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 |
| Origin | Cologne, Germany |
| 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 on January 9, 1965, is a famous singer. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago but is also German. He is most known for his huge hit song from 1993, "What Is Love". This song became number one in 13 different countries!
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago. His father was from Germany, and his mother was a nurse. His parents separated when he was young.
He lived with his father in Europe for a while. Then, he moved to America to live with his mother. He grew up in Chicago and later moved to the Washington, D.C. area when he was nine.
Listening to the famous musician Louis Armstrong inspired Haddaway. He started learning to play the trumpet when he was 14. He joined his high school's marching band. This led him to form his first music group, called Chances.
In 1987, Haddaway moved to Cologne, West Germany. There, he worked in different places, like taverns. He also started his own company called Energy. This company helped organize fashion shows and photo shoots.
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 in Europe. It reached number 2 in Germany and the United Kingdom.
This song sold 900,000 copies in Germany. In the UK, it sold 400,000 copies. It also became popular in the US, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By early 1994, "What Is Love" had sold 2.6 million copies worldwide!
His next song, "Life", also did very well. It reached number 2 in Germany and number 6 in the UK. By 1994, it had sold 1.5 million copies around the world.
Other songs like "I Miss You" and "Rock My Heart" were also big hits in Europe. These songs helped him become a well-known Eurodance artist. Eurodance is a type of electronic dance music.
Haddaway's first album was called The Album. It was also known as Haddaway in the US. This album sold millions of copies. It reached Platinum status in Germany, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies.
In 1995, he released his second album, The Drive. This album included the song "Fly Away", which was a top 20 hit in the UK. Other songs from this album were "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name".
The song "What Is Love" became popular again later. It was used as the theme music for the Butabi brothers on the TV show Saturday Night Live. It was also featured in the 1998 movie A Night at the Roxbury.
Later albums like Let's Do It Now (1998) and My Face (2001) did not become as popular.
In 2004, Haddaway appeared on a German TV show called Comeback – Die große Chance. He also appeared on the UK and US versions of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time in 2005. After this, his song "Spaceman" became a moderate hit in Germany.
In 2008, "What Is Love" was used in a commercial for Diet Pepsi MAX. This ad played during the Super Bowl XLII. It featured famous stars like LL Cool J and Missy Elliott.
Also in 2008, Haddaway worked with another Eurodance star, Dr. Alban, on a song called "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 2010 song "No Love" featuring Lil Wayne.
In 2012, Haddaway released the song "Up and Up" with the Mad Stuntman. This song was a top 20 dance hit in the US.
Haddaway has mentioned that he often performs in places 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.
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.
Discography
Studio Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER |
AUS |
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 |
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| 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 | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER |
AUS |
AUT |
FRA |
IRE |
NL |
SWE |
SWI |
UK |
US |
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| 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 |
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| "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 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||
See also
In Spanish: Haddaway para niños
