| Vanilla Ninja | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Estonia |
| Genre(s) | Pop rock/Power Pop |
| Years active | 2002 – present |
| Label(s) | TopTen/Estonia, Bros, EMI, Capitol
Broken Records International/Music for Export, Chile |
| Members | |
| Lenna Kuurmaa Katrin Siska Piret Järvis |
|
| Former members | |
| Maarja Kivi Triinu Kivilaan |
|
Vanilla Ninja is a three-piece Estonian girl band which has enjoyed chart success in a number of countries across Europe, especially in Germany and Austria. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs Power pop (or powerpop) is a popular Musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and Rock music. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Bros Records is a Central European Record label owned by the major Record company Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Lenna Kuurmaa (born September 26 1985 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and a member of the girl Katrin Siska (born December 10, 1983 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and member of the Estonian girl group Vanilla Piret Järvis (born February 6, 1984 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR) is an Estonian musician and member of the popular Maarja Kivi (born January 18, 1986 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and former member of the Girl group Triinu Kivilaan (born January 13, 1989 in Viljandi, Estonia) is an Estonian vocalist and former model best-known as a former member of the popular Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich
Overview
The group was formed in 2002 and released their self-titled debut album Vanilla Ninja, containing songs in both English and Estonian, the following year. Vanilla Ninja is the self-titled debut album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Since their debut single "Club Kung Fu" was released in 2003, the girls have had many hits in Central Europe, including "Tough Enough", "When the Indians Cry", "Blue Tattoo" and "I Know". Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and They have also entered national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest twice, failing the first time but proving successful in Switzerland with the song "Cool Vibes". Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The group then finished 8th in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 final, despite topping the leader board at the half-way stage. The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine Vanilla Ninja are very popular in their native Estonia and have had a brand of both ice cream and kohuke named after them, marketed exclusively in their homeland due to their celebrity status in Estonia. Ice cream or ice-cream (originally iced cream) is a frozen dessert made from Dairy products such as Milk and Cream, combined Curd snack (kohuke biezpiena sieriņš varškės sūrelis is a type of sweet snack made from Curd, popular in the Baltic states.
The group have so far released four albums in various countries across Europe; Vanilla Ninja was released in 2003, Traces of Sadness in 2004, and Blue Tattoo and Best Of (though not by themselves; see that article) in 2005. Vanilla Ninja is the self-titled debut album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records Best Of is a Best-of album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. The group's fourth album, Love is War, was released in May 2006. Love is War is Vanilla Ninja 's fourth studio album released in May 2006
The band were originally a four-piece group consisting of Maarja Kivi, Lenna Kuurmaa, Katrin Siska and Piret Järvis. Maarja Kivi (born January 18, 1986 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and former member of the Girl group Lenna Kuurmaa (born September 26 1985 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and a member of the girl Katrin Siska (born December 10, 1983 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and member of the Estonian girl group Vanilla Piret Järvis (born February 6, 1984 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR) is an Estonian musician and member of the popular Maarja Kivi left the group in 2004 and was replaced by Triinu Kivilaan. Triinu Kivilaan (born January 13, 1989 in Viljandi, Estonia) is an Estonian vocalist and former model best-known as a former member of the popular In December 2005 Triinu Kivilaan also left the group to start a solo career and finish school, and the band have decided to continue as a three-piece act.
Vanilla Ninja has a growing cult fan base in many European countries, Japan, U. S. A. , UK. Australia, and more. Numerous fan web sites have been established in different countries, and tribute videos posted on YouTube.com and others alike. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees
History
Formation, Eurovision and debut album
Vanilla Ninja were formed in 2002 as a four-piece girl band. The original line-up consisted of Maarja Kivi (vocals/bass), Lenna Kuurmaa (vocals/guitar), Katrin Siska (vocals/keyboard) and Piret Järvis (vocals/guitar). Maarja Kivi (born January 18, 1986 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and former member of the Girl group Lenna Kuurmaa (born September 26 1985 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and a member of the girl Katrin Siska (born December 10, 1983 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian musician and member of the Estonian girl group Vanilla Piret Järvis (born February 6, 1984 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR) is an Estonian musician and member of the popular Although all of the members were effectively vocalists, the main vocalist would often change between Kivi and Kuurmaa. At the time of formation the group's producer was Sven Lõhmus, a well-respected figure in the Baltic countries. In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian music producer who has worked with a number of successful Baltic pop acts including the internationally successful
Early in 2002 Kivi had participated in Eurolaul, Estonia's Eurovision pre-selection contest, but had finished 7th. Eurolaul is an annual televised competition to select a song to represent Estonia in the year's Eurovision Song Contest, and literally means 'euro song' Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Due to her participation in Eurolaul she was chosen to front the band, which subsequently gained some exposure early on in their existence, despite none of the other members having had any previous national success in their career. Kivi had been friends with Kuurmaa for some time before the formation of the group, whilst Järvis and Siska had performed together in the past. Despite this, the group is occasionally labelled as a "manufactured band" by the media.
In 2003 the group participated in Estonian ESC preselection 'Eurolaul 2003'. Performing the song "Club Kung Fu" the group proved to be by far the most popular in the phone polls, but unlike other countries, Estonia used a jury to decide the song for Eurovision instead of the televote. The jury, which included figures such as Michael Ball, proved to not share the opinion expressed by the televoters and placed the girls joint bottom of the ten entrants. Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire) is an Olivier Award winning English Actor
The participation and popularity of the song, however, helped the group and created exposure for the release of their debut album, Vanilla Ninja, released in May 2003. Vanilla Ninja is the self-titled debut album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Containing the original version of the song "Club Kung Fu", along with a drum and bass remix and thirteen new pop-rock tracks in English and Estonian, the album proved to be a success in Estonia and launched the girls in to the national mainstream, pushing the group to seek international success in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich
Expansion into Europe
Following a successful debut in Estonia, Vanilla Ninja have launched themselves as a band in three German speaking countries of Europe — Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The girls did not release their debut album or "Club Kung Fu" in these countries, instead opting for a new track called "Tough Enough". Proving to again be a pop-rock track, although with less of a 'novelty' style to it, the song was released in Germany on December 8, 2003, and then later in Austria and Switzerland on January 4 and February 8, 2004 respectively. Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " It proved to be a success, gaining large amounts of airplay on the popular VIVA music video channel, and making the top twenty in both Germany and Austria. Airplay (noun The broadcasting of an audio (eg a piece of music or audiovisual recording on the air over radio or television VIVA is a private German music Television channel located in Berlin. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics A television station is a type of broadcast station that broadcasts both audio and Video to Television receivers in a particular area The single also featured in the dance mat games Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2 and In The Groove. A dance pad, also known as a dance mat or dance platform, is a flat electronic Game controller used for Input in dance games Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2, or DDR Ultramix 2, is the eighth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States In the Groove (abbreviated ITG) is the first game in the In the Groove franchise published and developed by
Following the success of their debut single the girls released "Club Kung Fu" in Germany, and then a third single, "Don't Go Too Fast", in both Germany and Austria on April 4 and April 5 (and in Switzerland during March, although it missed the top 100). Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop The latter just missed the top twenty in both countries, and was followed up by their second album Traces of Sadness in June 2004. Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. The album included "Tough Enough" and "Don't Go Too Fast", as well as numerous other tracks, such as "When The Indians Cry" and "Liar". "Liar", along with the album track "Metal Queen" have also both featured in the Drummania series of drumming games. An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public DrumMania (alternately drummania, abbreviated DM) is a Music video game series produced by Konami Digital Entertainment A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells
Eurovision for Switzerland
Despite not having as much chart success in Switzerland as in Austria and Germany, the girls had become increasingly popular with the Swiss public. Their chart performance had also been improving, with the Traces Of Sadness album making #14, but despite that no-one would have expected the shock announcement that the group would represent Switzerland in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine The Swiss selectors had suffered several years of poor results in the Eurovision, culminating in 'null points' for Piero and the Musicstars in the 2004 semi-final, and so looked to the group due to their popularity in both Switzerland and various other European countries. The announcement angered some people, especially Estonians, who felt that the group should represent their home country and not a country that they have minor connections to. In Switzerland some also opposed the selection, again on the basis that none of the group were Swiss. The selectors responded by stating that the song would still have a Swiss component due to it being mostly written by David Brandes. David Brandes is a German songwriter and producer. Brandes has written and produced for many artists including E-Rotic, Bad Boys Blue Ironically, although Brandes was born in Switzerland and went to school there, he is essentially German.
Their selection and participation in the contest was put into jeopardy soon after the announcement, though, after Maarja Kivi left the group due to becoming pregnant with her first child. Her replacement was Triinu Kivilaan, who at the time was only 15 years old. Triinu Kivilaan (born January 13, 1989 in Viljandi, Estonia) is an Estonian vocalist and former model best-known as a former member of the popular Their participation was put into doubt due to regulations stating that competitors must be at least 16 years old, a rule introduced to eliminate participants such as the 13-year-old 1986 Eurovision winner Sandra Kim. The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on May 3, 1986 in the Grieg Hall in Bergen Sandra Caldarone (born 15 October 1972) better known as Sandra Kim, is a Belgian singer of Italian descent who won the Eurovision Kivilaan had in fact initially claimed to be 17 years old, but the Swiss selectors doubted this and eventually found out her true birth date was January 13, 1989. Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)
It began to look as if Vanilla Ninja would not represent Switzerland in 2005, but the Swiss selectors decided not to reverse the selection, on the basis that Kivilaan would turn 16 before the contest. There was no danger of the EBU blocking their participation, because their own age rule specified a cut-off date of the contest itself, whereas national selectors could tweak their age regulations to their own liking. The European Broadcasting Union ( EBU; L'Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision ("UER" and unrelated to the European Union) is a confederation This annoyed some, who felt that the selectors had acted in a heavy-handed manner by selecting Vanilla Ninja.
Further chart success
Following the Eurovision selection the group went on to continue their success in Europe, releasing the single "Liar". The single scraped into the top twenty in Germany and Austria, but performed disappointingly in Switzerland (reaching only #43 despite the announcement regarding Eurovision 2005). The following single, however, would prove to be their biggest hit to date and would launch them into the German top ten for the first time.
"When The Indians Cry", their fifth Central European single, would be the groups first slow, soft, ballad-like song. Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and A ballad is a Poem usually set to Music; thus it often is a story told in a Song. The music video would also be the first to feature Triinu Kivilaan, with previous videos featuring Maarja Kivi. Kivilaan proved to fit into the group well, looking older than her age of 15 and silencing critics who believed she would be out of place in a band with girls all three or more years older than her. Incidentally, one of the reasons that Kivilaan was chosen to replace Kivi was due to their similar appearance, making it easy to mix the two up. The song would be Vanilla Ninja's first ballad, featuring a slow tempo, unlike most previous songs which had been fairly upbeat. It proved to be a hit, reaching #8 in the German charts in September 2004, #7 in the Austrian charts and #27 in the Swiss charts (which had not reacted as expected to their selection for Eurovision).
With the song putting them into the German chart mainstream, and gaining huge airplay on the music video channel VIVA, Vanilla Ninja would begin to become one of the biggest acts in Germany. The follow-up to "When The Indians Cry", a new track called "Blue Tattoo" and in a similar style to their previous release, would also reach the German top ten whilst making the Austrian top twenty and Swiss top thirty.
The third album
Following the success of the "Blue Tattoo" single in November and December 2004, the group would take a three month break from releasing material in order to tour Asia. In 2004 the group had reportedly set an ambitious target of "conquering the world",[1] and the tour proved to be successful in helping them to begin to do that, winning new fans in countries such as Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj The group also played a key role in VIVA's 2004 "Your Stars For Christmas" show, singing a re-worded version of "When The Indians Cry" called "The Light Of Hope". VIVA is a private German music Television channel located in Berlin.
In may 2005 the group returned to the charts, releasing a new song called "I Know", which featured a mildly controversial video based around domestic abuse. Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate The song was again successful, peaking at #13 in Germany and #17 in Austria. Two weeks after its release their third album, Blue Tattoo, was released in various European countries and proved to be as successful as the previous album, charting at #4 in Germany and, unsurprisingly (as it included the Eurovision song "Cool Vibes"), Switzerland. Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records
During their hiatus in order to tour Asia the Swiss Eurovision song had been completed and had been announced as being called "Cool Vibes". A short song, in order to comply with Eurovision regulations, the track received mixed response. Many saw it to be a good pop-rock song, but many believed it was not the girls' best, and that it was not the type of song suitable for Eurovision.
The song failed to get off to a good start, though, as the song was banned from the German charts after writer and producer David Brandes was accused of manipulating the charts by buying thousands of copies of his artist's singles. Among the songs he had allegedly bought many copies of were the groups "When The Indians Cry" single, and the German Eurovision entry "Run and Hide" by Gracia. Soon after Gracia was fired by her record company, and the two artists (along with Virus Incorporation) were banned from the charts for initially three weeks. The girls came out unaffected, although it would be a blow for the songwriter and may have meant the high position of "When The Indians Cry" was helped by the mass-buying of singles by Brandes.
Eurovision 2005
Due to Switzerland's last place in the semi-final of the 2004 contest, Vanilla Ninja had to compete in the Eurovision semi-final on May 19, 2005. The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, the 49th in the series was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, with the final on 15 Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Against artists such as Wig Wam, Luminita Anghel and Zdob şi Zdub the competition was difficult, but the group progressed to the final and were given good odds of 10/1 for winning the contest. Wig Wam is a Norwegian Hard rock band which is dedicated to Glam metal and imitates the style of typical rock bands from the 1980s movement Luminiţa Anghel /lumi'niʦa 'aŋgel/ (born 7 October 1968) is a Romanian singer Zdob şi Zdub are a Moldovan musical group based in Chişinău, whose work for the last several years combines elements of The group's performance in the final on May 21 was, according to some, not as good as it could have been, although those criticising the performance also criticised the song (believing a song similar to "When The Indians Cry" or even "Club Kung Fu" would have been better). Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily.
In the voting, however, the group did well in the early stages. Despite not representing their native Estonia, their home country responded well and gave the group the full 12 points (Estonia's entry, Suntribe's "Let's Get Loud", had been eliminated in the semi-final). Suntribe was an Estonian girl-band comprised entirely of students which represented their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Latvia also gave the group 12 points, whilst Germany rather surprisingly only gave them four. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Austrian voters were even less impressed by the performance, not giving any points to the group at all.
Despite leading at the one-third stage, Vanilla Ninja eventually slipped down the leader board and finished 8th. The result allowed Switzerland to achieve their best result for years and automatic qualification for next year's final, but for the group it was a disappointment considering their popularity and good odds for winning the contest.
Post-Eurovision, split from Brandes and fourth/fifth album
On June 12, 2005 the group released "Cool Vibes" in Switzerland, the single charting at number 17. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Despite failing to make the top ten, a surprise as the girls represented Switzerland, the release became their best-placed Swiss single release yet. The single was not released in Germany initially, possibly due to the April 2005 allegations that David Brandes manipulated the chart placing of several of his songs, including "When The Indians Cry" by Vanilla Ninja, which resulted in a short ban from the charts for the group. However, on July 2, the single charted in Germany at the comparatively poor position of #42, and in Austria at #70. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival
In a May 2005 interview with the Baltic Times, the group attempted to distance themselves from the pop music genre. The Baltic Times is an independent general interest weekly covering the news business and culture issues of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Piret Järvis told the newspaper that the group "started out with a pop-rock style of music". The band also claimed that their music is gradually become heavier and more typical of the rock genre. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums.
Following the arguably disappointing performance of the "Cool Vibes" single, the group stopped releasing singles from their Blue Tattoo album, instead concentrating on touring commitments. By the second half of 2005 it would become clear that the group was starting to have problems with their record label, Bros Music, and their manager David Brandes. Since moving from the TOP TEN label the group had suffered from problems such as the scandal of Brandes buying their singles in bulk to boost chart positions, with the label also suffering problems (such as being 'booted out' of the Sony BMG Music Entertainment group). TOP TEN is an Estonian Record label which has started the career of a number of successful Baltic chart acts including the internationally successful Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group The problems escalated toward the end of 2005 when the girls parted company with Bros Music and Brandes, moving to the EMI-owned Capitol Music label. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as According to press releases from the group's new management, their relationship with Bros Music and Brandes is now "hostile", and any future affiliation with their former manager is therefore unlikely. Brandes himself has claimed that their career "is over", and that their new management company are "amateurs".
After leaving Bros Music, the group began work on what was intended to be their fourth album. Bros Music, however, released a ninth single, "Megamix", in December 2005, along with a "greatest hits" album Best Of. Best Of is a Best-of album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. According to the girls, they were not consulted about the release of the single or the album, with Järvis asking fans to not buy either release. [2] This, along with the lack of promotion on Bros part, made both the single and album a flop (the single only made the lower reaches of the Swiss and German charts, failing to make the Austrian Top 100 at all, with the album making #70 in Switzerland and failing to chart elsewhere). The band's not knowing about the releases was further backed up by 2004 promotional photos being used for the CD covers, with Maarja Kivi appearing, despite leaving the group over a year beforehand. Kivi's appearance has also been claimed by some to be clever promotion on the part of Brandes, as Kivi is now signed to Bros as a solo artist.
Shortly after the failure of their uncommissioned single and album releases, the group announced that Triinu Kivilaan was leaving the group, with Kuurmaa, Siska and Järvis continuing as a trio. According to the remaining members of Vanilla Ninja, Kivilaan left because of the stress of being in the group, and to concentrate on her studies. Some have still, however, suggested that her leaving may have simply been down to a lack of vocal talent, or due to a rift with the other members. Despite rumours suggesting Kivi might be rejoining the group, it seems that the group will not be adding a fourth member again.
The group released their first original single for almost a year in April 2006, with "Dangerzone" seeing the girls retain their pop-rock sound from previous albums. The single charted on May 7, 2006 in Switzerland, peaking at #18, with the release in Germany placing one position higher. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses The Austrian release would also make #23, suggesting that the group is likely to continue the success that Traces of Sadness and Blue Tattoo had in Central Europe. Meanwhile, the girl's fifth album Love is War is expected to be released in the near future.
The group is extremely popular in their native Estonia, with the girls seen as a-list celebrities in the Baltic countries. The A-list is a term that alludes to major Movie stars and/or the most bankable in the Hollywood movie industry. The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the The three members are also seen as something of sex symbols in their homeland, with a 2006 poll by the Estonian magazine Kroonika voting Piret Järvis the country's most attractive female. A sex symbol is a famous person of either gender typically an Actor, Musician, model, Teen idol, or Sports star Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Kroonika is a popular Estonian Magazine which is typically popular with young Estonian persons aged between 13 and 30 years of age The top five of the poll also featured Siska (2nd) and Kuurmaa (4th). Interestingly, Kivilaan was not included, despite being a former model. Glamour photography is the photographing of a model with the emphasis on the subject
Eurolaul 2007
Vanilla Ninja participated in Eurolaul 2007, the Estonian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, with the song "Birds of Peace". Estonia chose its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 during Eurolaul 2007 on 3 February 2007. They didn't made to the finals.
Viña del Mar Festival 2008 / Latin America: A new market for Vanilla Ninja
Broken Records International founder, Héctor Faune, tried to contact Vanilla Ninja with no success, until two Polish fans (Tomek & Yo - Tomek), from the site http://www.love-ninjas.com gave to Héctor Faune, Lenna's direct contact, so he could propose to the band the idea to participate in the Viña del Mar Festival 2008, representing their native Estonia.
This Festival is the most important of this category in Latin America, girls participated with their power ballad "Birds of Peace", and they won the Silver Seagull (which is the maximum trophy of the Festival) and ten thousand dollars as the Best Performers / Interpreters of the festival contest. [3]
Their visit to Chile, was a big success. There are plans to take Vanilla Ninja to Latin America again, for a promo tour anytime soon. They might start in Mexico city, then there are also contemplated the following places: Sao Paulo, Brazil / Buenos Aires, Argentina / Santiago, Chile. The representatives of Vanilla Ninja in Latin America (Broken Records International) are working to take girls to even more places in Latin America, waiting that everyone will know them in this part of the world. [4]
Trademark issues solved
The trademark[which?] was invented by Piret Järvis and the first producer of the band, Sven Lõhmus in 2002. After a legal battle that started in 2006, the trademark was recovered thanks to Andres Aavik & Aleksander Ots in January 2008, now Vanilla Ninja has the rights to use its own name.
Search for new record deal
Vanilla Ninja is currently looking for a new record deal with a major record company.
Vanilla Ninja recording a Gessle song
Vanilla Ninja's upcoming single "Crashing Through the Doors" is written by Per Gessle from Roxette with lyrics by Piret and Lenna. Per Håkan Gessle (pæːr 'gæslæ born January 12, 1959, in Halmstad) is a Swedish pop Singer, Guitarist Roxette is a Swedish pop duo consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. The song's original title is "Spegelboll" and was released on "Mazarin" in 2003. Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino ( July 14 1602 &ndash March 9 1661) was an accomplished French statesman [5]
Music videos
Vanilla Ninja have made music videos for all of the songs they have released, although some have proved to be more popular than others. A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics The first music video to feature Triinu Kivilaan was "When The Indians Cry", with previous videos featuring the now departed Maarja Kivi. "When The Indians Cry", along with "Tough Enough" and "Blue Tattoo" have been the most successful of Vanilla Ninja's videos, in terms of airplay, to date. Airplay (noun The broadcasting of an audio (eg a piece of music or audiovisual recording on the air over radio or television The video for "Cool Vibes" is the most recent of their videos to gain airplay, featuring regularly on Central European video channels throughout June and July 2005.
All of the girls' videos have been extremely popular on German video channels, gaining airplay mainly on the popular music channel VIVA. VIVA is a private German music Television channel located in Berlin. The feat of airplay on VIVA is even more impressive because, from late 2003 until late 2005, the girls were signed to Bros Records, distributed by Sony BMG Music, when the station has been exposed as being biased for the airplay of artists signed to rival record company Universal. Bros Records is a Central European Record label owned by the major Record company Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Universal Music Group (UMG is the largest Business group and family of Record labels in the Recording industry.
Vanilla Ninja received a considerable amount of bad publicity for their "Cool Vibes" video, which seemingly stole material from Deine Lakaien's video for their single "Mindmachine". Deine Lakaien is a German Darkwave group comprised of the vocalist Alexander Veljanov and the classically trained composer pianist and drummer Ernst Horn It should be noted, however, that there is currently no proof that the band members of Vanilla Ninja knew about the alleged stolen material. That is because the video was produced in a phase of separation from David Brandes and he alone did the production for the video.
Discography
- All regularly released singles and their chart peak position: Estonia (EST), Germany (GER), Austria (AUT), Switzerland (SWI), Poland (POL), and Finland (FIN). Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EST | GER | AUT | SWI | POL | |||
| 2003 | Vanilla Ninja
|
1 | / | / | / | / | Estonia Platinum) |
| 2004 | Traces of Sadness
|
1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 20 | Germany (Gold) Austria (Gold) Estonia (Platinum) |
| 2005 | Blue Tattoo
|
1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 13 | Estonia Platinum) |
| 2005 | Best Of
|
/ | / | / | 70 | / | |
| 2006 | Love Is War
|
1 | 16 | 29 | 14 | 48 | Estonia Platinum) |
| EST | GER | AUT | SWI | POL | |||
| Number one albums | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Top ten albums | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | AUT | SWI | FIN | EUR | |||
| 2003 | "Club Kung Fu" | Vanilla Ninja | 95 | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | "Tough Enough" | Traces of Sadness | 13 | 16 | 52 | 11 | 52 |
| 2004 | "Don't Go Too Fast" | Traces of Sadness | 23 | 21 | — | — | 83 |
| 2004 | "Liar" | Traces of Sadness | 23 | 22 | 43 | — | 76 |
| 2004 | "When the Indians Cry" | Traces of Sadness | 8 | 7 | 27 | — | 35 |
| 2004 | "Blue Tattoo" | Blue Tattoo | 9 | 12 | 22 | — | 26 |
| 2005 | "I Know" | Blue Tattoo | 13 | 17 | 27 | — | 45 |
| 2005 | "Cool Vibes" | Blue Tattoo | 42 | 58 | 17 | — | 91 |
| 2005 | "Megamix" | Best Of | 79 | — | 66 | — | |
| 2006 | "Dangerzone" | Love is War | 17 | 22 | 18 | — | 102 |
| 2006 | "Rockstarz" | Love is War | 86 | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | "Insane in Vain" (Released only in Estonian radio stations) | Love is War | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | "Crashing Through The Doors" | TBA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Number one hits | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Top ten hits | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
DVDs
- 2004 - Traces of Sadness (Live in Estonia)
- 2005 - Best Of: The Video Collection
Sound samples
- "Tough Enough" [1] From the album Traces of Sadness, recorded 2003
- "When The Indians Cry" [2] From the album Traces of Sadness, recorded 2004
- "Metal Queen" [3] From the album Traces of Sadness, recorded 2004
- "I Don't Care At All" [4] From the album Blue Tattoo, recorded 2005
References
- ^ "Vanilla Ninja - Estonian girl group sets sights on world domination", The Baltic Times, May 4, 2005. Vanilla Ninja is the self-titled debut album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records Best Of is a Best-of album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Love is War is Vanilla Ninja 's fourth studio album released in May 2006 Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Vanilla Ninja is the self-titled debut album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Traces of Sadness is the second album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records Blue Tattoo is the third album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, and the last original Vanilla Ninja album released by Bros Records Best Of is a Best-of album by the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Love is War is Vanilla Ninja 's fourth studio album released in May 2006 Love is War is Vanilla Ninja 's fourth studio album released in May 2006 Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Love is War is Vanilla Ninja 's fourth studio album released in May 2006 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ "Vanilla Ninja: ärge ostke meie plaate", SL Õhtuleht via Delfi. ee, 13 December 2005. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (Estonian)
- ^ "Una canción china luchará por la Gaviota de Plata en Viña 2008", Radio Cooperativa. October 24, 2007 (Spanish)
- ^ "Vanilla Ninja comebacks to Latin America!", Vanilla Ninja official Latinamerican website. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. March, 2008 (Spanish)
- ^ "Vanilla Ninja records Gessle-penned song", The Daily Roxette website. Events in March American Red Cross Month Fire Prevention month ( The Philippines) Women's History Month ( United 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common May, 2008 (English)
- German, Austrian and Swiss charts online ([5] [6] [7])
- Swiss Broadcasting Corporation website: Eurovision sub-site (German) — Has content on the 2006 song contest; appears to lack anything visible relating to Vanilla Ninja or the 2005 song contest
- Eurovision Song Contest — official website
External links
- Official site
- Vanilla Ninja Official Latinoamerican Website
- Vanilla Ninja Fansite in English
- Vanilla Ninja Town in French
- Vanilla Ninja Official Latinoamerican Website
- VN-VIP Community (german/english)
- Vanilla Ninja Chile
- VN-LINN The International Vanilla Ninja Fanclub
- Vanilla Ninja at Last.fm
- Vanilla Ninja at MySpace
- Portal Español Vanilla Ninja Hispania (spanish)
| Preceded by Piero and the Musicstars |
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 |
Succeeded by six4one |
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