DJ BoBo

DJ BOBO

René Baumann (born January 5 , 1968) better known as DJ BoBo, is a successful Swiss Eurodance musician.

Music career

René Baumann was born in Kölliken, Switzerland, to Italian father Luigi Cipiriano and Swiss mother Ruth Baumann. As a dance music producer, his first big success came with the single "Somebody Dance with Me", which is similar in sound to Rockwell's, "Somebody's Watching Me". The single hit number one in Switzerland. After this, he charted well with the singles "Keep on Dancing" and "Take Control".

René has received numerous golds and platinums for his songs and has found success in Europe (primarily Germany and Switzerland), Israel, and South America. René's more recent songs are a departure from Eurodance, but he still produces decent Eurodance tracks such as "Moscow" (2001), "No More Pain" (2003), and "Amazing Life" (2005). He also wrote "Pirates of Dance" in 2005.

One of his singles, "Chihuahua", was used in a Spanish Coca-Cola commercial. In 2003 it was re-released due to its huge success and it ended being the second best selling single of the year world wide. In December 2004, the Cantonese version of Chihuahua was written by Wyman Wong as the theme song of the same product. This version was performed by Joey Yung.

In 2004, as a result of the success of "Chihuahua", René was awarded the Swiss award for Showbusiness at the Swiss awards, an annual event meant to recognise high achieving Swiss people.

As well as being a Eurodance performer and producer, René is also a talented choreographic dancer.

2007 Eurovision Song Contest

Template:Future On October 11 2006 DJ Bobo announced in a press conference that he has applied to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

In past years, Switzerland's entry has not necessarily been a Swiss national, Most notably, Canadian Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 representing Switzerland. In DJ Bobo's press conference, he told reporters that "it's a shame for Swiss tax payer money from the TV licence fees to go to fund a foreign act, and the people should resist that."

In December 2006 the Swiss TV Council announced that they had chosen Bobo out of over 200 applicants to represent Switzerland in Helsinki. The council earned some negative comments for the election as not having been fair towards lesser known Swiss artists with better music (such as Shakra)

In February 21 2007, the song and video of DJ Bobo participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki is revealed. "Vampires are Alive" is the title of his song.

World Food Programme

DJ Bobo became a United Nations World Food Programme National Ambassador Against Hunger in October 2006, becoming the first Swiss celebrity to take up the role. He was also a participant in the 2006 Geneva Walk the World event.

Family

In 1993 René met Nancy Rentzsch; she joined his team in 1995. René and Nancy became a couple and in 2002 they married. René and Nancy have two children.

Discography

Albums:

• Dance with Me (1993)
• There Is a Party (1994)
• Just for You (1995)
• World in Motion (1996) #2 AUT (Gold)
• Magic (1998)
• The Ultimate Megamix '99 (1999)
• Level 6 (1999)
• Planet Colors (2001)
• Celebration (2002)
• Visions (2003)
• Chihuahua (2003)
• Live in Concert (2003)
• Pirates of Dance (2005)
• Greatest Hits (2006)
• Vampires (2007)

Singles:

• "I Love You" (1989)
• "Ladies in the House" (1991)
• "Let's Groove On" (1991)
• "Somebody Dance with Me" (1992) #3 AUT (Gold)
• "Keep on Dancing" (1993)
• "Take Control" (1994)
• "Everybody" (1994)
• "Let the Dream Come True" (1994)
• "Love Is All Around" (1995)
• "There Is a Party" (1995)
• "Freedom" (1995)
• "Love Is the Price" (1996)
• "Pray" (1996)
• "Respect Yourself" (1996)
• "It's My Life" (1997)
• "Shadows of the Night" (1997)
• "Where Is Your Love" (1998)
• "Around the World" (1998)
• "Celebrate" (1998)
• "Together" (1999)
• "Lies" (1999)
• "What a Feeling" (2001)
• "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (2001)
• "Colors of Life" (2001)
• "Celebration" (2002)
• "I Believe" (2003)
• "Chihuahua" (2003)
• "Pirates of Dance" (2005)
• "Amazing Life" (2005)
• "Secrets of Love" (2006)
• "Vampires Are Alive" (2007)

External links

• Official Website
• Full Discography and Swiss Chart Overview of DJ Bobo from www.swisscharts.com
• DJ Bobo at World Food Programme