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CascadaLast ChristmasPyromania
When Natalie Horler was 17, she was doing studio work for various DJs. Eventually
she met Yanou and DJ Manian. Originally, they released music under
the name Cascade, but due to Kaskade, another artist with a similar
name, threatening a suit, they changed it to Cascada.[3] Simultaneously
they released music under the names of Siria and Akira as well,
but ended those projects due to the success of Cascada. Under Andorfine
Records, they produced their debut and hit single, "Miracle", and its follow-up, "Bad Boy", in Germany.[4] This caught the attention of the American dance label Robbins
Entertainment. They negotiated a contract and "Miracle" was released in 2004. However, it did not attract much attention, so Cascada
offered them "Everytime We Touch". Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name.[5][6] She had help from her good friend, Eamonn Ceannt (aka Marcus Lamb) on backing track and rhythm bass. The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.[7][8] Soon after the popularity of the single skyrocketed, an album was recorded and released in a matter of months,[9] and a music video for "Everytime We Touch" was also distributed for promotion.[10] The album maintains a similar formula throughout, with near-identical tempo and beats. It nonetheless still received high praise for unique rhythms, catchy lyrics, and overall a unique sound that has not been brought to mainstream audiences for several years, especially in the United States. A total of eight singles were released from the
album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom: "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden),"Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" all of which gained top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream", which charted at #46.[11] The U.S. saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of
the U.S. charts.[12] Their album Everytime We Touch has experienced
success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the top forty
for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #2.[13][14] The album experienced
success on the U.S. charts as well.[15] The success of the album
gained them two World Music Award nominations, winning them World's
Best-Selling German Artist.[16] Additionally, the album has sold
over 5 million copies world-wide. Natalie Horler first announced that Cascada were working on their second album during a Japanese interview, which was posted on their blog on MySpace.[17] There are a few cover songs on the album, most notably Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", P!nk's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night", and the Rascal Flatts' song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It" that were previously recorded by Natalie Horler and DJ Manian under the discontinued Siria name.[18] However, the U.S. release replaced the Siria songs,[19] P!nk, and Avril Lavigne covers with three newer tracks, because they did not have the North American Rights. Two of these songs were “Faded”, a cover of a Kate DeAraugo song, and “Holiday”, a cover of a Jenny May song.[20] The sophomore effort was released at the end of 2007 in the UK, and several parts of Northern Europe.[21] Perfect Day was released to the remaining markets, in the first quarter of 2008, with the U.S. release being the last.[22] Natalie, also, stated in a French Interview, before the release, that she would take a hand in writing parts of the album.[23] However, none of the final tracks on the album were written by her.[24] The world-wide lead single, "What
Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a cover of
Wham!'s "Last Christmas".[25] The single had high success, reaching the top tier in most countries.[26]
The U.K. and German follow-up to "What Hurts the Most", is "What Do You Want From Me?",[27][28] originally thought to be called "Tell Me Why".[29][29] The third release from the album in the UK and Germany was “Because
the Night”.[30][31] The United States instead received both "Faded" and "Perfect Day" as singles, however each of these releases received little airplay outside of
the dance-radio circuit. June 29, 2009, "Evacuate
the Dancefloor" was released in the UK. The song featured a new direction for Cascada, transitioning
from a euro-dance sound to one more enriched in electro-pop, comparable
to the likes of Robyn and Lady Gaga, both produced by RedOne. The
release, just after the death of Michael Jackson, was expected
to chart within the top ten, underneath a plethora of the deceased
King of Pop's former hits, due to a resurgence of sales after the
tragic news. To the surprise of many, the single debuted at #1,
over Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The song went on to achieve top five success in Australia, Canada, France,
Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as top ten success in
many more. The song slowly rose on the US chart after a late September
release, eventually reaching a peak of 25 after a seventeen week
climb, becoming the group's second top-forty hit. The song has
become a club staple, used in many dance-oriented video games,
and even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The album, aptly
named Evacuate the Dancefloor, was released a week later on July
6 in the UK and Germany. The album continued Cascada's progression
into electro-pop, losing their trademark "bell-synth" sound. The change was welcomed by mainstream audiences and fans, yet many fans
still remorsed the euro-pop feel, which some felt was integral
to the Cascada project. The album itself did not mirror the success
of the single, yet did chart in the top ten of many territories,
including the UK. However, the album did not have lasting sales
and quickly fell out of the charts. "Dangerous" and "Fever" were follow-up singles released from the album, the former in the UK, and the
latter in the US, Australia, and the rest of Europe, neither experiencing
success in terms of radio spins, digital, or physical sales. Nevertheless,
the group toured extensively to promote the album, even opening
for Britney Spears during a stop in Germany. Taking note of the criticism their previous album received, mainly the lack of cohesiveness linking the album as a whole, Cascada decided to experiment with a new release strategy, planning to produce and release different singles and then attempting to bind them all into an album. A new single "Pyromania" was released in 2010, continuing their new electro-pop sound. A second single, "Night Nurse", was the released along with a music video featuring Natalie in full body paint of various colors in many scenes. This song never got a commercial release but was featured on a compilation CD in the UK. A new song titled "Enemy" was featured in a documentary, and there were talks of the group wrapping up production and presentation meetings of their next album.[citation needed] On the weekend of March 26, Cascada shot two music videos for upcoming singles "San Francisco" and "Au Revoir". Both videos were directed by Lisa Mann and choreographed by Luther Brown.[32] The new single "San Francisco" was released on 6 June 2011 and the album Original Me was released on 19 June 2011 (UK) digitally. Since the release of 'Original Me' in the UK, dance music website, Total Dance Music named it the album of the year for 2011. On July 8, the music video for "Au Revoir" premiered exclusively on Clubland TV in the UK. Natalie Horler recently posed for Playboy Deutschland in July 2011,[33] to mixed reactions from fans and critics. On August 19, 2011, Cascada's U.S. Label "Robbins Entertainment" announced on their forum and their Twitter account that they would not be releasing Original Me in the United States for unannounced reasons. [34][35] On September 1, 2011, Robbins Entertainment announced on their message board that Cascada and Robbins have amicably parted ways, and Cascada were released from the label, citing creative differences as the reason for their departure. It was also announced that Original Me would be released soon, under their Zooland label.[36][37] San Francisco was released onto US iTunes on November
4, 2011 through Zooland Records, showing that Zooland is the group's
new US label. 2006: Everytime We Touch [edit] Tours 2007: Everytime We Touch Tour
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