5.05.2011

Okolo.me (Russia)-Tokio Hotel- (article fom November 20 of 2010) [Translation]

 Quote: haylie/thus

" Tokio Hotel. Planetary success. German quality.

If ‘Cinderella’ was written today, she would be born in Germany and wear 42-sized shoes … And she would actually be ‘Cinderel’ (a guy). Because Bill Kaulitz is obviously a guy despite of his androgyny, Bill Kaulitz is obviously a guy. Formerly, in 2005 people often mistook him for a girl, but thоse times have passed. T-shirts with rebellious slogans were replaced by brand shirts, and together with his twin brother Tom, Bill himself has turned from an unknown teenager into a world star. Back then they couldn’t imagine that a little while later they would not able to go out without being followed by security, stalkers and paparazzi.




All of this began in a very touching way: 4 German teenagers worked hard towards their dream, in spite of it being impossible. At first their song «Durch Den Monsun» («Through the Monsoon ») smashed into the German Charts, and then all the German-speaking European ones. But the most incredible fact is that it reached CIS and was met with enthusiasm.

We could certainly write a whole ode alone to their music that’s written by the founders of the band, the Kaulitz twins, together with their producers, but there is a much more interesting topic, namely the hype that was created around them.

Albums, music videos, tours – certainly all played a role in Tokio Hotel’s success but the image is important, and the right approach will deliver good results. There is no doubt that a romantic image mixed with the androgynous beauty of the front man broke a lot of females’ (ok, may be males’ as well!) hearts. And if we add to this the charming smile of the bad-boy-guitarist and two typical German guys, Georg and Gustav (bass player and drummer), we will get the cocktail for everyone, one sip is enough. Managers of the band have been preparing a destructive blow by releasing their offspring.



The project” Tokio Hotel” has always been surrounded by myths and legends. Information on various internet sources rarely differ and almost always tell the same. And whenever an inquisitive person wants to know more, they encounter an insurmountable obstacle –an information vacuum. Obviously Germans are perfect when it comes to censorship. There’s nothing unnecessary, nothing discreditable, everything is beautiful and like in a fairytale: single parent family, a difficult relationship in school, non-compliance with any rules… from looking at Bill and Tom who are completely different yet identical at the same time, it’s hard to tell that they have been outsiders, as they have said before. There is no official information about their “ex”, no pictures with their parents or only one parent. Sometimes it seems like their biography was made up when they were already grown up. And someone would certainly give away half their life to get to know whether it’s true or not.



The so-called “twins-connection” seriously fuels fans’ imagination. Sometimes it seems like this guys communicate without using any words. Maybe that’s why there is a lot of mystery surrounding this band?

The author of the article never wants to take on the work of a detective, it’s just an observation of the band’s success, fans’ behaviour. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the fans. If you look closer at the fans army, you can discover that life and work of this band not only fuel teenagers’ imagination. Specialists and holders of a master’s degree, auditors and linguists, doctors and programmers – that is not a complete list of jobs that Tokio Hotel fans aged from 20 and ad infinitum have got. They are happily married, single mothers and unmarried according to their vkontakte (Russian version of Facebook) status and passport doesn’t matter, because on their computer screens the same faces show up every evening, they look through the same websites, and actually leave the same smileys and similar looking comments.

Each Tokio Hotel fan knows the exact difference between fraternal and identical twins, they can even give a lecture about mono and dizygotic ones; they can tell you about the latest fashion trends – it’s enough to just look through Bill’s clotheses; or give advice on what hair straighteners you should buy to make your hair look “like Georg’s”.



Milan Fashion Week 2009. With Dean and Dan Caten (Dsquared2). “The fans think that their idols are good at any activity, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their music” .

In general, within 5 years Tokio Hotel have not only become a music band, but the whole independent world for millions of people. They are coming to the fandom, chatting, getting to know each other, some of them became real friends, some of them make creative tandems. It will continue for as long as their star is shining. A well-known story, right?

It has happened many times before in the music world. Sooner or later rumours about breaking up appear, journalists of tabloids start to rub their hands waiting for the hot details. But not this time. No-one talked about the band having problems, fans have been finding the proof themselves – decline in CD sales, half-empty venues during the last tour. What about this? What about two cancelled shows in Russia and the 18000 fans it affected in general? The latter situation was not their fault, but it was like fuel to the fire. Everyone was waiting for 1st September. They didn’t wait for the Day of Knowledge, but for the day the twins turned 21 to raise their glasses to their health in reality and in the virtual world… and right after that, they got the news that the twins are moving to the USA. They took all their 4 dogs and furniture with them, but the bass player and drummer stayed in Germany. In professional jargon we would call it going on hiatus, but the band played concerts in Peru, Chile and a performance in Japan also isn’t far off. It means that business is flourishing. At least, it seems that way. However, only fan forums and blogs are still unsettled. Fans are divided over the question about what’s happening in Tokio’s Kingdom? Where will Bill‘s interest in fashion lead him?

The story has not the end or conclusion yet. Because the star is still shining, voting at the music awards goes on, plains make charter trips “Hamburg-Los-Angeles” and millions of people all over the world keep fingers crossed for these unfathomable and wrapped in mystery guys – Tom, Bill, George and Gustav will always be afloat of the showbiz.

  SOURCE

translation by Haylie @THNews_Ru
thanks merle @TokioHotelUKST for the help and corrections! "


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