The obligatory Tokio Hotel post
Tokio Hotel is already a controversial band among many Germaniacs simply because of their sheer popularity, boy band branding scheme, and perhaps even their bizarre fashion styles. But that doesn’t discount the fact that they are indeed a German band, so they are worth mentioning here… if for nothing else than to help make our coverage a little more well-rounded.
If you’re not already familiar with Tokio Hotel, this is the 4 piece pop-rock band that has been making headlines all across Germany and Europe, and has even performed a few successful concerts here in the United States already. Now their current album Scream is ready to be released in the USA as well. It will be on the shelves on Tuesday, May the 6th.
Not to be confused with their debut album Schrei (which means “Scream”), this new album has songs selected from Tokio Hotel’s first 2 albums which were both sung in German, and simply translates them into English to make them appeal to a wider audience. This decision is certainly not without debate, however. There’s actually an online petition with thousands of signatures from their fans asking Tokio Hotel to stop singing in English. And while that might be a nice way to preserve some cultural value in the music, it’s not likely to happen. Their label (Universal) is no doubt more interested in reaping the rewards of their new star band, especially in an environment where it is becoming harder and harder to profit from them.
So what does that leave us with? A bunch of teenagers from Germany trying as hard as possible to Americanize themselves so they can sing in front of thousands of screaming girls. Not quite my cup of tea. Hmmm… You can hear them here if you must.
Tokio Hotel - Scream (US edition) tracklisting
01. Scream
02. Ready, Set, Go!
03. Monsoon
04. Love is Dead
05. Don’t Jump
06. Live Every Second (U.S. Exclusive)
07. On the Edge
08. Sacred
09. Break Away
10. Rescue Me
11. Final Day
12. Forgotten Children
13. By Your Side
14. 1000 Oceans (Bonus Song)
15. Durch den Monsun (Bonus Song - German Version from “Schrei” Studio CD)
April 27th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Tokio Hotel is a little bit like John Cena… for years 5-12. With the difference that in fact John Cena does not suck for real
April 27th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
[…] Hotel - Scream (USA […]
April 28th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I have no idea who that is… but I think I probably don’t want to know either
September 9th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I like Tokio Hotel. Yes, they are quite popular in Germany and Europe, but they have potential to be popular here in the US, and they’ve shown it by winning the VMA for Best New Artist. And while they may be teenagers (so yes, there will be screaming girls), they sing and play from the heart. They truly want to sing in English so that the lyrics (which they have said are indeed a big part of their message) can be understood by everyone. There’s bound to be people who don’t like them, but keep in mind that there are those who do. We don’t think that they suck and we don’t go around bashing the bands we don’t like (not that I’m saying you guys are bashing, but it happens way too much. So what if Bill looks like a girl?), so please keep in mind that we don’t want our bands bashed.
Thank you,
East Coast Fans, and every Tokio Hotel fan around the world
December 15th, 2008 at 10:37 am
It* greets tokio hotel please come to turkey everbody loving you please come turkeyy =( ım merve 16 turkey/ankara ı love you bill =) <3
tom<3
bill<3
tUrkey
george<3
gustav<3
December 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I wish the of your success -merve
You capabla are the group <3
we are loving yoU
Meanwhile you are very sweet <3
tokio hotel going on the love
tokio hotel forewer love
(I fell in love with you bill )
February 26th, 2009 at 11:10 am
An introduction to Tokio Hotel should never come without their Devilish past. They have worked hard for what they have today and trivalising their achievements to ‘A bunch of teenagers from Germany trying as hard as possible to Americanize themselves so they can sing in front of thousands of screaming girls.’ is very insulting.
I don’t understand why so many people who seem to love the German culture fail to see what Tokio Hotel has done for it in recent years. They are actually getting thousands of people interested in the German language, getting them to actually look up and listen to German artists and making them want to learn about the culture itself, so even if their music may not be ‘your cup of tea’ or if you find them too commercialised, there is no need to be disrespectful with this ‘obligatory post’.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Instead of looking at it like a bunch of teenagers trying to de-culturize themselves, why not look at how they’re exposing the German language to North America? They’ve gotten teenagers around the continent interested in learning German - so they can understand the “original” versions. Also, they do a show called “Tokio Hotel Tv” - yes, for the fans - but it’s all in GERMAN. It still gets thousands of views, and fans around the world have bought the DVD. They worked very hard - especially Bill by learning to sing in English and translate the songs into English using as closely a one-to-one while still preserving the message.
So, while you lot are ditching our music, we’re all sitting back at our computers downloading and learning to sing the German versions of our favourite Tokio Hotel songs.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Sie sind ein gutes Band.. aber ein Lied, das ich liebe, ist Liebe ist tot.. sein ein überwältigendes Lied…
sinluvsspider@herzeleid.net