Who is Nena

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Ranked #221 in People, #5,881 overall

More than a pretty face and a cool voice

Nena is a very versatile artist from Germany. She first rose to fame in the 80's with a string of new wave pop hits. Although her name may not be very familiar internationally, almost everyone remembers her Number One Hit "99 Red Balloons".

Aside from being a great singer, she is also an interesting character and an extraordinary person. Nena is a co-founder of the Neue Schule Hamburg in Germany, a school based on the principles of the Sudbury School model.

Being no stranger to personal challenges, Nena continues to inspire her fans through her music and positive commitment to the future.

Nena at a Glance 

Nena (born Gabriele Susanne Kerner on March 24, 1960 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) is a singer and actress and the co-founder (with three others) of the Neue Schule Hamburg, a school following the Sudbury model. She rose to international fame in 1984 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons", known in English as "99 Red Balloons". "Nena" was also the name of the band with whom she released the song. With the re-recording and subsequent release of some of her old tracks, her career saw a second wind in 2002.

NENA: Made in Germany (2009) 

Brand new album, released October 2, 2009...

Made in Germany

1. SchönSchönSchön 3:50
2. Du bist so gut für mich 4:27
3. Ich bin hyperaktiv 3:46
4. Dreh dich 3:15
5. Geheimnis 4:14
6. Du hast dich entschieden 4:13
7. Wir sind wahr 5:41
8. Made in Germany 3:44
9. In meinem Leben 5:38
10. Es gibt keine Sicherheit 3:25
11. Schmerzen 5:33
12. Ganz viel Zeit 6:29
13. Nachts wenn es warm ist 5:49

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 11/30/2009) Buy Now

Nena - Bio 

AKA Gabriele Susanne Kerner

Born: 24-Mar-1960
Birthplace: Hagen, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Singer

Nationality: Germany
Executive summary: 99 Luftballons

Father: Alfons
Mother: Ursula
Sister: Christiane (younger)
Brother: Michael (younger)
Boyfriend: Rolf Brendel (in the band with her, together 8 years, split in Jan-1987)
Boyfriend: Benedict Freytag (three children, two sons, one daughter)
Son: Christopher Daniel (b. 1988, d. 1989 heart problems)
Daughter: Larissa Maria (twin, b. 1990)
Son: Sakias Manuel (twin, b. 1990)
Boyfriend: Philip Palm (drummer and producer, two sons)
Son: Samuel Vincent (b. 1995)
Son: Simeon (b. 1997)

Reference: nndb.com

Nena Videos | Latest Songs | Official Channel 

Watch the latest Music Videos and more

Nena Videos | Concert Videos | Live Video 

Lots of old stuff and current videos, both in German and English.

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Nena - Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgenwann (Live @ Hitparade '84)

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Nena - Leuchtturm

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Nena live - 99 Luftballons Rock Pop in Concert 1983

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Nena, Olli & Remmler - Ich kann nix dafür

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NENA Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann

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NEUES VIDEO- Nena-Ich Werde Dich Lieben (English Annotations)

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curated content from YouTube

Nena | Discography 

Albums, Year, Highest Chart Position

* The Stripes (1980) as The Stripes
* Nena (1983) #1 GER
* ? (Fragezeichen) (1984) #1 GER
* 99 Luftballons (1984)
* Feuer und Flamme (1985) #2 GER
* It's All In The Game (1985)
* Eisbrecher (1986) #45 GER
* Wunder gescheh'n (1989) #23 GER
* Komm lieber Mai... (1990) #45 GER
* Nena Die Band (1991)
* Bongo Girl (1992) #32 GER
* Und alles dreht sich (1994) #53 GER
* Nena singt die schönsten Kinderlieder (1994)
* Nena Live (1995)
* Unser Apfelhaus (1995) #69 GER
* Nena und die Bambus Bären Bande (1996)
* Jamma nich (1997) #29 GER
* Nenas Weihnachtsreise (1997) #28 GER
* Wenn alles richtig ist, dann Stimmt was nich (1998) #42 GER
* Nena macht... Rabatz (1999)
* Chokmah (2001) #18 GER
* Nenas Tausend Sterne (2002)
* Nena feat. Nena (2002) #2 GER
* Madou und das Licht der Fantasie (2002)
* Nena Live Nena (2004) #31 GER
* Willst du mit mir gehn (2005) #2 GER
* Cover me (2007) #6 GER
* Himmel, Sonne, Wind und Regen (2008)
* Made In Germany (2009) #3 GER

Nena rocks! 

If you'd like a little trip down memory lane have a listen at some of Nena's greatest hits. There's even a Karaoke version of 99 Red Balloons!!!

99 Luftballons - 99 Red Balloons 

One of the most successful pop songs in the world by a German artist

"99 Luftballoons" is a Cold War-era protest song by the German singer Nena. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons".

"99 Luftballons" reached #1 in West Germany in 1983. In 1984, the original German version also peaked at #2 on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and the English-language version topped the UK Singles Chart. The German version topped the Australian charts for five weeks and the New Zealand charts for one week.

When it made the charts in the United States, most US radio DJs incorrectly assumed that "99 Luftballons" translated to English as "99 Red Balloons" and spoke the number 99 in English, saying "Ninety-nine Luftballoons."

The translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", however "Ninety-Nine Balloons" is also correct. A Luftballon is a colourful toy balloon, rather than a balloon for transport or research. The name is derived from Luft, German for air, but the meaning of Luft does not qualify the type of balloon. The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first lines of lyrics, with "red" replacing "Luft". The only difference is the missing counterpart to the German syllable "und" in "Neunundneunzig" (literally "nine and ninety").

99 Red Balloons - Lyrics

You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we´ve got
Set them free at the break of dawn
till one by one they were gone
Back at base, sparks in the software
Flash the message "somethings out there"
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety nine red balloons go by...

more...

Great Nena Hits For Kids 

Did you know that Nena also recorded several songs and albums for children? My kids loved them, and they were easy on my ears, too!

Himmel Sonne Wind Und Regen 

Nena's latest children's album

This is the latest Nena album (2008) for kids and many grown-ups.

Himmel Sonne Wind Und Regen

Amazon Price: $35.49 (as of 11/30/2009)Buy Now

Tracks:

Regen 2:49
Wind 3:05
Fragen (Duo with Rolf Zuckowski) 3:15
Kirschen 1:35
Ameisen 3:06
Baum (Duo with Philipp Palm) 3:16
Farben 3:24
Klein Häschen 1:24
Es Regnet 1:30
Mama (performed by Larissa Freitag) 2:48
Steine 3:22
Libellen 1:55
Himmel 2:21
Sonne 3:26
Von Kind Zu Kind 3:38

NENA - Farben (Colors) 

Cute song from her last children's album

This is a song from her album Himmel, Sonne, Wind und Regen (Sky, Sun, Wind and Rain) about colors and the fun role they play in our lives. Even though the lyrics are in German, listen in to experience first hand why kids love Nena's music. It's very uplifting.
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International Blog Posts about Nena 

PrImA: My story of the 100th balloon
The first thing I'm going to do is give you the song that Scoman is talking about. It's called ?99 Luftballons? by the German singer Nena from the eighties. If you've never heard of Nena, just google ?armpit hair?, I'm sure she'll be ...
OFFICIAL GROUPIES TH AMERICA: New Moon Magazine - TH Interview-USA
Whats the best concert you've ever been to as a fanyourself? Tom:i think it was my first concert-which was Nena ,a german singer.I think that was the best concert. Tom:I listen to a lot of german hip-hop music so you probably wouldn't ...
Joy Part 1: Red balloon on the ceiling « Big Little Wolf's Daily ...
99 Luftballons! Air balloons! You multicultural thing, you! Anything like 99 bottles of beer on the wall? Nein? German singer! Nena Hagen! Bravo!! And here it is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9whehyybLqU ...

Nena | Filmography 

* Gib Gas ich will Spaß (1983)
* Richy Guitar (1985)
* Der Unsichtbare (1987)
* Tobias Totz und sein Löwe (1999)
* Die Abrafaxe - Unter schwarzer Flagge (Pirates of Tortuga) (2001)
* Madou und das Licht der Fantasie (2003)
* Eragon (2006)
* Arthur und die Minimoys

Nena on DVD 

Please note:
Region 2 format DVD are encoded for Japan, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East, including Egypt.

The Pirates of Tortuga - Under the Black Flag

Amazon Price: $9.98 (as of 11/30/2009) Buy Now

Nena Feat.Nena [Region 2]

Amazon Price: (as of 11/30/2009) Buy Now

Nena Links 

More Nena on the web

Nena
Official Nena Website
Official Nena website in German, by Nena's record company
Neue Schule Hamburg
Homepage of the school Nena co-founded and supports.
NENA Song Lyrics
Lyrics to all NENA songs, sorted alphabetically.
Nena Fansite (English)
A comprehensive English Nena fansite including galleries, a media section, biography, discography, and more.
Nena Fanclub Lichtarbeiter
The official Nena Fan Club "Lichtarbeiter" (Light Workers), unfortunately only available in German.
NENA-COMMUNITY Forums
Fan Forum Community, mostly in German but with 1 international Forum as well. You need to register to view AND post. They manually approve every registration. All in all a bit of a hassle; I guess you have to be a die-hard fan to tolerate this.

Shout Out For Nena! 

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  • Reply
    Brookelorren Brookelorren Nov 11, 2009 @ 7:13 pm
    I like the song in German, but not in English. I don't like the way it was translated.

    I never heard the song until the late 80s, we would listen to it in German class.
  • Reply
    Flynn_the_Cat Flynn_the_Cat Oct 1, 2009 @ 5:29 am
    Oh yes! My siblings intorduced me to her via 99 Luftballons and I looked up some of her other work! Wonderful singer ^^
  • Reply
    GrowWear GrowWear Jul 28, 2009 @ 4:33 am
    Great introduction to someone I have never heard of before. :)
  • Reply
    tandemonimom tandemonimom Mar 26, 2009 @ 2:04 am
    We have 99 Luftballoons (German) on our iPod. My hubby always prefers the original language even if we don't understand it! Great lens on a great artist! 5*

    And thanks for the Squid Blessings and very kind words on my Homeschool Quotes lens! :-)
  • Reply
    Nenafanartikel Nenafanartikel Jan 24, 2009 @ 7:12 am
    Nena Fanartikel

    verkaufe eine umfangreiche nena sammlung. darunter sehr *rare* nena vinyl schalltplatten mit hohen sammlerwert,die es niergens mehr zu kaufen gibt! aber im fanpaket sind auch CD,s DVD,s und vieles mehr.schaut es euch am besten einmal selbst an.leider ist dieses mega nena fanpaket nur komplett zu verkaufen.schickt mir eine email mit euren angeboten.

    http://www.nenafanpage.h-page.de
  • Reply
    GypsyGirl68 GypsyGirl68 Oct 19, 2008 @ 8:25 pm
    I only knew of her work w/the band I used to loev the orig German version of 99 Luftballoons
  • Reply
    ninja ninja Aug 13, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
    Ich liebe dich Nena. Du bist wundersch%uFFFDn! Danke, dass wir deine geile Stimme h%uFFFDren k%uFFFDnnen! Weiter so!!
  • Reply
    mulberry mulberry Jul 8, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
    Very nice job of showcasing Nena, enjoyed your lens!
  • Reply
    Jul 7, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
    So, okay, I confess, I fell in love with Nena when the song "99 Luft Balloons" went out and I was only 13 years old then, but hey, who could blame me? This girl's got a wonderful voice and her beauty made my heart beat slower & faster and the same time especially on that video where she's wearing tight blue jeans. Wow! That's why I'm so grateful for this lens or else I would have completely forgotten my affection for Nena. She still looks awesome! Just don't tell my wife, okay? By the way, thanks for sharing this lens. Please do visit this site that offers all kinds of checks from Penn State checks , LSU checks, photo checks (you can also put Nena's pictures on your checks)! Thanks again and it's 5 stars for you!
  • Reply
    Keaka77 Keaka77 Jun 25, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
    I love nena to..Thanks for all that you do. Keep up the work..

    cccna boot camp
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