Cascada

Cascada
Background information
Origin	Bonn, Germany
Genres	Eurodance[1]
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Warner Zooland All Around the World Robbins Spinnin' Kontor
Members	Natalie Horler
Past members	Manuel Reuter Yann Peifer
Website	cascada-music.de

Cascada (/kəˈskɑːdə/, Spanish, 'Waterfall'), stylized as CASCADA, CASCADA and cascada, is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They functioned as a trio from 2004-2021, with their last track together being “One Last Dance”. Since then Natalie has fronted the group as a solo project which was confirmed with the release of Cascada’s fifth studio album “Studio 24”. They are best known for the hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", "Evacuate the Dancefloor" and "Miracle". Cascada represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden with "Glorious". While being one of the most successful acts of the dance music genre itself, Cascada was named as the third-most successful German act of the 21st century.^[2]

In 2010, Cascada's music was the second-most downloaded of all time in the dance category, after David Guetta.^[3]

When Natalie Horler was 17 in 1998, she was doing studio work for various DJs. She met Yanou and DJ Manian when they were 24 and 20, respectively. Originally, they released music under the name Cascade, but due to Kaskade, another artist with a similar name, threatening legal action, they changed it to Cascada.^[4] At the same time they also released music under the names of Siria, 3XM, Phalanx, Scarf!, Diamond and Akira, before ending these projects due to the success of Cascada. Under Andorfine Records, they produced their debut and hit single, "Miracle", and its follow-up, "Bad Boy", in Germany.^[5] This caught the attention of the American dance label Robbins Entertainment. They negotiated a contract and "Miracle" was released in 2004. When this did not attract much attention, Cascada offered them "Everytime We Touch".

Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name.^[6] The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.^[7][8] As the popularity of the single skyrocketed, a music video was produced,^[9] and an album was recorded and released a few months later.^[10]

A total of seven singles were released from the album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom: "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden), "Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" (originally by X-Perience), all of which gained Top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream" (which charted at No.46).^[11] The US saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of the Billboard chart.^[12] Their album Everytime We Touch experienced success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the Top 40 for 24 weeks, peaking at No.2.^[13][14] The album experienced success on the US charts as well.^[15] The success of the album gained Cascada two World Music Award nominations, and winning them the World's Best-Selling German Artist.^[16] On 12 February 2010, a Premium Edition of the album was released featuring remixes from Pulsedriver and Tune Up!, and an exclusive vocal edit from ItaloBrothers.

In 2007, vocalist Aila temporarily joined the group to work on some of Manian's solo projects, including a cover of Sylver's "Turn The Tide".^[17]

At the end of 2007, Cascada released their second album, Perfect Day in the UK and several Northern European countries,^[18] followed by the remaining markets in the first quarter of 2008,^[19] The album contained cover versions of Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", Pink's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and the Jeffrey Steele song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It", that were previously recorded by Horler and DJ Manian under the discontinued Siria name.^[20] However, the US version, which was released last,^[19] replaced the Siria songs^[21] and the Pink and Avril Lavigne cover versions with three other tracks, because they could not obtain the North American rights.^[22] The lead single, "What Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a cover version of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".^[23] The single had high success, reaching the Top 10 in many countries.^[24] In the UK and Germany, "What Do You Want From Me?"^[25][26] and "Because the Night" were released as a follow-up single.^[27][28] In the United States, "Faded" and "Perfect Day" were released as singles, but received little airplay outside of the dance-radio circuit.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 June 2009, "Evacuate the Dancefloor" was released in the UK. The release, just four days after the death of Michael Jackson, was expected to chart below Jackson's old hits, which sold heavily after his death. Instead, it debuted at No. 1, above Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The song went on to the top five in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand, as well as Top 10 in many more. The song was released in the US in late September and peaked at 25, remaining in the chart for 17 weeks and making it the group's second Top 40 hit.

The song has become a club staple, used in many dance-oriented video games, and even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The album, also named Evacuate the Dancefloor, was released a week later on 6 July in the UK and Germany. The album continued Cascada's progression into electro-pop, a change welcomed by mainstream audiences and fans, despite many fans missing the euro-pop feel they considered integral to the Cascada project. The album itself did not mirror the success of the single, yet it did chart in the Top 10 of many countries, including the UK where it went on to sell 100,000 copies. "Dangerous" and "Fever" were follow-up singles released from the album, the former in the UK, and the latter in the US, Australia and the rest of Europe, neither experiencing success in terms of radio play, digital or physical sales. Nevertheless, the group toured extensively to promote the album, even opening for Britney Spears during a stop in Germany.

A new single "Pyromania" was released in 2010, continuing Cascada's new electropop sound. During the Summer of 2010, elements of a song titled"Night Nurse" began to leak online. A music video featuring Horler in full body paint of various colours in many scenes was released in November 2010 to promote the upcoming album.

On the weekend of 26 March 2011, Cascada shot two music videos for the upcoming singles "San Francisco" and "Au Revoir". Both videos were directed by Lisa Mann and choreographed by Luther Brown, and both singles were featured on the album Original Me which was released on 20 June 2011 in the UK^[29] and 29 November 2011 in the US.

After the release of the album, Horler posed for Playboy Deutschland in July 2011,^[30] to mixed reactions from fans and critics. On 1 September 2011, US label Robbins Entertainment announced on their message board that Cascada and Robbins have amicably parted ways, and Cascada were released from the label, citing creative differences as the reason for their departure. It was also announced that Original Me would still be released, under their Zooland label.^[31][32]

On 7 January 2012, Horler joined the jury of German singing contest Deutschland sucht den Superstar.^[33] On 16 March 2012, the music video for "Summer of Love" premiered in Germany,^[34] followed by the compilation album Back on the Dancefloor.

In early June 2012, a video clip of Horler performing a cover of Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" surfaced online.^[35] "The Rhythm of the Night" was released on 22 June 2012 in Germany and in the US.^[36][37]

On 30 November 2012, Cascada released a Christmas Album, It's Christmas Time, which included a cover version of Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and a brand new track, "Somewhere At Christmas Time".^[38] Natalie Horler's father, David Horler played the trombone on two of the tracks.^[39]

On 8 February 2013, Cascada released the single "Glorious". A week later, they won the German qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with this song. On 18 May 2013, Cascada earned 18 points in the Eurovision Final, putting them in 21st place in a field of 26 contestants.

Around this time, Cascada released their second greatest hits album, The Best of Cascada, including the brand new track "The World is in My Hands", which went on to become their follow up single after Eurovision.^[40] They also returned to the studio to work on an acoustic album, which was released as Acoustic Sessions on 1 November 2013.^[41] The album comprises acoustic versions of the band's hits as well as a few cover versions of other songs, most notably "You" performed by both Horler and Robin Stjernberg.

On 28 March 2014, Cascada's new single, titled "Blink", was released in Germany with the video premiering on the same day.^[42] The track was originally recorded by pop group U.V.U.K.^[43] In April 2014, the single was released in Australia and France, and also began receiving airplay in the UK.

According to a 2014 interview, the group have no plans to release a fifth studio album but were working on a new single.^[44] For this single, "Madness", Cascada collaborated with Manchester-based rapper Tristan 'Tris' Henry^[45] The single was released on 26 September 2014 worldwide,^[46] with the video premiering on YouTube on 30 September.^[47] On 20 February 2015, the band released a re-work of "Reason",^[48] a song originally released in 2004 under the previous alias 'Diamond'. The video was shot in Mallorca and premiered on 20 February 2015.^[49]

On 28 May 2015, Horler took a short break due to her pregnancy. All upcoming shows were cancelled; fans were assured that new music was "in the works" and photos showed Horler in the studio during the Summer.^[50] In September 2015, Horler gave birth to her daughter, Jamie.^[51] Cascada returned to the stage in December 2015, with upcoming shows in Norway, Austria and Germany. On New Year's Eve, they performed in London along with The X Factor contestant Fleur East.^[52]

For the better part of 2016, Horler was busy touring parts of Norway and the United Kingdom, while also working the studio with Yanou on new material.^[53] Brazilian producer Cassiano collaborated with Cascada on a cover version of "Praise You" by Mary Mary. This was released on 10 June 2016.^[54][55][56]

After a two-year break from releasing music, Cascada returned with a new single "Run" on 27 January 2017.^[57] Horler stated in an interview that they planned to release singles instead of a full album, and they already had a new song lined up for release.^[58] On 20 April 2017, Cascada released "Playground", the official song of the 2017 Ice Hockey World Championship held in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France.^[59] Horler performed the song for the opening ceremony on 4 May 2017.

In the summer of 2018, a new single entitled "Back For Good" was released.^[60] Hardwell and Maurice West released a remix of "Everytime We Touch" at this time too.^[61]

A year later, Cascada released their next single "Like the Way I Do", in August 2019. Horler stated it was one of her favourite tracks they have done. In March 2020, a ballad version of the track was released.

In October 2020, Cascada released a cover of "I'm Feeling It (In the Air)". The track was previously released in 2017 by Sunset Bros & Mark McCabe. It was released in the UK by Xploded Music. The track brought Cascada back to their clubland roots.

In May 2021, Horler announced through an interview that "One Last Dance" would be released on 4 June 2021 and would be a collaboration with Canadian 1980s synth band Trans-X. On 5 November 2021, Cascada, along with Timmy Trumpet and Harris & Ford, released their single, "Never Let Me Go" on Spinnin Records.

Collaborations with international DJs continue with:

- "Never Let Me Go", in collaboration with Timmy Trumpet, ranked 10th in the Top 100 international DJs in 2021 according to DJ Magazine, and Harris & Ford, released on November 5, 2021

- The remix of "Never Be Lonely" by Jax Jones and Zoe Wees, released on March 8, 2024, which reached the top 10 in the UK charts and performed at the Capital FM Summertime Ball.

- An upcoming collaboration with British DJ duo Switch Disco.

Cascada celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2024. On 8 March, Jax Jones released a Cascada remix of his latest single "Never be Lonely" where Horler re-recorded the track for the remix. Cascada announced that their highly anticipated fifth studio album, titled Studio 24, would be released in October 10th. The first single from the album and Tammi Terrell song, was released on 15 March.

This album aims to bring up to date the biggest hits of disco, such as the cover of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye (released March 15, 2024) and "Call Me" by Blondie (released June 21, 2024).

Note that the artistic direction of the two music videos was entrusted to Marcel Brell, offering a more qualitative rendering than the music videos of recent years.

Original material is also planned.

The emancipation of producers Yanou and Manian for this project was assumed by singer Natalie Horler, citing the wish to temporarily devote herself to independent musical projects. However, after the release of Studio 24 Natalie confirmed on Instagram that Manian and Yanou have parted from Cascada. Confirming Cascada is now a solo project front by Natalie herself but was open to working with Manian again in the future.

Studio albums

• Everytime We Touch (2006)
• Perfect Day (2007)
• Evacuate the Dancefloor (2009)
• Original Me (2011)
• Studio 24 (2024)

• 2007: Everytime We Touch Tour
• 2008: Clubland Live Tour
• 2008: Perfect Day Tour
• 2009: Clubland Live Tour
• 2011: Original Me Tour
• 2018: Wild Nights Tour - Australia only (June)

• Official Cascada Site