Xavier Naidoo

Multi-talented singer, songwriter, producer and actor Xavier Naidoo has also performed under the aliases Kobra and Der Xer. Born in Germany to South African parents of Indian, German and Irish descent, he moved to America in the early 1990s, where he released his debut album under the alias Kobra entitled 'Seeing Is Believing' in 1994. He returned to Germany and performed as a backing singer for Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt, Sabrina Setlur and Illmat!c.

In 1995 he formed the band Söhne Mannheims with Claus Eisenmann. Naidoo released his first German language album 'Nicht Van Dieser Welt' in 1998. The album reached number one in the German Albums Chart, sold more than a million copies and stayed in the top 20 for over a year. It included the single 'Sie Sieht Mich Nicht' which reached number two in the German Singles Chart. In 2000, Naidoo launched his own record label Naidoo Records which proved to be a successful move as his following six albums all reached number one in the German Albums Chart. The first of these, 'Zwischenspiel - Alles für den Herrn' was released in 2002. This featured three singles which reached the top five in the German Singles Charts: 'Wo Willst Du Hin?', 'Bevor Du Gehst' and 'Abschied Nehmen'.

In 2003, Naidoo featured on Wu-Tang Clan member RZA's track 'Ich Kenne Nichts Ich Kenne Nichts (Das So Schön Ist Wie Du)' which reached number one in the German Singles Charts, number two in Austria and number three in Switzerland. Naidoo released the solo album 'Telegramm für X' in 2005 which contained two singles which reached number two in the German Singles Charts, 'Dieser Weg' (2005),'Was Wir Alleine Nicht Schaffen' (2006) and his first number one solo single 'Danke' (2006). Naidoo's next number one album 'Alles Kann Besser Werden' in 2009, was followed by a greatest hits album in 2012 entitled 'Danke für's Zuhören'.

In 2013 he joined forces with Kool Savas under the alias Der Xer to release the single 'Mordsmusik' which was unlike his previous soulful tracks and more influenced by dubstep and hardcore. His solo album 'Bei Meiner Seele' also released in 2013 however returned to his unique mix of soul, pop and hip-hop which again saw the album reach number one. The title single released in the same year reached number two in the German Singles Chart.

2015 saw Naidoo put forward to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest but this proved to be a controversial choice as an online petition to stop him performing because of his alleged right wing views and homophobic lyrics reached nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. He was removed from the shortlist for the competition. This did not stop the popularity of his music and his next number one solo album 'Nicht Von Dieser Welt 2' was released in 2016. The album 'Für Dich' followed in 2017. He has collaborated with many artists during his career and has proved to be a versatile and talented performer. He has appeared as a judge and panellist on German music television shows and launched and presented his own TV show 'Sing Meinem Song' in 2014, from which several singles have been released. His 2019 single 'Ich Danke Allen Menschen' from the album 'Hin und Weg' was streamed nearly one million times in the first two weeks of its release.