Since her ESC victory with “A little Peace,” Nicole has been trying to make the world a little better through her songs. Today she turns 60.
When the then 17-year-old singer Nicole (60) won the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson (now the Eurovision Song Contest) with her song “A little peace” on April 24, 1982, it was not only a musical victory, but also a victory a political sensation. With her pristine white guitar in her hands, she brought a straightforward peace anthem to the stage during the frosty times of the Cold War, whose clear message was understood worldwide.
Pacifist super hit: “A little peace”
For the first time in the history of the song competition, a German interpreter won and the fact that she received 12 points in the vote from Israel was also perceived at the time as a gesture of reconciliation and a turning point. After her Grand Prix victory, the young singer even received an official invitation from the Israeli government and performed the peace anthem in front of tearful soldiers during her visit to the country.
What also contributed to international understanding – and also to international chart successes – was the fact that Nicole, in collaboration with her then producer Ralph Siegel (79), also released her pacifist super hit in six other languages such as English (“A little Peace”) and Dutch (“Een beetje vrede”), Danish (“En smule fred”) or Spanish (“Un poco di paz”). As the story progressed, the single sold over five million copies worldwide and was certified gold and platinum multiple times.
Singer with socially critical messages
The fact that “A Bit of Peace” was to remain her biggest hit and that she never again reached the top of the charts and won precious metal with her 30 other albums released since 1982 did not stop the singer from simply carrying on – and always staying true to herself remain. To this day, she has continued to release songs at regular intervals in which she consistently takes a stand on socio-political issues. Such as in the song “Nie Nie mehr” from 2001, in which she targets neo-Nazis, or in “The Silence of the Machos”, which takes aim at masculine behavior that has fallen out of time: “‘You know a real macho / That he only knows thirty words / And that’s how he babbles at you.”
Nicole doesn’t want to be a pop singer
The artist, who was born in Saarbrücken on October 25, 1964, never saw herself as a pop singer. She said the following a few years ago: “In Germany you are immediately categorized. I have been fighting against this pigeonholing for 30 years. I want to experiment and also deal with topics that, as some say, have no place in classic hits. If you When you listen to my albums, you have to differentiate a lot, and then there’s no category for me.”
Although she is an entertainer, she has always refused to pretend to her fans that she is not really just to be more commercially successful. “No, I can’t bend,” said Nicole. “I can only do what I can represent 100%. I can’t suddenly put on a leather suit, ride around on a Harley and sing rock songs. I don’t want to do that, that’s someone else’s responsibility.”
ESC as a frightening mega-spectacle
As she recently revealed in one, she doesn’t have much to do with the development of the “Eurovision Song Contest” into a bombastic mega-spectacle. What she has seen there in recent years has given her “some concerns,” which has led to her “somehow getting out of the loop.” “It’s shrill now, it’s loud, it’s sometimes scary for me,” said the former Grand Prix queen. “Titles win where I don’t see any songs or great singing. Nowadays, the technical possibilities are so exploited that you actually forget what kind of competition it is. It’s a song competition after all! That’s what it’s all about the best song, the best composition, the best lyrics and the best interpretation. The whole thing must be a unity.”
Family always comes first
Despite her continued success, Nicole’s critical view of the entertainment industry has never allowed her to take off; the mother of two daughters has always kept her distance from excessive media hype. , that family always came first for her: “Fortunately, I managed quite well in life to balance work and family thanks to my parents and in-laws. But I also had an iron rule that I lived by : Ten days of work, 20 days of family. I’ve never deviated from that.”
The singer was able to rely on her family environment and the community of the Saarland village of Neunkirchen, where she has lived with her husband for many years, even in what was probably the most difficult time of her life to date. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2020, no information was made public. It wasn’t until July 2022 that she revealed the secret and at the same time announced that she had survived the malignant disease.
Nicole wishes herself a happy birthday
Nicole then continued with what she does best: singing highly personal songs that get under the skin of her still numerous fans. The illness she survived was reflected in her album “I’m back,” released in October 2022. And the title of her latest work, “Carpe Diem” (German “Seize the Day”), announced for November 15th, also makes clear reference to the fundamental wisdom that she took with her from the difficult times. Just in time for her 60th birthday, a single is released as a foretaste that is exclusively about herself. The well-deserved title: “I congratulate myself”.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
