Tokio Hotel Biography

Tokio Hotel is a German rock and electropop band, formed in 2001. The band never suffered line-up changes. Its members are brothers Bill (singer) and Tom (guitarist) Kaulitz, Gustav (drummer) and Georg (bassist). They started off under the name Devilish and, in 2005, they released their highly-successful debut album, Schrei, as Tokio Hotel. Following up on the success of Schrei, in 2007 they released an English version of it, which also received critical acclaim. Overall, the band sold over 10 million albums.

Schrei – Zimmer 483 – Scream

The boys first got together in 2001, forming the Magdeburg-based rock band Devilish. They played various gigs at local bars until Bill was discovered at the 2003 Star Search. 

In 2005, Tokio Hotel was taken up by Universal Music Group. Therefore, they released their first two singles, Durch den Monsun (Through the Monsoon) and Schrei (Scream). Both charted very well in Germany. By the end of the year, their debut album, Schrei, was released and turned out to be a high-seller. Additionally, it spawned two more singles, Rette mich (Rescue Me) and Der letzteTag (The Final Day), which both dominated the local charts. Even so, Tokio Hotel did not only gain fame in their country. They were considered teen icons throughout all Europe.

In 2007, Tokio Hotel released a similar album, Zimmer 483 (Room 483). It contained two popular singles, Übers Ende der Welt (Ready, Set, Go!) and Spring nicht (Don’t Jump). Shortly, they recorded an English-language album as well. Though it is titled Scream, the album contains songs from both the previous album. Furthermore, they won Best InterAct at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Humanoid – hiatus – Kings of Suburbia 

In 2009, the band released a new album Humanoid and, continuing the tradition, they recorded it both in German and in English. The English version of the first single, Automatic, was a huge success. In 2010 they released a new hit song, Hurricanes and Suns, which was later included on their Best Of compilation.

After a 3-year pause, Tokio Hotel announced they were working on a new album. Kings of Suburbia came out in 2014, to the thrill of the group’s fanbase. Their comeback made a huge impact and the lead single from the album, Love Who Loves You Back, topped in 30 countries. In 2017, the boys released their latest album, Dream Machine, which already spawned two massively popular songs, What If and Something New.

Photo credit: Tokio-hotel