Elisabeth Maria Erl (born 25 May 1979) is a German singer-songwriter. She came to fame as the winner of the second season of the television show '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series adaptation. With ''DSDS'', Erl appeared on the collaborative top ten single "Believe in Miracles", while her coronation song and debut single " This Is My Life" peaked at number three on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

and reached the top ten in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Erl's

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

–influenced debut studio album, ''Shout It Out'' (2003), reached the top forty of the

German Albums Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...

but was significantly less successful than previous ''DSDS'' releases. Erl has since released three further albums, including ''Moving On'' (2007), ''Neue Generation'' (2008) and her latest effort ''Human'' (2009). While none of the singles released from these albums became major hit singles on the pop charts, songs such as "In My Dream", "Not My Type", "Get Up" and "Can't Deny It" entered the German Singles Chart. In 2005, Erl graduated in music and sports from

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on 18 ...

and is since working as a teacher at a secondary school in Düsseldorf. In 2011, she released the autobiography ''Gecastet''.

Early life

Erl was born on 25 May 1979 in Straubing,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. She is the daughter of Renate and Ludwig Erl and has two brothers named Josef and Ludwig Jr. In elementary school she started learning the trumpet, piano and the guitar opposite expanding interests in

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, cycling and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

. In her late teenage years she became the lead singer of several

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and rock bands, including ''The Gong FM Band'', ''LOP'' and the more popular ''Panta Rei''. After her high school graduation at Anton-Bruckner-Gymnasium Straubing, Elli decided to become a student teacher and began studying Music and

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

at Regensburg University.

Career

In 2003, Erl participated in second season of the television show '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series adaptation. Due to her massive stage experience, raspy voice and unconventional looks she was seen as an early favourite by the judges and also by the audience, who enabled her to sing against comrade-in-arms Denise Tillmanns during the final show in March 2004. However, in the end she beat out runner-up Tillmanns by a margin of 11 percent. Erl would remain the show's only female winner for nine years until its tenth season when Swiss singer Beatrice Egli won ''DSDS'' as the second female winner. Elli-Erl

Erl's coronation song and debut single " This Is My Life, written and produced by ''DSDS'' judge

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen, 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German a ...

, was released in March 2004 on

Hansa Records Hansa Records (also known as Hansa, Hansa Musik Produktion or Hansa International) was a record label founded in the 1960s based in Berlin, Germany. Profile The label's most successful act commercially was the German-based band Boney M. with m ...

and BMG. The song peaked at number three on the

and reached number six in Austria and number 11 in Switzerland, but was less successful than " Take Me Tonight", the first single by ''DSDS''s first season winner

Alexander Klaws Alexander Klaws (born 3 September 1983) is a German singer, songwriter, actor, and host. He rose to fame in 2003 after winning the debut season of the television series ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series adaptation. ...

. Subsequently, Erl decided not to collaborate with Bohlen on her debut album, citing personal and musical differences with the judge. She eventually released her self-composed second single "In My Dreams", but neither the single nor her debut album ''Shout It Out'' could reach the top 30 once again. As a consequence she went on tour with her band ''Panta Rei'' for some time. In winter 2006, Erl's previously unreleased record "Better Than the Best" was chosen to become the corporate song for DHL. After her 2007 album ''Moving On'' failed to make an impact she chose to get full creative control over her subsequent work and founded her own record label 1773 Records. Erl's third album ''Human'' was released in May 2009 through 1773 and was preceded by the single "Shadows".

Private life

Nowadays, Erl is working as a teacher at a

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

in Düsseldorf. Her father is headmaster in a Realschule in Regenstauf in Bavaria. Erl is bisexual and prefers to have relationships with women.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erl, Elli 1979 births Living people Bisexual musicians Bisexual women Women rock singers People from Straubing German women guitarists Deutschland sucht den Superstar winners LGBT singers from Germany University of Regensburg alumni 21st-century German women singers 21st-century German guitarists 21st-century women guitarists