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Haddaway | |
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 Haddaway in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Nestor Alexander Haddaway (1965-01-09)9 January 1965 (age 61) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Genres | Eurodance |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | haddawaychannel |
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Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is aTrinidadian-born German singer[1][2] best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries.[3]
Haddaway was born inTrinidad and Tobago. His father was a marine biologist from Germany and his mother was a local nurse.[4] His parents separated during the early 1970s and Haddaway first lived with his father in Europe, then with his mother in America. He was raised in Chicago and relocated to theWashington, DC metropolitan area at the age of 9.[4] Listening toLouis Armstrong encouraged Haddaway to learn how to playtrumpet at the age of 14.[5] He attendedMeade Senior High School inFort Meade, Maryland, where he was a member of themarching band,[6] which resulted eventually in him forming his first group, Chances.[5] In 1987, Haddaway enrolled inmedical school, but quit due to lack of excitement[4] and relocated toCologne,West Germany, where he mostly worked in taverns.[5] Later, he formed his own company named Energy, which was involved in organizing fashion shows andphoto shoots.[5]
In 1992, Haddaway was signed by German record companyCoconut Records. His debut single, "What Is Love", rapidly became popular in Europe, reaching number 2 in Germany and theUnited Kingdom.[2] In Germany, the single sold 900,000 copies.[2] In the United Kingdom, it received amusic recording certification of Gold for shipment of 400,000 units.[7] It later reached number 11 on theBillboard Hot 100[8] and was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 units.[2] By the beginning of 1994, worldwide sales of "What Is Love" reached 2.6 million.[2]
His second single, "Life", reached number 2 in Germany, number 6 in the United Kingdom, and number 41 in the US, and its worldwide sales reached 1.5 million by 1994.[2] The follow-up singles "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" also reached the Top 10 in Europe and established him as a successfulEurodance artist. His first LP,The Album (also known asHaddaway in the US), was a multi-million seller which reached Platinum status in Germany for shipments of 500,000,[9] and Gold in the UK and in France for shipments of 100,000.[7][10]
In 1995, he released his second album,The Drive, which included the UK top 20 hit "Fly Away", as well as "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name". "What Is Love" enjoyed a resurgence in popularity as the theme music for the Butabi brothers (Will Ferrell andChris Kattan) onSaturday Night Live[11] and the 1998 filmA Night at the Roxbury.[12]
The albumsLet's Do It Now (1998) andMy Face (2000; re-released asLove Makes) all failed to chart.
Haddaway appeared on the television showComeback –Die große Chance in Germany in 2004. He appeared on the UK version ofHit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version. This exposure led to him scoring a moderate chart hit in Germany with the ballad "Spaceman" from his next album,Pop Splits.
In 2008, "What Is Love" was featured in a commercial forDiet Pepsi MAX that aired duringSuper Bowl XLII which parodied theleitmotif and included several stars includingLL Cool J,Missy Elliott, andBusta Rhymes, but Haddaway himself did not appear in the ad.[13]
In 2008, Haddaway teamed up with Eurodance starDr. Alban for the single "I Love the 90's".[14] In 2009, "What Is Love" re-entered charts after German DJKlaas remixed it. The track resurfaced again in 2010 when it sampled heavily in Eminem's single "No Love" featuring Lil Wayne. In 2012, Haddaway released the single "Up and Up" withthe Mad Stuntman, which was a top 20 dance hit in the US.[12]
In 2011, he said that most of his performances are in "the east", in places such asKazakhstan,Uzbekistan, orSiberia.[15]
In 2016, he announced plans to star inNeverending Dream, a film about Eurodance. Despite launching a fundraiser onIndiegogo, the film was not released.[16]
On 26 April 2024, Haddaway released the single "Lift Your Head Up" off his upcoming albumDay After Day.[17]
Haddaway lives inKitzbühel,Austria, and also has a home inCologne, Germany.[15]
Since 2019, he has been a player and sponsor of the baseball team Kufstein Wolfins.[18] The team won the regional championships in 2019 and 2020.[19]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [20] | AUS [21] | AUT [22] | FIN [23] | FRA [24] | NL [25] | NOR [26] | SWE [27] | SWI [28] | UK [29] | US [30] | |||
| Haddaway | 5 | 73 | 12 | — | 17 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 111 | ||
| The Drive |
| 32 | — | 27 | 18 | — | 54 | — | — | 10 | — | — | |
| Let's Do It Now |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| My Face (re-released asLove Makes) |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Pop Splits |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Sun (Originally Day After Day) |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| All the Best: His Greatest Hits |
|
| Best of Haddaway: What Is Love |
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [20] | AUS [21] | AUT [22] | FRA [35] | IRE [36] | NL [37] | SWE [33] | SWI [28] | UK [29] | US [38] | |||||
| 1993 | "What Is Love" | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | The Album /Haddaway | ||
| "Life" | 2 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 41 | ||||
| "I Miss You" | 18 | 44 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 17 | 9 | — | ||||
| 1994 | "Rock My Heart" | 10 | 83 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 10 | 9 | — | |||
| "Stir It Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | "Fly Away" | 25 | — | 16 | 23 | 28 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 20 | — | The Drive | ||
| "Catch a Fire" | 38 | — | 30 | — | — | 17 | — | 20 | 39 | — | ||||
| "Lover Be Thy Name" | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | "What About Me" | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let's Do It Now | ||
| 2000 | "Who Do You Love" | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You're Taking My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | "Deep" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | My Face /Love Makes | ||
| 2002 | "Love Makes" | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "What Is Love Reloaded" | 51 | — | 49 | — | — | 100 | — | — | 92 | — | N/a | ||
| 2005 | "Spaceman" | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pop Splits | ||
| 2007 | "Follow Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/a | ||
| 2008 | "I Love the 90's"(withDr. Alban) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2009 | "What Is Love 2k9"(withKlaas) | 60 | — | 37 | 5 | — | — | 49 | — | — | — | |||
| 2010 | "You Gave Me Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2012 | "Up and Up"(withThe Mad Stuntman) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[A] | |||
| 2020 | "I Wanna Be for You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | ||
| 2021 | "And Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Day After Day[41] | ||
| 2022 | "Chances" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Thing Called Love"(withWolfram) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | "Lift Your Head Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Sun | ||
| 2026 | "The Sun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
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