Tokio Hotel

Brief History
Tokio Hotel is a German rock band that formed in 2001, in Magdeburg, Germany. The band, originally named Devilish, was created by twins Bill Kaulitz and Tom Kaulitz, along with their friends Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer.

Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel in 2003, upon signing to the Island label. The name was derived from Tokyo, the city in Japan, and "hotel", due to their frequent stays there while on tour.

Their first single, "Durch Den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), entered the German charts at #15, on August 20, 2005. It reached #1 just six days later. The single enjoyed high popularity in Austria, as well. Their second single, "Schrei" ("Scream"), made the German charts shortly afterward, peaking out at #5.

In September 2005, Tokio Hotel released their debut album, Schrei, which included their previous two singles. A few months later, the band released a third single entitled "Rette Mich" ("Rescue Me"); it climbed quickly to #1. In 2006, Schrei: So Laut Du Kannst was released; this album included most of the songs from Schrei (a few of which were rerecorded to accommodate Bill's maturing voice), and added three new tracks. A fourth single, Der Letzte Tag was released around this time as well.

On January 26, 2007, the band released their fifth single, titled "Übers Ende Der Welt" ("Over the End of the World"). This single reached #1 shortly after its release, and was the first single from their new album, Zimmer 483 (Room 483). Zimmer 483 was released on February 23, 2007, followed shortly thereafter by a deluxe edition. A sixth single, entitled "Spring Nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released, along with a video which premiered on March 12, 2007, on German music television channel VIVA.

Tokio Hotel released their first English-language album, Scream on June 4, 2007; in Germany, the same album was named Room 483 and released on June 1, 2007. Room 483 reached #3 on the German charts, also doing well in other countries (#10 in the Netherlands; #27 in Austria). Scream contains various songs from their two German albums, rerecorded in English.

Their first English single was "Monsoon", the English version of "Durch Den Monsun". Only a few months later, "Ready, Set, Go! was released, which peaked at #1 on the Swedish charts.

In May, 2008, Tokio Hotel released Scream in the US and Canada. In the US, Scream entered the rock charts at #6.

Band members

 * Bill Kaulitz - Lead Vocals (b. 1 September, 1989)
 * Tom Kaulitz - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals (b. 1 September, 1989)
 * Georg Listing - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals (b. 31 March, 1987)
 * Gustav Schäfer - Drums, Backing Vocals (b. 8 September, 1988)

Discography
A full list of songs Tokio Hotel has performed may be found here.

Studio Albums

 * Schrei (album) Released September 19, 2005
 * Schrei: So Laut Du Kannst (re-recording of Schrei) Released March 24, 2006
 * Zimmer 483 Released February 23, 2007
 * Scream (album) / Room 483
 * Released June 4, 2007 in Europe
 * Released March 25, 2008 in Canada
 * Released May 6, 2008 in the U.S.

Live Albums

 * Zimmer 483 - Live In Europe Released November 30,2007

Singles

 * Durch den Monsun Released February 15, 2005
 * Schrei Released November 25, 2005
 * Rette Mich Released March 10, 2006
 * Der Letzte Tag Released August 28, 2006
 * Übers Ende Der Welt Released January 26, 2007
 * Spring Nicht Released April 7, 2007
 * Monsoon Released May 18, 2007
 * Ready, Set, Go! Released August 27, 2007
 * An Deiner Seite (Ich Bin Da)/By Your Side Released November 16, 2007
 * Scream America Released December 11, 2007
 * Don't Jump Released April 4, 2008
 * Heilig Released April, 28 2008

DVDs

 * Leb' die Sekunde - Behind The Scenes Released December 2, 2005
 * Schrei Live Released April 10, 2006
 * Spring Nicht Released April 10, 2007
 * Zimmer 483 - Live In Europe Released November 30, 2007
 * Tokio Hotel TV - Caught on Camera Released December 5, 2008

Awards

 * 2005


 * Comet: Best Newcomer 2005, Supercomet
 * Bambi-Verleihung: Pop-National


 * 2006


 * 1live-Krone: Best Newcomer
 * Echo: Best Newcomer
 * Goldener Pinguin: Best Newcomer
 * Radio Regenbogen Awards: Pop-National
 * Steiger Award: Newcomer
 * World Music Award: Best Selling German Artist


 * 2007


 * Jan 2007: European Border Breakers Award (for the album "Schrei")
 * Jan 2007: BZ-Kulturpreis: (Rock)
 * Mar 2007: Echo: Best Music Video
 * Apr 2007: Bravo - Goldener Otto: Superrockband
 * May 2007: Viva Comet: Supercomet, Best Band, Best Music Video
 * Jul 2007: Jabra Music: Die Beste Band In Die Welt )(The Best Band In The World)
 * Sep 2007: Festivalbar Premio Digital
 * Sep 2007: Goldene Stimmgabel: Best Rock International
 * Oct 2007: Belgian TMF awards: Best Video, Best Album, Best Pop, Best New Artist
 * Nov 2007: MTV Europe Music Awards (Munich): Best International Act
 * Nov 2007: Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards (Milão) - Best Band


 * 2008


 * Jan 2008: NRJ Music Awards 2008 - Best International Band
 * Jan 2008: Rockbjören Awards 2008 - Best International Band
 * Feb 2008: Goldene Kamera 2008 - Musik National
 * Feb 2008: Echo - Best Music Video
 * May 2008: Silver Otto
 * May 2008: MTV TRL (Italy) - Best Number 1 Single of the Year, Best Band
 * May 2008: Comet 2008 - Best Band, Best Live Act, Best Video, Supercomet
 * Sep 2008: MTV - Best New Artist
 * Oct 2008: TMF awards 2008 - " Best Video International: Don't jump ", "Best Male Artist"
 * Oct 2008: MTV latin awards 2008 - " Best Song of the year", "Best Fan Club : Tokio Hotel Venezuela", "Best New Artist International", " Best ringtone: Monsoon".
 * Nov 2008: Mtv Europe Music Awards 2008- " Best Headliner"
 * Dec 2008: Records awards 2008 (Russia)- Best-selling DVD "Zimmer 483: Live In Europe"

Links/References
Record label - U.S. Record label - Worldwide
 * Interscope Records Profile
 * Universal Music GMBH Profile

Official sites
 * Official International site
 * Official German site

Articles and reviews
 * Interview from MuchMusic (February 2008)
 * Interview from CosmoGIRL! (February/March 2008)
 * Interview from Sound Generator (August 2007)

Other
 * Tokio Hotel Page @ Wikipedia
 * Tokio Hotel @ Universal Deutschland