99 Luftballons Singer Nena – Where Is She Now?

In 1983, you couldn’t escape the song “99 Luftballons” from Nena. With its infectious baseline, synth keyboard, and husky melodic vocals, the song from the West Berlin band/pop-star Nena was everywhere. However, in 2016 the song is considered more as a relic of the past. Like many other one hit wonders, Nena faded out of charts and the common cultural vocabulary. Perhaps these people go to an alternative universe or perhaps it’s the music industry’s fault. Despite the reason, where they go after rocketing to the top of the charts is never entirely clear. Originally, Nena was a whole band. Now, Nena – or Gabriele Susanne Kerner – is successful as a solo artist outside of the U.S. circuit.“99 Luftballons” shot to the top of German charts in 1983.

“99 Luftballons” shot to the top of German charts in 1983. It became successful in Britain and the United States soon after. While there was an English version, the German version of the song proved to be much more successful. The German song reached number 1 on charts all over the world, and number 2 in the United States. The band, led by Kerner, included Rolf Brendel, Carlo Karges, Jürgen Dehmel, and Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Peterson. Although they didn’t have any more hits as big as “99 Luftballons,” the band had a few hit singles and records in Germany. But the band’s success began declining after 1985. Once Kerner and Brendel, the drummer and Nena’s husband, broke up, the band followed suit in 1987. Soon after her band broke up, Nena started dating Swiss actor Benedict Freitag. Their first child died after 11 months. Two years later in 1989, Nena restarted her solo career. She eventually had two more children, twins Larissa and Sakias, with Freitag.

During the 90’s, she continued releasing solo music and appearing on German television. She made her big “comeback” in the German charts in 2002 with Nena ft. Nena, a rerecording of the original bands biggest hits from back in the day. Since Nena ft. Nena, she has had continued high placement on the charts. Despite not ever really breaking back into the U.S. music scene, Nena has retained musical successes and cultural relevance in Germany. Her most current album, Old School, was released in 2015.