Cologne. Bill and Tom Kaulitz are part of the jury of RTL’s casting show “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”. The twins from the band Tokio Hotel explain why they scaled down their expectations about the DSDS-Live-Shows, if they would like to have some influence on the winner’s song and what they think about Angela Merkel.
Bill and Tom Kaulitz, DSDS-jurors, look relaxed sitting in a dull conference room at the RTL Studios in Cologne. They’re giving seven interview this day – nothing unusual for the two musicians of the group Tokio Hotel. The twins, who live in the US, are professionals when it comes to the media.
They’re used to the hype that surrounds them. 2005 they had their breakthrough with “Durch den Monsun”. Several MTV Awards, US-Tours, more than six million sold records, countless screaming (and mainly) female teenagers followed. During their interview with the WAZ media group they talked about their job as jurors on DSDS, Heino and Angela Merkel.
- The DSDS Live-Shows start soon. What do you expect from the candidates?
Tom Kaulitz: We actually scaled down our expectations. The candidates who have never performed on a big stage like this, are under a lot of pressure. I’ll probably be very relaxed during the first DSDS-Live-Shows – turning a blind eye and ear when I hear them making mistakes.
Bill Kaulitz: A lot of people can’t even imagine what performing on a big stage like that is like. The candidates, until now, only performed in front of us – the jury – without all the technical stuff that comes with it. I, as a musician, can understand that standing on such a big stage is something completely different. Then there’s also the audience, their outfit and their performance. It’s a lot to take in. And the candidates can’t even prepare that much for all of this. Yesterday, they were still working or going to school. It’s exciting to watch the DSDS-candidates and the different ways they’ll handle the situation.
- Bill, you participated in the casting show “Star Search”, but you didn’t make it to the final round. How did that feel?
Bill Kaulitz: It was really sad. You participate, because you don’t see any other possibility to get out there. I lived in a village and I didn’t know where and how I can show off my band. And when you’re part of a casting show, you want to get as far as possible. In the end, it worked out pretty well for us – which is, of course, not always the case. For most casting show participants it’s hard to continue doing something in the business after the show ends. For people, who get kicked out before the finals, it’s almost impossible.
Tom Kaulitz: We were just incredibly lucky to have an extremely charismatic guitarist.
Bill Kaulitz: We got a lot of offers after the show, but one of our producers saw us at a Club in Madgeburg. That’s were we performed every weekend.
- So you don’t necessarily need a casting show like DSDS?
Tom Kaulitz: Here and there, there are some people who make it without one. But nowadays it’s considerably harder, because the record labels don’t have enough money anymore and the music industry changed. That’s why a platform like DSDS comes in handy, where the winner doesn’t just get an Album and a record deal, but also additional 500,000 €. As a musician you can do a lot with that kind of money.
- What is sitting and judging people, as part of the DSDS-jury, like?
Bill Kaulitz: We see it more as a way of helping the candidates. We have, especially at this point of the show, absolutely no interest in seeing some fail and making fun of them for it. We always honestly express our opinion.
- But there was a DSDS-candidate that wasn’t well received. You refered to Oksana with the word “Pornstar”.
Bill Kaulitz: That scene was of course cut, and on TV it came across much harsher than it actually was. I said more to her than that, but – that also – was an honest opinion of mine. I just told her how I felt about it. And I still think that she doesn’t have a future in this business.
- Do you notice when the candidates talk about you during the show?
Tom Kaulitz: No, we don’t. The only thing we, as a jury, see are those three minutes when the candidates stand in front of you. That’s why it’s hard to size up a person. Some people behave completely different when they’re standing in front of us.
Bill Kaulitz: We also talk to the candidates. But they of course interact differently with us, as the jury, than they interact with each other. That’s why the live shows are so exciting – the little teasers that will be shown before each candidate performs, will show what they while they prepare. This is gonna be fun. I think that the audience doesn’t want a Superstar who you’re not begrudge that he won and who is a good guy. And there are also always candidates who go through a drastic change during that time-span. Those are the ones where you then see: There’s something wrong with their personality.
Tom Kaulitz: They’re already getting a lot of attention. It gets to some people’s heads.
- There has always been at least one candidate per DSDS season who that happened to.
Tom Kaulitz: Yes. The candidates have been extremely nice to us during the castings. Everyone was nice, because they knew that we’re the ones making the decision.
Bill and Tom Kaulitz together: But during the live shows we won’t be the ones making the decision anymore!
- Was there another casting show that sent you an offer to join them for the next season? The Voice?
Bill Kaulitz: Actually, every casting show sent us an offer at least once – there were offers every year. The Voice was also one of them.
- Why did you choose DSDS?
Bill Kaulitz: First of all, for us it was a matter of timing. It just fit best into our current schedule, since we’re currently working in the studio. And we said: We want to be a part of the biggest and most successful show.
Tom Kaulitz: But we also like shows like The Voice.
- Did you have any doubts about being a part of DSDS?
Bill Kaulitz: Yes. A few years ago, we didn’t really take all those offers seriously – it kind of developed. The biggest singers and artists are part of the US casting shows, so this definitely gave us an impulse to say yes. I, for example, really love Steven Tyler. When he took on the job of sitting in the jury of American Idol, that was the first time I actually thought about all of this. Then we really wanted to do it.
- Any candidates you see as the front-runners at the moment?
Tom Kaulitz: We don’t want to reveal any names.
Bill Kaulitz: I already kicked off a discussion with the whole story regarding Laura. That’s why we’re really careful when it comes to this.
Tom Kaulitz: There are definitely people, who we think are better than others. But generally speaking, we chose them all. There are a few who have a lot of potential.
- Would you like to have some kind of influence on the winner’s song?
Bill Kaulitz: I can’t really say that. It depends on how the candidates evolve and who wins the race. If it’s someone who we really like, we would obviously write a song.
- Do you have a favorite Modern Talking song?
Bill and Tom Kaulitz together: No.
Bill Kaulitz: But that was really not during “our time”. I only know “Modern Talking” from stories.
- Do you think that „Durch den Monsum“ should have been on Heino’s new Album?
Bill Kaulitz: I wouldn’t really have had any objections to that.
Tom Kaulitz: Heino left out a No. 1 Hit with that. He would’ve definitely benefited from it. It’s a good song.
- What will happen after DSDS? Will you release a new Album?
Bill Kaulitz: We’re currently working on new songs in the studio. The Album will be released this year, there’s just not a set date yet.
- Is it true, that you’re fans of Angela Merkel?
Tom Kaulitz: You would be exagerating with calling us Fans, …
Bill Kaulitz: … but what I always say, and this applies to all politicians: I like that there are people who do that job. A lot of people rant and rave against politicians but they would never do the politicians jobs. I wouldn’t want to trade places with Angela Merkel, because I think that would be an incredibly big and hard task. What I think is important is to think in a positive way. We noticed this in the US, where the president is celebrated by the people. In Germany that’s not really the case. I just have a good feeling when it comes to Angela Merkel. I like her as a person.
Translation by Icey @ LoveTH-Music.com
No comments:
Post a Comment