Haddaway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Haddaway
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Haddaway performing in 2019
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nestor Alexander Haddaway |
| Born | 9 January 1965 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Genres | Eurodance |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels |
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Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born January 9, 1965) is a singer from Trinidad and Tobago and Germany. He is most famous for his huge hit song "What Is Love" from 1993. This song became number one in 13 different countries!
Contents
Haddaway's Early Life and Music Journey
Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago. His dad was a marine biologist from Germany. His mom was a nurse from Trinidad. His parents separated when he was young. Haddaway lived with his dad in Europe for a while. Then he lived with his mom in America. He grew up in Chicago. At age 9, he moved to the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Listening to the famous musician Louis Armstrong inspired him. Haddaway started learning to play the trumpet when he was 14. He went to Meade Senior High School in Fort Meade, Maryland. There, he was part of the school's marching band. This experience led him to start his first music group, called Chances.
In 1987, Haddaway started studying medicine. But he soon realized it wasn't for him. He then moved to Cologne, West Germany. In Cologne, he worked in different places, including taverns. Later, he even started his own company. His company, Energy, helped organize fashion shows and photo shoots.
Haddaway's Music Career Highlights
In 1992, Haddaway signed with a German record company called Coconut Records. His very first song, "What Is Love", quickly became super popular. It reached number 2 in Germany and the United Kingdom. In Germany, 900,000 copies of the song were sold. In the UK, it sold 400,000 copies. The song also reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. By early 1994, "What Is Love" had sold 2.6 million copies around the world!
His next song, "Life", was also a big hit. It reached number 2 in Germany and number 6 in the UK. This song sold 1.5 million copies worldwide by 1994. Other songs like "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" also made it into the Top 10 in Europe. These hits showed everyone that he was a successful Eurodance artist. His first album, The Album, sold millions of copies.
In 1995, Haddaway released his second album, The Drive. This album included the song "Fly Away", which was a Top 20 hit in the UK. The song "What Is Love" became popular again later. It was used as the theme music for the Butabi brothers on Saturday Night Live. It was also featured in the 1998 movie A Night at the Roxbury.
Haddaway appeared on a German TV show called Comeback – Die große Chance in 2004. He also appeared on the UK and US versions of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005. This helped his song "Spaceman" become a moderate hit in Germany.
In 2008, "What Is Love" was used in a commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX. This ad played during Super Bowl XLII. In 2008, Haddaway also worked with another Eurodance star, Dr. Alban, on the song "I Love the 90's". In 2009, "What Is Love" became popular again when German DJ Klaas made a new version of it. The song was also used in Eminem's song "No Love" in 2010. In 2012, Haddaway released "Up and Up" with the Mad Stuntman. This song was a Top 20 dance hit in the US.
Haddaway has performed in many places around the world. He mentioned performing in countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Siberia. In 2016, he planned to be in a movie about Eurodance called Neverending Dream. However, the movie was not released. On April 26, 2024, Haddaway released a new song called "Lift Your Head Up". This song is from his upcoming album, Day After Day.
Haddaway's Personal Life
Haddaway lives in Kitzbühel, Austria. He also has a home in Cologne, Germany.
Since 2019, he has been a player and sponsor for the Kufstein Wolfins baseball team. This team won the regional championships in both 2019 and 2020.
Haddaway's Music: Albums and Singles
Haddaway has released several studio albums and many singles throughout his career.
Studio Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER |
AUS<b | AUT |
FIN |
FRA |
NL |
NOR |
SWE |
SWI |
UK |
US |
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| Haddaway | 5 | 73 | 12 | — | 17 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 111 | |
| The Drive |
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32 | — | 27 | 18 | — | 54 | — | — | 10 | — | — |
| Let's Do It Now |
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— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| My Face (re-released as Love Makes) |
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— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pop Splits |
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— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Compilation Albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| All the Best: His Greatest Hits |
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| Best of Haddaway: What Is Love |
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Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER |
AUS |
AUT |
FRA |
IRE |
NL |
SWE |
SWI |
UK |
US |
|||||
| 1993 | "What Is Love" | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | The Album / Haddaway | ||
| "Life" | 2 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 41 | ||||
| "I Miss You" | 18 | 44 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 17 | 9 | — | ||||
| 1994 | "Rock My Heart" | 10 | 83 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 10 | 9 | — | |||
| "Stir It Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | "Fly Away" | 25 | — | 16 | 23 | 28 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 20 | — | The Drive | ||
| "Catch a Fire" | 38 | — | 30 | — | — | 17 | — | 20 | 39 | — | ||||
| "Lover Be Thy Name" | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1997 | "What About Me" | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Let's Do It Now | ||
| 2000 | "Who Do You Love" | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You're Taking My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | "Deep" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | My Face / Love Makes | ||
| 2002 | "Love Makes" | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "What Is Love Reloaded" | 51 | — | 49 | — | — | 100 | — | — | 92 | — | N/A | ||
| 2005 | "Spaceman" | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pop Splits | ||
| 2007 | "Follow Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | ||
| 2008 | "I Love the 90's" (with Dr. Alban) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2009 | "What Is Love 2k9" (with Klaas) | 60 | — | 37 | 5 | — | — | 49 | — | — | — | |||
| 2010 | "You Gave Me Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2012 | "Up and Up" (with The Mad Stuntman) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2020 | "I Wanna Be for You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | ||
| 2021 | "And Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Day After Day | ||
| 2022 | "Chances" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Thing Called Love" (with Wolfram) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2024 | "Lift Your Head Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | ||
| "—" means the song did not appear on that chart. | ||||||||||||||
See also
In Spanish: Haddaway para niños
