DJ Ötzi
DJ Ötzi (born January 7, 1971 in St. Johann in Tirol , actually Gerhard Friedle , also called Gerry Friedle ), alias Anton featuring DJ Ötzi or DJ Ötzi Junior , is an Austrian entertainer , pop and pop singer and folk musician who also works in Dance floor area is active. With over 16 million CDs sold , he is one of the most successful musicians from the German-speaking region.
Private life
Gerhard Friedle was given foster parents by his 17-year-old mother immediately after the birth . He never got to know his mother. When his father, the Austrian DJ Anton Friedle, found out after two years that he had a son, he brought him to live with him, where he grew up with his grandparents. Friedle ran away from home at the age of 16 and was homeless for a few months. In Seefeld in Tirol he trained as a cook.
In 2001 he married the music manager Sonja Kien in his birthplace. Their daughter was born on September 17, 2002. Friedle lives with his wife and daughter in Salzburg.
He draws strength from his faith "in Jesus, in my family, in me, in love." In 2017 he made his first pilgrimage on the Way of St. James - "I just found myself there, because before that I had the greatest successes, but also just as many self-doubts."
Musical career
debut
Around 1995 Friedle was discovered at a karaoke competition and then worked as an entertainer, DJ and singer, first in Austria, later on Mallorca and Turkey. In the late 1990s he was signed by the Ultimatief producer team, who were also working with Aklana Indiana at the time , and they worked out an album called Das Album (under the name Anton feat. DJ Ötzi).
In 1999 Anton feat. DJ Ötzi, together with his interpretation of the title “ Anton aus Tirol ”, written by Fritz Schicho, Manfred Padinger and Walter Schachner, is better known in German-speaking countries (75 weeks in the Austrian charts). Since the female voice on the single release had sung a singer from an ABBA cover band who happened to be in the studio , he performed with Sandra Stumptner alias Antonia after the overwhelming success of the song for the tour . In addition, his single was in the Dutch charts at number 2 and in Denmark, his debut album was a similarly big success with third place. To this day, “Anton aus Tirol” is the best-selling Austrian single.
Hey baby
In 2000 DJ Ötzi's second album Love, Peace & Vollgas was released, which, in contrast to his debut, was not particularly successful in the charts at the beginning. After the album had been released in other countries, DJ Ötzi achieved his greatest success to date with the song Hey Baby , a cover version of the Bruce Channel hit from 1961. The song was in the UK and Australia at number 1 and in 20 other countries in the charts. He was the first Austrian artist to receive gold and platinum awards in Great Britain. In the United States, the title was played by some country broadcasters.
2001 to 2006
There was also a big hit for the Tyrolean in 2002. He released a cover version of the opus classic Live Is Life with the Hermes House Band . Ignored in Austria, there was a similarly great success in many countries as with Hey Baby . In France alone, the single was sold around 800,000 times.
In the summer of 2003, all German music channels refused to play his number 1 hit "Burger Dance". The title was a nursery rhyme (“A Ram Sam Sam”), repositioned to a list of fast food providers. The music journalist Peter Illmann said on the RTL chart show about the song: “This song is outrageous.” For three years, DJ Ötzi was rarely heard musically. Publications such as Not Without Us , Tanz den Rehakles and Servus die Wadln were commercial failures.
At the beginning of 2006, DJ Ötzi and Marc Pircher brought out the song “ 7 Sünden ”, a cover version of the song by Uwe Busse . This enabled him to build on his old successes in Austria, but in Germany the song did not go beyond number 30. In September 2006 a cover version of “I Am the Music Man” by DJ Ötzi was released, originally by the English duo Black Lace . This is a nursery rhyme, of which there is a cartoon-style music video. The title was not officially available in Germany until now, but German Mallorca tourists are familiar with the mini discos there .
Star hour album
Another number 1 hit in Germany and Austria was achieved by DJ Ötzi (this time together with Nik P. ) in February 2007 with a new recording of the hit Ein Stern (... which bears your name) . The song was able to hold onto the top position in Austria for a whole 13 weeks. In Germany he remained number 1 for 11 weeks. In Austria, Germany and Switzerland he made it to number 1 in the 2007 annual charts with one star and was awarded a double platinum award in Austria and Germany. The hit was recorded as a ballad version in mid-October and even made it into the top 3 in Switzerland.
The album Sternstunden was also one of the most successful of 2007. It was published several times in different editions and also received platinum awards in Austria and Germany.
In autumn 2007 he said in an interview with the daily newspaper Austria that he no longer wanted to be addressed as DJ Ötzi because he did not feel perceived as a person. In February 2008 DJ Ötzi released his next single I will leb'n .
At the end of November 2007, DJ Ötzi broke the Guinness record for signed albums. He signed over 4,000 autographs for his album Sternstunden .
In January 2008, the track “A star (… who bears your name)” broke a record held by The Guitar and the Sea for 50 years : With a total of 41 weeks in the German single top 10, the song was Freddy Quinn's number 1 -Hit from 1959, which had made it into the top 10 for 36 weeks, was number 2 on the all-time best list. To date it has sold around a million times. In February 2009, DJ Ötzi also set the record for the longest-lasting song in the Top 100, which was previously held by Wolfgang Petry "The longest single in the world". For him, 1998 ended after 81 weeks. By May 2012, "Ein Stern ..." had 107 weeks. In April 2012, Paul & Fritz Kalkbrenner's Sky and Sand set the record with 107 weeks.
Cooperation with Dieter Bohlen
In the autumn of 2008, the song “Still in 100,000 Years”, written by Dieter Bohlen , was released with the album “Hotel Engel ”. This studio album achieved top chart positions and gold / platinum status. Titles such as “Hotel Engel” and “In 100,000 Years” are still some of the most played songs by DJ Ötzi.
The studio album "Du und Ich", mainly produced by Thorsten Brötzmann and Ivo Moring, was released on October 29, 2010 by Polydor (Universal Music). Although the successful producer Alex Christensen (U96 - Das Boot, Alex C, Paul Anka, Helene Fischer) also contributed a production to the album, the album could not follow on from the great successes of the previous albums.
Simply the best with the Bellamy Brothers
In 2011, DJ Ötzi produced the album "Simply the Best" together with the Bellamy Brothers, the US country duo, which was released on March 23, 2012 via Polydor. The album was a considerable success in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and contained the big hits by DJ Ötzi and the Bellamy Brother reinterpreted together in English. In Miami (Florida, USA) a total of 4 music videos were created for the album in order to provide the right backdrop for the songs.
After the “Simply the Best” album, DJ Ötzi went back to his roots and combined modern dance and party hit elements with traditional Austrian instruments and also with melodies from the classical period. The album "Es ist Zeit", which was released on February 15, 2013 by Polydor (Universal Music), was a step in this direction. The song "Tirol", based on the melody of "Men at Work - Down Under", describes his love of home. He also sang duets with Andrea Berg and the Olsen Brothers (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with "Wings of Love").
After this album, Dj Ötzi took a little break to fulfill a personal wish. Together with his cousin Bettina he walked the Way of St. James.
Born to love you
Influenced by this hike, songs such as “Live your dream” were created. Another collaboration with Nik P. and the producers Thorsten Brötzmann (Unheilig, Howard Carpendale, Modern Talking and many more) and Mathias Roska (Andreas Gabalier) culminated in a new success in 2016. The single "Born to love you" became a hit in the party hit scene. In 2017 this song was named "Hit of the Year" by ARD and received the Amadeus Award in Austria.
The following album "von Herzen" (released in 2017 via Electrola) is DJ Ötzi's most personal work to date and includes songs like "Leb dein Traum" or "A Mann für Amore".
DJ Ötzi summit tour
In the same year the DJ Ötzi summit tour took place for the first time. With this event format, DJ Ötzi is treading new paths and returning to his musical roots, DJing. In selected ski winter destinations, DJ Ötzi not only performs as an artist, but is also personally back at the turntables as a DJ. Since then, the DJ Ötzi summit tour has taken place annually from January to March in Austria and Germany.
DJ Ötzi summit meeting
In October 2018, DJ Ötzi completed a solo indoor concert tour with his band throughout Germany for the first time in his musical career. DJ Ötzi performed in a total of 12 German cities within 3 weeks.
20 years of DJ Ötzi - party without end!
To mark his 20th stage anniversary, DJ Ötzi released the best-of album (via Electrola) on January 4, 2019 with the title "20 Years of DJ Ötzi - Endless Party". This album includes his great German and English hits. All songs have been reworked and some completely revised. In addition, 6 new tracks were produced for the best-of album. With this album, DJ Ötzi recorded his highest chart positions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland of his career. In May 2019 DJ Ötzi received the Schlagerplanet Award for a 20-year stage anniversary. In Austria, the Austrian artist is going platinum with the anniversary album. On March 12, 2020 the album was awarded triple GOLD status by the Association of the Austrian Music Industry (IFPI Austria).
Musical definition
DJ Ötzi's musical work mainly focuses on the production of cover versions of different styles. His interpretations aim for easy danceability and party suitability, often short, easy to remember and thus catchy refrains. DJ Ötzi makes use of elements from hit, popular dance and folk music.
In the spring of 2014, DJ Ötzi was a member of the jury in the casting show Herz von Österreich , which was broadcast by Puls 4 .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
||||
| 2000 | The album |
DE7th  (31 weeks)DE |
AT1  (41 weeks)AT |
CH5 (22 weeks)CH |
- |
First published: Jan 17, 2000
Sales: + 225,000; as Anton feat. DJ Ötzi |
|
| 2001 | Love, peace & full throttle |
DE23 (7 weeks) DE |
AT2 × 2
(35 weeks)AT |
CH23 (7 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: July 23, 2001
Sales: + 80,000 |
|
| 2002 | Today is the day |
DE49 (2 weeks) DE |
AT3 (18 weeks)AT |
CH50 (5 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: February 28, 2002
Sales: + 20,000 |
|
| 2003 | Flying to the Sky |
DE72 (2 weeks) DE[AT: ↑][CH: ↑] |
- |
First published: September 8, 2003
Expanded version of Today Is the Day . |
|||
| 2007 | Great moments |
DE7th × 3
(52 weeks)DE |
AT2 × 2
(38 weeks)AT |
CH16 (38 weeks)CH |
- |
First published: March 2nd, 2007
Sales: + 355,000 |
|
| 2008 | Hotel Engel |
DE26th (32 weeks)DE |
AT1 (37 weeks)AT |
CH5 (24 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: November 14, 2008
Sales: + 120,000 |
|
| 2010 | You and me |
DE45 (3 weeks) DE |
AT7th (15 weeks)AT |
CH30 (5 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: October 29, 2010
Sales: + 10,000 |
|
| 2013 | It's time |
DE7 (5 weeks) DE |
AT2 (19 weeks)AT |
CH5 (12 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: February 15, 2013
Sales: + 7,500 |
|
| 2017 | From my heart |
DE11 (4 weeks) DE |
AT6 (11 weeks) AT |
CH18 (5 weeks) CH |
- |
First published: March 24, 2017
|
|
Awards
- 2000: in the category "Newcomer of the year national"
- 2000: in the category "Single of the year national"
- 2001: in the category "Most successful Austrian artist abroad"
- 2002: in the category "Most successful Austrian artist abroad"
- 2008: in the category "Best hits album"
- 2013: in the "Schlager" category
- 2016: in the "Schlager" category
- 2017: in the category "Schlager" (together with Nik P. )
- 2017: in the category "Hit of the year" ( Born to love you )
- 2008: in the "Hit of the Year" category
- 2008: in the category "German-speaking hits"
- Decoration of Honor of the State of Tyrol - Highest award in the State of Tyrol
On February 20, 2020 Gerry Friedle, alias DJ Ötzi, - along with 9 other personalities - was presented with the medal of honor of the State of Tyrol by LH Günther Platter and his South Tyrolean colleague Arno Kompatscher. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Tyrolean provincial government in the giant hall of the Hofburg in Innsbruck.
- Others
- 2000: The golden Europe in the category "Chartbreaker of the Year"
- 2001: Crown of Folk Music in the "Most Successful Song" category
- 2002: Crown of Folk Music in the "Most Successful Performer" category
- 2005: Admission to the Signs of Fame Germany
- 2008: Crown of Folk Music in the "Most Successful Performer" category
- 2016: smago! Award
Nominations
- Amadeus Austrian Music Award
- 2001: in the category "Best National Rock / Pop Artist"
- 2001: in the category "Single of the year national"
- 2001: in the category "Best Rock / Pop National Group"
- 2002: in the category "Best National Rock / Pop Artist"
- 2003: in the category "Best National Rock / Pop Artist"
- 2003: in the category "Single of the year national"
- 2003: in the category "Single of the year national"
- 2005: in the category "Best National Rock / Pop Artist"
See also
- ultimaTIEF - production team from u. a. DJ Ötzi
Web links
- Official website of DJ Ötzi
- Literature by and about DJ Ötzi in the catalog of the German National Library
Notes and sources
- ↑ a b Torsten Thissen: The second face of DJ Ötzi , Welt am Sonntag from February 10, 2008, accessed on August 9, 2017
- ↑ The father Anton Friedle (born July 7, 1949) has been working as "DJ Sir Anton" since 1969, on Mallorca since the 1990s. In 2001 he released the single "Ötzi-Mann", after which he also performed as a singer. Since June 2006 his artist name has been "DJ Sir Ötzi", new release: "Die Alm".
- ↑ Item 12 of August 9, 2017
- ↑ epd: found oneself . In: Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt für Württemberg . No. 8/2019 . Stuttgart February 2019, p. 3 .
- ↑ http://www.krone.at/ ( Memento from February 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) DJ Ötzi and J.Lo are number one
- ↑ SCHLAGERPLANET AWARD 2019 - THE WINNERS. Retrieved May 14, 2019 .
- ^ Awards Archive - IFPI Austria - Association of the Austrian Music Industry. Retrieved March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Decoration of honor of the state of Tyrol awarded to DJ Ötzi. In: Tyrolean daily newspaper . February 20, 2020, accessed February 25, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | DJ Ötzi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Anton feat. DJ Ötzi; DJ Ötzi Junior; Friedle, Gerhard (maiden name); Friedle, Gerri |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian entertainer and singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 7th January 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Johann in Tirol , Austria |