Luca Hänni | |
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 Hänni in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1994-10-08)8 October 1994 (age 30) Bern, Switzerland |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Universal Music Germany |
| Spouse | Christina Luft (m. 2023) |
| Website | lucamusic |
Luca Hänni (born 8 October 1994) is a Swiss singer and television personality. He rose to fame in 2012 after winning theninth season ofDeutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of theIdol franchise.[1] He was the first non-German to do so and also the youngest ever winner of the show.[2] Hänni's debut single, "Don't Think About Me", topped the singles charts inAustria,Germany, and Switzerland. It was followed by the release of his debut album,My Name Is Luca (2012), which debuted atop theAustrian andSwiss Albums Charts and became a gold-seller in both countries. His second studio album,Living the Dream, released in 2013, became his second consecutive number-one album in Switzerland.[3]
Hänni decided to part ways withDSDS management and collaborated with Swiss DJ Christopher S on his third album,Dance Until We Die (2014). Following the termination of the project, he took further creative control for his fourth albumWhen We Wake Up (2015), which saw him shifting toR&B music and became his fourth consecutive top ten album in Switzerland. Hänni's popularity was further enhanced by his participation in the SRF musical talent showKampf der Orchester as well as theRTL competitive dancing talent showDance Dance Dance, both of which he won in 2014 and 2017, respectively. In 2019, Hänni representedSwitzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "She Got Me", finishing in fourth place.
Hänni was born inBern, Switzerland.[4] Duringkindergarten he received drumming lessons. At the age of nine he taught himself to play the guitar and piano.[5] After finishing school he began training as abricklayer, which he later stopped in 2012, two years in, in favour of his music career.
Since 2020 he is in a relationship with hisLet's Dance dancing partner Christina Luft. In August 2023, the couple got married. In December 2023, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. In June 2024 they became parents to a daughter.
In 2012, Hänni applied in theninth season of the RTL singing talent showDeutschland sucht den Superstar, the German adaption of theIdol franchise. On 28 April 2012, he reached the final. There he competed againstDaniele Negroni and won the show with 52.85 percent of the audience votes.[6] At that time, Hänni became the only minor, moreover the first non-GermanDSDS-winner.[6] As a prize he received 500,000 Euros and a recording contract withUniversal Music Group. Additionally, he and runner up Negroni received a car and driver education courses.[6] Hänni's debut single and coronation song "Don't Think About Me" was released on 2 May 2012. An instant success, the single reached gold status in Switzerland within its first four days of release and debuted atop the single charts in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. This made Hänni the first Swiss citizen to reach number one on the German Singles Charts after 52 years.[6] "Don't Think About Me" sold more than 100,000 copies throughout its chart run.[7]
Hänni's debut albumMy Name Is Luca, chiefly producedDeutschland sucht den Superstar judgeDieter Bohlen, was released on 18 May 2012. Comprising a set of previously unreleased recordings as well ascover versions ofEd Sheeran,Justin Bieber andKings of Leon and several other songs that he had sung on the show, it debuted at number one on theAustrian andSwiss Albums Chart, while reaching number two in Germany.[8] Album cuts "Allein, allein" and "The A Team" moreover entered the Swiss Singles Chart.[8] By August 2012,My Name Is Luca had been certified gold by theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Austria and Switzerland and spawned a second single, "I Will Die for You".[8] In June 2012, Swiss trading companyMigros engaged Hänni for its men's underwear brandNick Tyler as atestimonial. In this context Migros published a series of underwear for men with the nameNick Tyler by Luca, for which Hänni worked as a model.[9]
In August 2012, he opened the auditions totenth season ofDeutschland sucht den Superstar in his native cityBern, for which he was seen in an advertising campaign since July 2012.[10] Hänni's first concert tour,Luca Hänni & Band – Live on Tour, began inHoyerswerda on 1 October 2012. It included 32 concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and ended inDresden on 20 November. Due to high demand in Switzerland additional concerts inZürich,Uetendorf andAmriswil were recognized.[11] In December 2012, Hänni presented the RTL II programBRAVO The Hits 2012 – The Show.[12] In 2013, Hänni received the Swiss Music Award for Best Breaking Act National as well as theNickelodeon Kids' Choice Award in the category Favorite Star: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In addition, he received two nominations for thePrix Walo, winning both, and earned anECHO Award nomination forNewcomer International.
Hänni collaborated with Swiss DJChristopher S on his third albumDance Until We Die. Taking his work further into thedance pop genre, it was released on Future Soundz, a division of K-tel International under exclusive license from Hänni's own Luca Music, following his departure from Universal.[13] The album debuted and peaked at number six in theSwiss Albums Chart, becoming his third consecutive top ten album to do so, and produced the singles "I Can't Get No Sleep" and "Good Time", both of which entered the top thirty of theSwiss Singles Chart.[14] The project had several club appearances and toured through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Promotion on the album was discontinued in August 2014 following a fall out between Hänni and Christopher S, regarding the share-out ofDance Until We Die's and merchandising profits.[14]
In close cooperation with theDKMS, a Germancharity that works in the areas ofblood cancer andhematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which he supports, Hänni wrote and released the song "Only One You" in November 2014.[15] The same month, he collaborated with a variety of Swiss musicians, includingNoëmi Nadelmann,Pepe Lienhard,Francine Jordi,Sebalter andMelanie Oesch, on Migros's charity Christmas song "Ensemble" which supports the needy in Switzerland. Inspired by charity supergroupBand Aid and their 1984 hit single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", it debuted atop the Swiss Singles Chart and reached platinum status.[16] Also in fall 2014, Hönni participated in theSRF musical talent showKampf der Orchester, serving as a full-fledged team-member of theLucerne formation BML Talents. He won the title.[17]
From mid-January to February 2015 Hänni relocated toLos Angeles where he recorded his fourth studio albumWhen We Wake Up along with Swiss music producer Fabian Egger. Songwriters such asGary Pinto, Andre Merritt,James Fauntleroy, andTushar Apte contributed to the album, which documented his foray intoR&B andelectronic music, departing from the predominant pop and dance pop sound established from her previous studio releases.[18] Released by Muve Recordings in September 2015, it debuted at number six on the Swiss Albums Chart, becoming his fourth consecutive top ten album in Switzerland, and produced the top forty single "Set the World on Fire."[18] In 2016, he was a member of the Swiss jury in theEurovision Song Contest 2016. In fall 2016, Hänni launched his own fashion label SVSL and had a minor role as a voice actor in the German version of the American animated musical filmSing.[19]
In 2017, Hänni served as Switzerland's voting spokesperson in theEurovision Song Contest 2017 which took place inKyiv, Ukraine.[20] The same year, he appeared as a contestant on the second season of theRTL competitive dancing talent showDance Dance Dance, partnered with fellowDeutschland sucht den Superstar winnerPrince Damien. Considered one of the show's frontrunners throughout the entire competition, he ultimately placed first in the competition in October 2017.[21] In December 2018, he released the single "Bei mir" which he promoted with a dancing performance at theHelene Fischer Show the same month.[22] The song failed to chart.[22]
In March 2019, Hanni was announced as Switzerland's representative atEurovision Song Contest 2019 inTel-Aviv,Israel.[5] Selected by Swiss broadcasterSRG SSR through an internal selection process, he performed the song "She Got Me", adance pop song that combines rhythmic and Middle Eastern elements and was penned together with a team of national and international composers at a Swiss songwriting camp.[5] On 16 May 2019, Hänni participated in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, placing fourth in the semi-final with 232 points and qualifying for the final on 18 May. In the final, he placed fifth with televoters and seventh with international juries, amassing 364 points in total and coming in fourth.[23] This marked Switzerland's highest result sinceAnnie Cotton's "Moi, tout simplement" at theEurovision Song Contest 1993.[23] Also, "She Got Me" became Hänni's second number-one hit in Switzerland.[23]
In September 2019, Hänni released the single "Bella Bella" which peaked at number 45 on theSwiss Singles Chart. In December 2019, he released the single "Nebenbei", followed by his 2020 single "Nie mehr allein."[24] In February 2020, he won Best Male Act at the13th Swiss Music Awards.[25] Also that year, he finished third in thethirteenth season of the German talent seriesLet's Dance. His professional partner was Christina Luft.[24] In May 2020, he released the single "Diamant,"[26] the lead single from his fifth studio album110 Karat which was released in October 2020.[27]
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| Preceded by | Deutschland sucht den Superstar Winner Season 9 (2012) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 | Succeeded by |
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