Cascada

Early years (2004-2005)When Natalie Horler was 17, she was doing studio work for various DJs. Eventually she met Yanou and DJ Manian. Originally, they released music under the name Cascade, but due to Kaskade, another artist with a similar name, threatening a suit, they changed it to Cascada.[3] Simultaneously they released music under the names of Siria and Akira as well, but ended thoseprojects 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.[4] This caught the attention of the American dance label Robbins Entertainment. They negotiated a contract and "Miracle" was released in 2004. However, it did not attract much attention, so Cascada offered them "Everytime We Touch".

[edit]Everytime We Touch (2005-2007)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.[5][6] The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.[7][8] Soon after thepopularity of the single skyrocketed, an album was recorded and released in a matter of months,[9] and a music video for "Everytime We Touch" was also distributed for promotion.[10] The album maintains a similar formula throughout, with near-identical tempo and beats. It nonetheless still received high praise for unique rhythms, catchy lyrics, and overall a unique sound that has not been broughtto mainstream audiences for several years, especially in the United States.

A total of eight 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" all of which gained top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream", which charted at #46.[11] The U.S.saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of the U.S. charts.[12] Their album Everytime We Touch has experienced success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the top forty for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #2.[13][14] The album experienced success on the U.S. charts as well.[15] The successof the album gained them two World Music Award nominations, winning them World's Best-Selling German Artist.[16] Additionally, the album has sold over 5 million copies world-wide.

[edit] Perfect Day (2007-2009)
Natalie Horler performing live in 2008Natalie Horler first announced that Cascada were working on their second album during a Japanese interview, which was posted on their blog onMySpace.[17] There are a few cover songs on the album, most notably Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", P!nk's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night", and the Mark Wills' song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It" that were previously recorded by Natalie Horler and DJ Manian under the discontinued Siria name.[18] However, the U.S. releasereplaced the Siria songs,[19] P!nk, and Avril Lavigne covers with three newer tracks, because they did not have the North American Rights. Two of these songs were “Faded”, a cover of a Kate DeAraugo song, and “Holiday”, a cover of a Jenny May song.[20] The sophomore effort was released at the end of 2007 in the UK, and several parts of Northern Europe.[21] Perfect Day was released to the remainingmarkets, in the first quarter of 2008, with the U.S. release being the last.[22] Natalie, also, stated in a French Interview, before the release, that she would take a hand in writing parts of the album.[23] However, none of the final tracks on the album were written by her.[24]

The world-wide lead single, "What Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a...