Matthias Reim: All information about the German pop singer – his career and greatest hits

Created: 01/31/2022, 16:29

Singer Matthias Reim © Christoph Schmidt / dpa

Like hardly any other pop singer, Matthias Reim has been oscillating between the antipodes of “jubilantly to the sky” and “dead to death” for more than 30 years.

All information about his eventful career.

Korbach – Matthias Reim was born on November 26, 1957 in Korbach, North Hesse.

After the family moved to Homberg (Efze), not too far away, Reim attracted attention with his first musical steps, which sooner or later fizzled out.

In any case, Father Reim, who ran the grammar school in Homberg, wanted his son to have a career in education.

Not least because of this, Matthias Reim initially agreed to study at the University of Göttingen.

The chosen subjects English and German initially pointed to a job as a teacher, but Matthias Reim was by no means satisfied with the education at the university.

Pop singer Matthias Reim: His CV

The curriculum vitae of the pop singer Matthias Reim showed the Hessian as a moderate schoolboy and student.

The offspring, who always felt closer to the stage than the classroom, resisted the parents' desire for a solid, conservative job with a secure income.

So Matthias Reim gave up his studies in favor of music, of course without having a sound mainstay.

He tried his hand at singing in various groups that were also looking for their way, as was their frontman.

But the engagement in the Bad Wildunger band Airway did not go as desired, which can also be said of Reim's appearance in the group Aqua from Kassel.

So Matthias Reim left and founded his own bands.

He went into the studio with Fallen Dice and Fair Fax, where ambitious projects emerged.

First successes as a copywriter and arranger

After the band projects failed, Matthias Reim decided to continue on his own.

The renowned German label Hansa promoted his solo single "Von fernen Sternen" (1984), which also flopped.

Nevertheless, the record bosses recognized his talent and advised Matthias Reim to pursue a career as a composer and lyricist.

After he was brought together with show greats such as Bernhard Brink, Jürgen Drews and Roy Black in the second half of the 80s, fruitful collaborations developed.

Working with well-known names sharpened Reims know-how in terms of artistry, hit composition and marketing.

With fresh courage he set about establishing new numbers and was actually successful.

Pop singer Matthias Reim: The career

The career of the pop singer Matthias Reim suddenly picked up speed when he recorded the number "Damn, I love you" in 1990. The colleague Bernhard Brink, who has since become friends with Reim, advertised the title to the then show host Wim Thoelke and found the moderator of the show “Der Grosse Preis” to be open-minded. Thoelke invited Matthias Reim to his show, where the singer was allowed to present his song on April 18, 1990. A month later, the song was number 1 on the local charts and stayed there until September. During its 16-week peak, "Damn I Love You" sold 2.5 million copies. The accompanying album "Reim" also took first place in the hit list and sold around 1.7 million copies. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland Matthias Reim was suddenly a star.

First rise, then fall

While the long player "Reim 2", which was released a year later, was still able to place in the top ten, album number three, "Sabotage" (1993), was no longer successful. In general, Matthias Reim's commercial success steadily declined over the course of the 1990s. The career of Reims experienced a kink and grew with additional debts into a real crisis. As a result, pop singer Matthias Reim declared himself broke, since according to his own statements he had accumulated liabilities of 13 million euros. Reim asserted that he was not to blame, but rather his manager Alfred Reimann, who had general powers of attorney. This drove Matthias Reim to ruin through wrong investments. Reimann was subsequently dismissed and Reim had to endure private bankruptcy proceedings.

Comeback after bankruptcy

In order to pay off his debts, Matthias Reim had to do various stage performances.

In addition, he felt compelled to adapt his lifestyle to the involuntary financial situation.

The new modesty lasted until 2010 – the year in which Matthias Reim declared himself debt-free.

Reim set about composing new songs with enthusiasm.

The first evidence was the album "Sieben Leben", in which Matthias Reim processed his rise and fall musically.

The reward for the effort: 5th place in the German charts.

For the successor "Unendlich", Reim took three years to fine-tune the lyrics and arrangements and finally put the album on sale in January 2013.

It was Reim's first number 1 since his debut 23 years ago.

The long player went over the counter more than 200,000 times.

Change of record company

The success did not turn out to be a flash in the pan, because all subsequent albums, five in number, also placed in the top ten of the German sales charts, ending up at number 2 and 3 respectively. Sales in Austria and Switzerland, where Matthias Reim has a stable fan base.

One reason for the blond bard's recurring success could be the change of record company.

While Matthias Reim's earlier recordings appeared on Electrola, he has now made his home on RCA Records.

Allegedly, the Sony subsidiary allows the all-rounder – Reim arranges all the songs on his own – more artistic freedom.

Pop singer Matthias Reim: His greatest hits

The greatest commercial success of the pop singer Matthias Reim remains his debut single "Verdammt, ich lieb' dich", which is one of the most successful German-language hits of all time.

Reim even sang an English version ("I think I love you").

The follow-up piece "I dreamed of you", which is also included on the album "Reim", was also a hit.

It sold more than 250,000 copies and reached #2 on the charts.

The song also reached the top ten in the charts in Switzerland and Austria.

Matthias Reim achieved another top ten success with the number "I was so looking forward to you", which was published a year later.

4th place was reached in Germany.

Two duets with Michelle

Again and again Matthias Reim brought guest singers into the studio, whereby his musical liaison with Michelle followed his private one.

First interaction with the singer was the song "Idiot" (2002).

It sold more than 150,000 copies and reached number 34 in the German hit parade.

The second collaboration dates from 2018 and is called "Not deserved".

Other collaborations included Annie Moore and Bonnie Tyler.

Pop singer Matthias Reim: discography

The discography of pop singer Matthias Reim includes:

• 19 studio albums

• 2 live albums

• 5 compilations

• 1 Christmas album

• 5 video albums

• 60 singles

The artist's latest album is entitled "Matthias".

It was released on January 14, 2022.

The first single "Blaulicht" was released exactly one week later.

Pop singer Matthias Reim: His family

The family of pop singer Matthias Reim can be described as extensive.

The Hessian has six children by five women.

He is married for the third time.

Partner is Christin Stark, with whom Reim lives in Ludwigshafen.

The connection was preceded, among other things, by a relationship with pop singer Michelle, with whom Matthias Reim has a daughter.

She, too, now sings on stage.