Childhood & Early Life
Lena Meyer was born Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, on May 23, 1991, in Hanover, Germany. She is the only child of Daniela and Ladislas Meyer-Landrut. Not much is known about her parents, though it is believed that Meyer’s father abandoned the family when she was 2 years old. Her grandfather, Bruno Andreas Meyer-Landrut, was a German diplomat. Her grandmother, Hanna Karatsony von Hodos, belonged to the Hungarian nobility.
At the age of 5, Meyer started taking dance lessons. She learned both classical dance, such as ballet, and modern dance forms, such as hip-hop and jazz. She made appearances as an extra performer on several German TV shows. Later, Meyer discovered her passion for singing. She did not receive any formal training in acting or music. She graduated from ‘IGS Roderbruch,’ Hannover, in 2010.
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Career
Lena Meyer started her music career by participating in the singing talent show ‘Unser Star für Oslo,’ or ‘Our Star for Oslo,’ in 2010. The show premiered on the German national TV the same year. The winner of the show was to become the German entry in the 2010 ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ in Oslo. Meyer was chosen as one of the 20 contestants of the show, from more than four thousand entries.
Meyer sang the songs ‘Bee,’ ‘Satellite,’ and ‘Love Me’ for the finals of the show. She was declared the winner through televoting, making her the German participant for the ‘Eurovision Song Contest.’ All the songs sung by Meyer climbed up the charts after her stellar performance on the show.
On May 29, 2010, Meyer participated in the finals of the ‘Eurovision Song Contest.’ She selected the song ‘Satellite,’ for her performance on the show. Meyer’s performance with minimal stage settings was a departure from the general trend of the show. She won the show with a huge margin. ‘Satellite,’ the song co-written and sung by Meyer, recorded the fastest digital sales in Germany at that time.
In May 2010, Lena Meyer released her debut music album, ‘My Cassette Player.’ The album was produced by Stefan Raab and included her famous singles, ‘Satellite,’ ‘Love Me,’ and ‘Bee.’ It had many unreleased titles, too. Meyer co-wrote the lyrics of five songs in this album. It was received well by her listeners and reached the number one spot on the ‘German Albums Chart,’ and the ‘Austrian Albums Chart.’
In June 2010, Lena Meyer lent her voice to the German (dubbed) version of the animation movie ‘Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage.’
In April 2011, Meyer went on her first live music tour, covering nine major cities in Germany. In May 2011, she participated in the ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ for the second time. Meyer selected the song ‘Taken by a Stranger’ for this show and finished at the tenth position. Meyer appeared in the opening performance of the show, too. She was part of an interval act of the same show in 2012.
In October 2012, Lena Meyer released her next album, ‘Stardust.’ The first single from the album was also titled ‘Stardust’ and was widely accepted by music lovers. The song was certified “gold” for selling 150 thousand copies. ‘Neon (Lonely People)’ was the second single to be released from this album. It was uploaded on Meyer’s ‘YouTube’ channel in March 2013. Meyer won the ‘Best National Video’ award for ‘Stardust’ at the 2013 ‘Echo Awards.’ She was nominated for the ‘Best Female National Artist,’ too.
In 2013, Meyer was selected as one of the judges for the German singing talent show ‘The Voice Kids.’ The show required the judges to select and coach the participants, who were children belonging to different age groups. Meyer was the judge/coach for three consecutive seasons of the show. She judged alongside other renowned musicians such as Henning Wehland and Tim Bendzko.
In 2013, Meyer lent her voice to the animation movie ‘Tarzan 3D.’ She also dubbed the voice of some of the characters in the audiobooks ‘Giraffenaffen – Wir sind da!’ (‘Giraffe-monkeys – We are here!’) and ‘Giraffenaffen – Die Schatzssuche’ (‘Giraffe-monkeys – Treasure hunt’), released in 2013. The same year, she was selected as the brand ambassador for ‘L'Oréal.’
Meyer released her fourth album, ‘Crystal Sky,’ in 2014. The first single from this album, ‘Traffic Lights,’ was among the top 20 singles on the ‘German Singles Chart.’
In 2016, Meyer stated that her next album would be titled ‘Gemini.’ She is presently working on the album. The first single from the album, ‘Lost in You,’ was released in April 2017. Meyer also participated in the fourth season of the German TV show ‘Sing meinen Song - Das Tauschkonzert.’ The show featured the stage premiere of her song ‘If I Wasn’t Your Daughter’ from her upcoming album, ‘Gemini.’
Trivia
When asked about the motivation to participate in ‘Unser Star für Oslo,’ Meyer replied, “I like to test myself. I wanted to see how I am perceived...”
In the finals of the 2010 ‘Eurovision Song Contest,’ Lena Meyer performed in a simple dress, with just four backing vocalists. Against the normal practice of the show, there were no stage settings or choreographers. Despite this, she was crowned the winner.
