Doing some renovations wiTHin my Site. If you find someTHing not working, or missing, or jus', not right, feel free to ask me about it

(03.10.2012)

Berlin, Germany

DSDS - Oct 10, 2012

Solo Posts
Bill

(26.12.2012)

Punkt 9

English subs

Their latest music videos are two years old. That’s how long the band Tokio Hotel has been completely gone from the public eye for. Now the twins Bill and Tom are on the judging panel for DSDS’s anniversary season and finally, at 23 years old, they’re talking as open and privately as never before. Pamela Schuppner and Christina Gest report about what they have been doing in their adopted home Los Angeles in the meantime, how things will continue with the band and we have the first hot pictures from the Recall on the Caribbean island Curacao.

Desperately seeking for a way to cool down. These are the DSDS judges, Tom and Bill Kaulitz during a break from shooting on the “Recall” island Curacao and yes, of all the pleasant places the twins would actually rather swap this one for a little corner in the shade.

Bill: It was unfamiliar to work in the sun like this, being totally honest, I’m actually not a fan of sitting on the beach like this, erm, I’d rather somehow… We’re just kind of night persons. In that case we’d prefer the studio…

However, the two have to put up with it now because Bill and Tom complete the judging panel for the by now 10th season of DSDS alongside Pop music titan Dieter Bohlen and Culcha Candela singer Mateo.

Tom: Of course it’s a nice thing for us to also be involved in the anniversary season. After all, as a band we also already have… though, we’re almost having our 12th anniversary already, aren’t we?
Bill: I don’t know.
Tom: Well, also something between 10 and 12 years and therefore it goes quite well together. Meaning, we’re happy about it.

It’s been 11 years to be exact and ever since that time the band has been one of Germany’s most successful musical exports. Whether it’s in Mexico, Italy or, obviously, Japan, Bill, Tom, Gustav and Georg are welcomed in the same kind of way everywhere: loud! For months Tokio Hotel’s life only consists of planes, hotels, concerts and press appointments.

Tom: Somehow we’ve just been on tour non-stop and on the road for five years and, erm… And eventually we got to the point where we said “Well, now we just have to […] something… We just want to have some kind of break.”, to do something else and above all to also get some kind of feeling at home somehow.
We’ve never said, like, “Yes, let’s… We’d like to go home now.” because that didn’t… there wasn’t one.

Tokio Hotel withdraw themselves, avoid the public eye, don’t give any interviews. Bill and Tom move their place of residence to Los Angeles and enjoy life without cameras and concert stages for two years.

Bill: Tom and I pl-… have started to play a bit of tennis, to do a bit of sport. Also for the first time in our lives, I think. Tom and I have got four dogs and therefore we’re also somehow out and about with our dogs a lot and erm… Yes, pretty normal stuff actually. However, of course we’re also going out a lot and go partying a lot.

However, the band Tokio Hotel continues to exist including Georg and Gustav.

Bill: Right now we’re also working on the new album. We’re taking our own sweet time for it. We’ve spent lots and lots of time in the studio. At home we’ve got a home studio where we’re writing quite a lot.

However, it came as a surprise all the same that the two 23-years old break their hiatus from the public eye now and take a seat next to Dieter Bohlen on the DSDS judging panel.

Dieter Bohlen: I find the judging panel quite interesting this time because I don’t know these two at all. Well, I only know them from TV like everybody else does. Erm, and that’s why I’m certainly very curious how this will, like, erm… what will happen, what will be going on. After all they’re a little bit younger than me, right? Therefore the way they’re seeing it is obviously interesting for me to see.

Oh well, and apparently [they’re seeing it] in a different way from the Pop [music] titan many a time. Bill and Tom can already reveal that much.

Bill: However, I think, for the first time there are certainly also different opinions colliding. That’s pretty much a given. Meaning, we’re debating like crazy.

What this looks like and who the new judging panel will decide on in the end: the 10th season of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” will start here on RTL at 8.15pm on 5th January.

translation by: tokiohotelstreetteam.uk

Related Posts
RTL Punkt 9, ScreenShots

(26.12.2012)

1. Georg’s tree, OR
2. Bill & Tom’s:
like it, for which tree you want to win the “Clash of the Christmas Titans”

CLICK to VOTE CLICK to VOTE

And the winner is, Georg’s tree! 😀
24h, thousands of votes and an epic battle later:
Georg wins against the Twins with 7.970 to 8.629 votes 😉

(25.12.2012)

“Our story is a Cinderella story”

Bill and Tom Kaulitz are the new members of this years Jury at the casting show “Deutschland such den Superstar”, which will start airing on RTL on January 5th at 8.15 p.m. The twins got famous and known with their band “Tokio Hotel“, with which they’ve sold countless records and toured all over the world with. When meeting the “Superstars” Bill and Tom you’ll be pleasently surprised: both are polite, courteous, taller than you’d think but they still clearly differ from one another. But they agree on one point – the show is a lot of fun, and they want it to be fun for the viewers and their fans as well…

TVdirekt: Why did you decide to join the DSDS-Jury?
Bill Kaulitz: We decided to join this show, because it’s the most successful casting show. In addition to that the winner is going to have the perfect start into the music business. A #1-single and a successful first album are almost guaranteed, plus the winner will also get 500,000 €. That’s a lot of money, which you can still work with as a musician after DSDS.
Tom Kaulitz: It was also very well timed – if we didn’t do it now, we would have never done it.
Bill Kaulitz: DSDS is the show we believe in most. A casting show with a great foundation for the winner.

TVdirekt: Would you have wanted such an entry into the music business for Tokio Hotel?
Tom Kaulitz: We had an incredible amount of luck!
Bill Kaulitz: Yes, our story is a Cinderella story which barely happens in the music business nowadays. We were discovered in a live-club in our hometown. When I look back it seems impossible to me, how it all worked out, that someone actually discovered us in our hometown.
Tom Kaulitz: We were newcomers, got our first record deal with a really small budget for a music video and marketing. We were just incredibly lucky that it worked out so well without such a platform like DSDS.
Bill Kaulitz: Nowadays, the record labels don’t want to spend money on anything. There aren’t a lot of talent scouts left who look for bands and invest in them, as there were ten years ago. As a young musician, especially when you’re from the countryside, you have no opportunity to show that you’ve got talent. How do you want to make it to a big city from a little village with only your talent? Back then we also didn’t know how we should do it and if we should send a Demo to a record label. The show gives the winner a good start into the business and when they’re in, it’s their responsibility to make something out of themselves.
Tom Kaulitz: I think this is exactly what the people are becoming more aware of! Through that, casting shows little by little get a whole other kind of reputation, than they had in the past. Back then the people said, casting – is this really necessary? Meanwhile casting shows are more accepted and respected. The music business changed so drastically, that this is the only way to have some kind of success. We were one of the last bands in Germany, that were able to do it “the natural way”. Today it’s different…in the US some of the greatest artists have been sitting in the Jury of the casting shows for a long time, to give aspiring artists some type of input.
Bill Kaulitz: Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj are on American Idol. Furthermore rock legend Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears also make up Jury’s and look at people, because it’s a great way to find new talent.
Tom Kaulitz: We want to give the people tips for a career behind the scenes and help and support them with their start into the music business.

TVdirekt: How did the castings go? Did you discover any new talents?
Bill Kaulitz: We have a lot of hope. We started casting in Berlin for nine days and saw hundreds of people. That was really strenuous, I have to admit – but it was also fun. 71 of those talents made it to the recall. Later we learned that normally about 120 people make it to the recall, so we were really strict.
Tom Kaulitz: But we were a nice kind of strict!
Bill Kaulitz: We sent some great candidates into the next round and chose 36 people in the Recall who will go on the rest of the journey with us. We’re happy and have some good singers and personalities in there.
Tom Kaulitz: At the recall there were some people, where you expected a lot from them based on the impression they left at their casting, but then they suddenly completely screwed up. This is really the first test, where you can find out who will be able to handle the pressure and who just isn’t cut out for it. We had a great location, the coaches where already doing their work and the candidates had 24 hours to rehearse and learn the song. Some people disappointed and some people surprised us.

TVdirekt: How do the candidates react to you?
Bill Kaulitz: We don’t know what happens behind the camera, but there are certainly people who leave the room and vent about what we told them. We had one or two candidates of this sort.
Tom Kaulitz: There was one girl, we had to tell her that it just wasn’t enough and she looked at us in such a way that you got the feeling that you have to spiritually cleanse yourself.
Bill Kaulitz: There was one guy that stepped into the room, and just really blew me away. There was a moment where I just thought “wow”! I really didn’t expect that. After he sang he started getting really unfair and made a huge scene. He said that he thinks it’s a shitty move from our us that we’re parading him around and making a fool out of him. I stopped him in his tirade and explained that this was not in our interest. Everyone gets their fair chance and we want to have great singers. Some just aren’t good enough during the casting, but they know this beforehand!
Tom Kaulitz: We’ll see what they said backstage when the show airs.

TVdirekt: How hard is being a “Superstar” (winner of the show)?
Bill Kaulitz: A lot of people aren’t aware of what it means to lead this kind of life. During our decision making process it’s not just about good voices and awesome singers. It’s also about who can handle everything that comes with it. For this, the show is a good start, because the candidates get a kind of “crash course”. They’re on TV and around cameras 24/7. They have to give interviews from the start and with the live shows also comes a lot of pressure from the media. If you make it, you’ll also be able to handle everything that comes afterwards. During the casting it’s important to watch who will be able to handle such a life. We had to tell some candidates that they’re too young and fragile to survive in this business – that they’re never gonna lead such a life, that it would be the wrong thing for them.

TVdirekt: Is this your strength in the jury? To estimate the people regarding that?
Tom Kaulitz: I wouldn’t say that it’s our only strength…(laughs) But the experience we have is, of course, a huge advantage. We had to handle a lot of pressure from the media at the beginning of our career, so we can comprehend what kind of phases those people are going through.

TVdirekt: You are now mainly living in Los Angeles. Do you just meet celebrities on the street and go and grab a coffee with them?
Tom Kaulitz: Of course we meet other artists in L.A., but its not the rule that you meet celebrities on the street – I think that’s more of a myth. But I think you’re asking that the wrong people…(laughs)

original article

translation by: Icey