Elli Erl

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 and reached the top ten in Austria. Erl's pop rock-influenced debut studio album, ''Shout It Out'' (2003), reached the top forty of the German Albums Chart 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 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. 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, cycling and skiing. In her late teenage years she became the lead singer of several soul 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 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.

Erl's coronation song and debut single " This Is My Life, written and produced by ''DSDS'' judge Dieter Bohlen, was released in March 2004 on Hansa Records and BMG. The song peaked at number three on the German Singles Chart 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. 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 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 women singers
Bisexual singer-songwriters
German women singer-songwriters
German women rock singers
People from Straubing
German rock guitarists
German women guitarists
Deutschland sucht den Superstar winners
German bisexual women
German bisexual musicians
German LGBTQ singer-songwriters
University of Regensburg alumni
21st-century German women singers
21st-century German guitarists
21st-century women guitarists