Kristina Bach

by David Jeffries
Originally discovered in 1983 at a talent competition in Düsseldorf, Germany's Kristina Bach has been a popular pop singer in her homeland since releasing the 1984 hit "Heisser Sand" on the BMG label. The rest of the '80s were filled with light pop hits like "Allein auf Einem Stern" and "Eldorado," but her 1990 effort "Erst ein Cappuccino" was huge, topping the German charts and making her one of the country's biggest stars. The success of the track brought new opportunities, like a collaboration with the act Harajuku for a cover of the theme from The Phantom of the Opera, which placed on dance music charts across the world. A year later she began working as a songwriter for other artists, eventually writing music for Andrea Berg, Michelle, Stefanie Hertel, Helene Fischer, and Jeanette Biedermann. Now with over two decades of pop success behind her, Bach has been noted by German critics as an artist who easily made the usually not so easy transition from light pop singer to serious songwriter.