Rennalls (Layzee Dee). When Hinkelmann departed from the act in 2000 to pursue a solo career, singer Nadia Ayche joined the group as her replacement. However, Ayche was quickly succeeded by singer Myra Beckmann in 2001. After Beckmann also left the act in 2003, singer Franziska Frank (Franzi) joined the group. By 2008, Mr. President had officially disbanded.
Since 2008, Rennalls has continued to tour across Europe as LayZee, formerly of Mr. President, in addition to releasing his own solo material. In 2014, he recruited Hungarian-born singer Erika Kovács into his live act. Today, Rennalls and Kovács perform the Mr. President hits as a live duo act worldwide.
History
editGroup Origins (1991)
editIn 1991, German DJs Jens Neumann and Kai Matthiesen formed a live rapper-singer duo act called Satellite One, consisting of American rapper George Jones and German singer Daniela Haak. When Neumann brought German singer Judith Hinkelmann into the act, Satellite One officially became a trio. Each of the band members soon adopted stage names, with Hinkelmann becoming "T-Seven," while Jones and Haak were known as "Sir Prophet" and "Lady Danii," respectively.
After a few years of performing in clubs without any mainstream success, Neumann and Matthiesen, now acting as both managers and producers, decided to change the band's name to Mr. President. Under the new name, the group created an underground dance club hit with the song "MM," an acronym meaning (Marilyn Monroe) in 1993.
Success with "Up n' Away" (1995)
editFollowing the success of their underground hit, Mr. President released the track Up'n Away. In mid-1994, Neumann replaced Jones with British rapper Delroy Rennalls (Layzee Dee). The first full-length Mr. President album, Up'n Away – The Album, was released in 1995, featuring a new version of "Up'n Away" with Rennalls' rap vocals. The album also included the hit single "I'll Follow the Sun."
Mainstream success with "Coco Jamboo" (1996)
editIn 1996, Neumann and Matthiesen decided to embrace a radically different sound for the next Mr. President single. The reggae-fusion-inspired hit "Coco Jamboo" quickly became a crossover success worldwide. It was the first Mr. President single to chart in the UK, peaking at No. 8, and in the United States, where it reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Coco Jamboo" was featured on the album We See the Same Sun alongside the hit singles "I Give You My Heart" and "Show Me the Way."
Nightclub and Space Gate (1997–1999)
editHoping to capitalize on the success of We See the Same Sun, Mr. President once again employed their lighter sound on the 1997 CD Night Club. Jojo Action, the first single released from Night Club, contributed to the band's continued success in Europe, peaking as high as No. 3 in Austria. Although the next three hits from the album charted impressively in Europe, none of the singles managed to chart in the United States. During the promotional campaign for Night Club in 1997, Lady Danii took a brief leave from the group to pursue a solo career with the band Reset, but she returned a few months later.
In the midst of promotion, Haak, Hinkelmann, and Rennalls were accused of not using their own voices in any of Mr. President's songs. Hamburg's leading magazine, Stern, reported the scandal, which was first revealed on German radio station Bremen 4. According to their report, the actual voices belonged to Caren Miller, Anne Schroeder, and William King III. However, Matthiesen and Neumann appeared in a televised interview on German channel VIVA and explained that the voices were indeed those of Daniela and Judith, but that their pitches had been technically edited during recording. In 2014, NWZonline.de published an article about Caren Miller, stating that she was a studio singer and co-composer with Mr. President. According to her, it didn’t bother her that only Judith Hinkelmann and Daniela Haak appeared on stage, as it was simply stressful for the two front women. Miller left the band in 2000, at the same time as Hinkelmann.[1]
A year later, Mr. President released Space Gate, which marked a return to their earlier sound. "Give a Little Love" and "Simbaleo" proved to be moderate successes, but the band was once again unable to reach the heights of 1996.
Compilation album and hiatus (2000)
editAfter half a year away from the studio in 1999, Mr. President returned in the new millennium with A Kind of... Best!—their first singles compilation CD. Accompanying the CD was Up N' Away 2k, the band's new single, which unfortunately failed to chart even in Germany. Following the lack of success of their latest single and their fading public image, Judith Hinkelmann left the group in February 2000 to pursue her solo career. After Hinkelmann's departure, the band decided to concentrate on releasing another compilation album, resulting in Golden Super Hits, which hit shelves near the end of 2000.
Lineup changes, and Forever & One Day album (2001–2004)
editMr. President reemerged in early 2001 after hiring classical singer Nadia Ayche. Although the band performed live with Ayche and even began recording new songs, she was dismissed in 2002 due to directional disagreements with the group. Ayche's replacement, Myra Beckmann, was hired soon after, and the new lineup immediately began recording songs for their next CD.
After almost a year in the studio, Forever & One Day was released in the summer of 2003, with Love, Sex and Sunshine as the lead single. After nearly four years away from the European music scene, the band's latest single managed to chart impressively well, peaking at No. 23 in Germany. The following single, Forever & One Day, was released a few weeks later and performed similarly well, reaching No. 51 in their homeland. However, just a few months into the tour, Beckmann was forced to leave the band due to undisclosed health issues, leaving Haak and Rennalls to perform as a duo for the remainder of the tour. Once again, the band was compelled to find someone to fill the vacant lead vocalist position, and a few weeks later, they hired established pop singer Franziska "Franzi" Frank.
Final singles and breakup (2005–2008)
editImmediately following the Forever & One Day tour, the band announced its intentions to create a new CD. Despite this announcement, nothing ever materialized. The band continued to perform at special events, most notably at Hit Giganten in 2004, until 2006. In 2005, the first (and only) single featuring Frank's vocals, "Sweat (A La La La La Long)," a cover of the Inner Circle hit, was released as an iTunes-only single. Another iTunes-only single was released by the band in 2006. This single, titled "Megamix 2006," blended each of the band's greatest hits into a single track.
Following the release of "Megamix 2006," the band quietly went into hiatus, although they performed a handful of times in 2007 and 2008. Word of their official separation came in 2008, when Lazy, Frank, and Haak announced that they would be parting ways. Since then, no plans for reuniting the band have been made. However, Lazy still performs at various '90s revival shows with different female vocalists, covering all of the Mr. President songs. T-Seven has her own solo discography and is currently touring with a '90s nostalgia performance called "90s Unplugged." All of the other former members of Mr. President have seemingly retired from the music business entirely.
LayZee formerly of Mr. President (2008–present)
edit
Since 2008, Rennalls has continued to tour across Europe and South America as LayZee, formerly of Mr. President. In 2014, he recruited Hungarian-born singer Erika Kovács to join his live act. Today, Rennalls and Kovács continue to perform the Mr. President hits as a duo at concert venues worldwide. Rennalls has also released his own solo music, collaborating with other artists and running his independent label, DieZel Records. To date, he has released a total of seven solo singles, including "Tonight," "Summertime," "Copacabana," "Come On Everybody," and "Calling in Sick."
Band line-up
edit- Lady Danii (Daniela Haak; 1991–2008)
- T-Seven (Judith Hinkelmann; 1991–2000)
- Sir Prophet (George Jones; 1991–1994)
- Lazy Dee (Delroy Rennalls; 1994–2008)
- Caren Miller (1994–1999) (ghost singer for T-Seven)
- Anne Schroeder (1994–1999) (ghost singer for Lady Danii)
- William King III (1995–2003) (ghost singer for Lazy Dee)
- Nadia Ayche (2001–2002)
- Myra (Myriam Beckmann; 2002–2003)
- Franzi (Franziska Frank; 2003–2008)
Timeline
Discography
edit| Mr. President discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 7 |
| Compilation albums | 3 |
| Singles | 19 |
| Music videos | 15 |
Studio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [2] |
AUT [3] |
FIN [4] |
JPN [5] |
NL [6] |
SWE [7] |
SWI [8] | |||||||
| Up'n Away – The Album |
|
37 | — | 4 | — | — | — | 38 | |||||
| We See the Same Sun (Entitled Coco Jumbo in Japan) |
|
16 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 80 | 56 | 9 | |||||
| Night Club (Entitled Joe Joe Action in Japan) |
|
10 | 15 | 10 | 17 | — | — | 11 |
| ||||
| Space Gate |
|
5 | 22 | 32 | 48 | — | — | 11 | |||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [5] | |||||||||||||
| Mr. President (U.S. release only) |
|
94 | |||||||||||
| Happy People (Japan release only) |
|
— | |||||||||||
| A Kind of...Best! |
|
— | |||||||||||
| Forever & One Day (Japan release only) |
|
— | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [2] |
AUS [12] |
AUT [3] |
FIN [4][13] |
FRA [14] |
NDL [15] |
SWE [7] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] |
US [18] | ||||
| "MM" | 1993 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Up'n Away" | 1994 | 12 | — | 6 | 17 | — | — | 24 | 17 | 156 | — | Up'n Away – The Album | |
| "I'll Follow the Sun" | 1995 | 23 | — | 18 | 15 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | ||
| "4 On the Floor" | 38 | — | — | 20 | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | |||
| "Gonna Get Along (Without Ya Now)" | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Coco Jamboo" | 1996 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 21 | We See the Same Sun | |
| "I Give You My Heart" | 7 | — | 12 | 9 | — | — | 47 | 6 | 52 | — |
| ||
| "Show Me the Way" | 28 | — | 18 | 19 | — | — | 59 | 21 | — | — | |||
| "Coco Jamboo (Christmas Version)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Up'n Away – The Special Album | |||
| "Gonna Get Along" [re-release] | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Jojo Action" | 1997 | 4 | 78 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | 5 | 73 | — |
|
Night Club |
| "Take Me to the Limit" | 11 | — | 16 | 18 | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | |||
| "Where Do I Belong" (featuring Münchener Freiheit) |
49 | — | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Happy People" | 1998 | 15 | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | 17 | — | — | ||
| "Give a Little Love" | 1999 | 13 | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | Space Gate | |
| "Simbaleo" | 30 | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | |||
| "Up'n Away 2K" | 2000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Kind of... Best | |
| "Love, Sex & Sunshine" | 2003 | 23 | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Forever & One Day | |
| "Forever & One Day" | 51 | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" | 2005 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Megamix 2006" | 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Singen ist für sie wie Kaffeetrinken". 5 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Offizielle Deutsche Charts: Mr. President". Media Control (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Archived from the original on 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ a b "Mr. President in der Österreichischen Hitparade" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "Mr. President in Finnish charts". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "Oricon: Mr. President". Oricon. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
- ^ "GFK Dutch Charts: Mr. President (albums)". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "Mr. President in Swedish charts". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Hitparade.ch: Mr. President (albums)" (in German). swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "Musiikkituottajat Tilastot: Mr. President" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "Hitparade.ch: Mr President". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ a b "RIAJ: 統計情報 (searchable database)". Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2017. Note: Enter "ミスター・プレジデント" in the upper right search box, then click bottom left search button to bring up the certifications
- ^ Peaks in Australia:
- "Coco Jamboo": "Mr. President in Australian charts". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- "Jojo Action": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 195.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 [Contains hits - records and performers on the Finnish music charts from the year 1972] (doc) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 217. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Mr. President Dans Les Charts Francais". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40: Mr. President". Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
- ^ "Hitparade.ch: Mr. President (singles)" (in German). swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Chartstas.com: Mr. President)". Chartstas.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Billboard.com: Mr. President (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ a b c d "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mr.+President)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Australian Singles' Certifications 1997". ARIA. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "BPI: Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Swedish Certifications 1987–1998" (PDF). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "IFPI (Austria): Gold & Platin". IFPI Austria. Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
External links
edit- Mr. President webpage
- Mr. President at MySpace
- Mr. President at Euro Dance Hits.com