Sarah Connor (singer)

2.1. Childhood and education

Born Sarah Marianne Corina Lewe in Hamburg, Germany, on June 13, 1980, Sarah Connor is the eldest of six siblings. Her father, Michael Lewe, is a copywriter with American roots, and her mother, Soraya Lewe-Tacke (née Gray), is a former fashion model and homemaker of Scottish, Irish, and German descent. She has four sisters: Anna-Maria Lagerblom (who is married to German rapper Bushido), Marisa, Sophia-Luisa, and Valentina, and one brother, Robin. In 2008, her maternal half-brothers Mick and Lex were born.

Connor developed an early passion for soul music, largely influenced by her paternal grandfather, a former jazz and R&B pianist from New Orleans. At the age of six, she began her musical journey by singing gospel music in a church choir, which provided her first experience performing. In 1989, her family relocated from Hamburg to Delmenhorst, where she attended the Max-Planck-Gymnasium (high school). She also enrolled in a local performing arts school, where she received lessons in dancing, singing, and acting. To fund these lessons, she worked various part-time jobs, including waitressing and modeling. Connor chose to focus solely on vocal studies at the performing arts school, a special allowance as other students were required to learn instruments. She later completed an internship with RTL Television after dropping out of school in her final year.

2.2. Early musical beginnings

Connor's early musical experiences foreshadowed her future career. In 1997, at the age of 17, she and her sister Anna-Maria were selected to perform as backing vocalists for Michael Jackson's HIStory World Tour concert in Bremen, Germany, singing on "Earth Song" and "Heal the World". A personal meeting with Jackson after the show deeply affected her and solidified her determination to pursue a music career.

Following this experience, she began recording demo tapes under the pseudonym "Sarah Gray," including cover versions of Christmas songs like "Silent Night" and "This Christmas," as well as the local radio hit "Ula la Ula." In 1998, her then-boyfriend Martin Scholz, a member of the boy band Touché, helped her secure a management deal with his group's manager. She subsequently performed as an opening act for Touché during a concert in Bremen in July 1998. Dissatisfied with this arrangement, Connor later transitioned to manager Carlo Vista and released the single "This Christmas" through Villa Records in 1999. In the same year, she provided lead vocals for German producer Marc van Linden's trance remix of the 1982 song "Last Unicorn," which reached number 86 on the German singles chart. In 2000, music manager George Glueck signed her to the Sony subsidiary X-Cell Records, where she officially adopted the stage name "Sarah Connor," a choice reportedly made to capitalize on the popularity of the film The Terminator.

3.1. 2001-2003: Breakthrough and early success

For her debut album, Green Eyed Soul, Connor traveled between Berlin, Hamburg, and Hanover, collaborating with German music producers Bülent Aris, Rob Tyger, and Kay Denar, as well as international artists like Eddie Martin and rapper TQ. The album, primarily influenced by R&B and hip hop, was preceded by two successful singles: "Let's Get Back to Bed - Boy!" (featuring TQ), which reached the top five in Germany, and "French Kissing" (based on BLACKstreet's "No Diggity"), a top 20 hit. Her breakthrough came with the ballad "From Sarah with Love", which topped the charts in Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland, significantly raising her profile across Europe and becoming one of 2002's most successful records.

Released in November 2001, Green Eyed Soul received mixed but generally positive reviews, with critics acknowledging it as a solid launch for her career. The album debuted at number two on the German Albums Chart and reached the top five in Austria, Finland, and Switzerland. It achieved gold status in Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland, and earned platinum certifications in Finland and Germany. For her success, Connor received a Goldene Europa and won the Echo Music Prize for Best National Rock/Pop Female Artist from three nominations.

In 2002, Connor embarked on the Green Eyed Soul Tour and began working on her second studio album, Unbelievable. Continuing the style of her debut, she reunited with Aris, Denar, and Tyger, and also collaborated with American musicians Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis, and Diane Warren. Jean wrote, produced, and rapped on the album's lead single, "One Nite Stand (of Wolves and Sheep)", which once again entered the top five in Germany. Unbelievable achieved gold status in Germany within 48 hours of its release and produced three more singles: "Skin on Skin" (co-written with Diane Warren), "He's Unbelievable", and "Bounce".

In October 2003, Connor released a live DVD titled Sarah Connor Live - A Night to Remember: Pop Meets Classic, featuring a performance recorded on January 24, 2003, at the Alten Kasselhaus in Düsseldorf. The DVD showcased her songs with the backing of a classical orchestra. Despite being heavily pregnant with her first child, Connor released her third album, Key to My Soul, in November 2003. Its first single, "Music Is the Key", featuring New York a cappella singers Naturally 7, became her second number-one hit in Germany. The album's second and final single, "Just One Last Dance", was a re-recorded version featuring new vocals by Marc Terenzi's band Natural. This duet reached number one in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and entered the top 20 on a composite World Top 40 chart.

In late 2003, her single "Bounce" gained significant airplay on American radio stations, leading Sony Records to release her compilation album Sarah Connor in the United States in early 2004. While "Bounce" peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album reached number 106 on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly 100,000 copies in the U.S., despite Connor being unable to tour due to her pregnancy.

3.2. 2004-2008: Continued success and reality TV

After a hiatus for the birth of her son Tyler, Connor returned to music in fall 2004 with "Living to Love You". The ballad became her third consecutive chart-topper in Germany and reached number one in Switzerland, preceding her fourth album, Naughty but Nice (2005). Connor collaborated again with longtime contributors Booya, Kay Denar, and Rob Tyger on the album. Naughty But Nice debuted at the top of the German Albums Chart and reached the top three in Austria and Switzerland, selling 100,000 copies within its first two days. Although critical reception was mixed, with some calling it "underclass music for the disco around the corner," it was her highest-charting album at that point. Its release coincided with the broadcast of her ProSieben reality series Sarah & Marc in Love, which chronicled her marriage to Marc Terenzi and contributed to her increased public profile. The album's second single, "From Zero to Hero", served as the theme song for the animated film Robots (2005), becoming her fifth number-one single in Germany and her fourth consecutive chart-topping hit. In the film, Connor also provided the German voice for the character Cappy.


In fall 2005, Connor embarked on the Naughty but Nice concert tour, which included twenty-three dates across Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In December 2005, she released her first holiday album, Christmas in My Heart. The album featured a mix of traditional and contemporary English standards, along with German songs rewritten in English. Both the album and its title track reached number four on the German charts. The album was later certified platinum by the IFPI. It was re-released the following year, including the new single "The Best Side of Life", which became a top four hit and was used in a Coca-Cola Christmas promotion campaign in Germany. During this tour, she announced her second pregnancy, leading to another temporary break from music.

After another hiatus for the birth of her daughter Summer in 2006, Connor released her sixth studio album, Soulicious, in March 2007. Primarily composed of 1960s and 70s Motown covers, it also included two original songs. The album was recorded at the former main building of the Berliner Rundfunk, with the backing of a forty-eight-piece symphonic orchestra. Soulicious reached the top ten in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, where it achieved gold status. Critical response was mixed, with some calling it a "sterile soul adaptation." The leading single, "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)", was featured in a publicity campaign for German boxer Henry Maske's comeback fight and reached the top ten. "Sexual Healing", a duet with American singer Ne-Yo, reached the top twenty on the singles charts.

In a shift towards a new musical direction, Connor collaborated with producers such as Remee, Thomas Troelsen, and J. R. Rotem on her next original album. In May 2008, it was announced that Connor and her family would participate in an eight-part reality show titled Sarah and Marc: Still Crazy in Love on ProSieben. The series, which began airing on July 3, 2008, documented the recording and promotional activities for her new album, Sexy as Hell. The album's first single, "Under My Skin", co-written by Troelsen, was released on August 1, 2008, in German-speaking Europe, followed by the album on August 22, 2008.

3.3. 2009-present: X Factor and German language shift

In 2009, Connor contributed to a re-recorded version of Enrique Iglesias' duet "Takin' Back My Love", replacing American singer Ciara's original vocals. Released as the second single from Iglesias' 2008 Greatest Hits album in German-speaking Europe, Poland, and the Czech Republic, it reached the top ten of the German singles chart.

In April 2010, Connor was announced as a judge, alongside mentor George Glueck and musician Till Brönner, for the debut season of the German X Factor, broadcast on the VOX network. She mentored the 16-24s category, but her contestant Mati Gavriel was eliminated in the seventh week. Her appearances on X Factor coincided with the release of her eighth studio album, Real Love, on October 22, 2010. The album received a lukewarm reception from critics and debuted at number eight on the German albums chart. Real Love produced two singles, "Cold as Ice" and its title track "Real Love", both of which were her lowest-charting singles in years. Connor returned for the second and third X Factor series in 2011 and 2012, mentoring the groups and over 25s categories, respectively, with her contestants Nica & Joe and Björn Paulsen both placing third.

Following a hiatus, in 2014, Connor appeared in the reality television series Sing meinen Song - Das Tauschkonzert, the German version of The Best Singers series. Her performances on the show, which brings together established artists to interpret each other's songs, encouraged her to record music in her native German language.

In 2015, Connor released her ninth studio album, Muttersprache, her first album recorded entirely in German. For this project, she worked with a smaller group of producers, including Daniel Faust, Peter Plate, and Ulf Leo Sommer. Upon its release, Muttersprache debuted at number one on the German albums chart, becoming her second number-one album after 2005's Naughty but Nice. With first-week sales exceeding 100,000 copies in Germany, it was certified gold by the BVMI just days after its release and later achieved platinum status. The album also debuted at number one on the Swiss Albums Chart, a first for Connor. The single "Wie schön du bist" became her highest-charting single in a decade, reaching number two on the German singles chart and selling over 260,000 copies, becoming her biggest hit since "From Zero to Hero" in 2005.

In 2019, she released her tenth studio album, Herz Kraft Werke, which earned platinum certification and became her third number-one album in Germany, also topping the charts in Austria. It was a major hit, ranking second on the year-end charts in both Germany and Austria. Her subsequent Christmas album, Not So Silent Night, was released in 2022. Connor has also taken on a coaching role on The Voice of Germany since its eleventh season in 2021.

4.1. Relationships and family

Connor met Marc Terenzi, the lead singer of the American boy band Natural, at the Bravo Happy Holidays festival in Rust, Germany, in July 2002. They began dating, and in June 2003, they announced their engagement and that they were expecting their first child. Their son, Tyler Marc Terenzi, was born on February 2, 2004, in Orlando, Florida. The couple married the same month. In August 2005, they renewed their vows in a wedding ceremony in Spain, which was documented in their ProSieben reality show Sarah and Marc in Love. Marc Terenzi also released the hit song "Love to be Loved by You" for Sarah, which gained significant popularity. On June 23, 2006, Connor gave birth to their second child, a daughter named Summer Antonia Soraya. In November 2008, Connor announced her separation from Terenzi, and they filed for divorce in December 2009, with the divorce finalized on March 9, 2010.

In April 2010, Connor publicly confirmed her relationship with her manager, Florian Fischer, who was previously a singer in the 1990s pop group The Boyz. In February 2011, they announced they were expecting a child. Their daughter, Delphine Malou, was born in September 2011, followed by their son, Jax Llewyn, in January 2017.

Beyond her family life, Connor is known for her linguistic abilities, being fluent in English, German, and Spanish. She also maintains a vegetarian lifestyle.

5.1. Studio albums

5.2. Live albums

5.4. Singles

5.5. Featured singles

5.6. Other charted songs