In the early 2000s, the German music scene was seeing an exciting new wave of pop music. What makes the music from this time so special — especially for us language learners — is that this movement was dominated by German-language pop music. The female-fronted quartet Juli is one of the most popular of these German pop groups.
What makes Juli so much fun is that their music is easily accessible but with a bit of an alternative twist that is kind of catchy and perfect to sing along to. So this month, let’s get to know Juli while learning German!
Get To Know Juli
It was a long road before Juli became the group we knew today. The group was initially formed in Gießen, Germany, during the mid-1990s under the name Sunnyglade by Andreas Herde and Simon Triebel. At the time, the pair were barely teenagers. They were soon joined by Jonas Pfetzing, Miriam Adameit, and Martin Möller. With this line-up, they released an album.
Cut to the early 2000s when the band line-up changed to the one that continues to this day. Frontwoman Eva Briegel and drummer Römer joined guitarists Pfetzing and Triebel and bass player Herde.
Around this time, the band started to transition from English language songs to German language ones. With the redirection came a new German-language name: Juli.
The Music of Juli
In 2004, the band released their debut album: the aptly titled Es ist Juli (It is July). To this day, the album remains their most successful. Part of that is due to the album’s first single, “Perfekte Welle,” which captured the attention of music listeners across the German-speaking world. The album saw them recognized as one of the best new bands of the year.
Following closely on the heels of their debut release and a very busy schedule of touring, the group’s second album, Ein neuer Tag from 2006, kept the momentum going. While their debut reached number two on the charts, its follow-up went to the top of the charts.
Similar to their first album, Juli toured hard in support of Ein neuer Tag. They returned in 2010 with In Love. Do not let the English album title fool you: Juli continues with their German songs on their third album. The lead-off single “Elektrisches Gefühl” is a particularly memorable moment with its bright pop sound.
The group’s fourth album Insel followed in 2014.
In addition to a number of gold and platinum records for sales of their albums, Juli has some national recognition for their hard work. “Geile Zeit” was the winner of the 2005 Bundesvision Song Contest and placed 13th in 2011 with “Du lügst so schön.”
Looking for another Ohrwurm to help you learn German? Check out previously featured musicians and bands!
Photo by Sven Sindt, courtesy 380 Grad. This post contains affiliate links.
