Sarah Connor (singer)
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Sarah Connor
Sarah Connor (2007)
Background information
Birth name	Sarah Lewe
Born	June 13, 1980 (1980-06-13) (age 28) Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony, Germany
Genre(s)	Pop, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, dancer, pianist, philanthropist
Years active	2001–present
Label(s)	X-Cell/Universal Music
Associated acts	Wyclef Jean, Ne-Yo, Natural, Naturally 7, Marc Terenzi, TQ
Website	www.sarah-connor.com

Sarah Terenzi (née Lewe; born June 13, 1980), better known as Sarah Connor, is a German singer and songwriter. She debuted in 2001 under the guidance of producers Rob Tyger and Kay Denar and became the first act to ever have four consecutive chart-topping hits on the German Media Control singles chart. Following a major international success with her single "From Sarah with Love," a series of hit records established her position as one of the most successful German pop vocalists to emerge in the early 2000s.

Connor's personal life began to gain substantial media attention after her 2005 marriage to American pop-rock musician Marc Terenzi, which resulted in two children, Tyler (born in 2004), and Summer (born in 2006).

Biography

Early life

Connor is the eldest of six siblings born to Michael Lewe, an advertising writer of American descent, and his ex-wife Soraya Lewe-Tacke (née Gray), a former fashion model and homemaker of Scottish and German heritage, in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony.¹ She has four sisters: Anna Maria, Marisa, Sophia-Luisa, and Valentina; and one brother, Robin. Her maternal half-brothers Mick and Lex were born in 2008.²

Connor grew up listening to soul music, mostly influenced by her paternal grandfather who was born in New Orleans.³ A church choir became her first experience in the gospel music field at a very young age. In her teen years Connor tried out and was accepted to a performing arts school. Although all students were required to choose an instrument, Connor was the only one allowed to study voice.⁴ She took vocal lessons once a week and worked as a waitress in a hotel to pay for them.

In 1997, Connor was picked to sing with the backing choir during the performance of "Heal the World" at Michael Jackson's HIStory concert tour in Bremen, Germany.¹ Overwhelmed by a personal meeting with Jackson at the end of the show,¹ she signed a contract with her first management the following year, that resulted in her pseudonym Sarah Grey and the recording of a number of demo tapes,³ including cover versions such as "Silent Night" and "This Christmas" and the local radio success "Ula la Ula."⁵ In 1999, she provided the leading vocals for producer Michael van Linden's dance remix of the 1982 record "Last Unicorn," which reached number 86 on the German Singles Chart. Unhappy with her management though, Connor teamed up with manager Carlo Vista,⁵ who got her signed as Sarah Connor with producer George Glueck's label X-Cell Records a short time after. As a direct consequence, she decided to quit school and leave home at the age of 19.¹

Recording and performing career

2001–2003

Connor fluctuated between Hamburg, Hannover und Berlin to work on her debut album, involving producers such as Bülent Aris, Toni Cottura, Diane Warren, and the production duo Rob Tyger and Kay Denar. Green Eyed Soul which was eventually released on November 26, 2001 in German-speaking Europe; Connor co-wrote four songs on the album which yielded her first two singles “Let’s Get Back to Bed – Boy!,” a collaboration with American rapper TQ, and “French Kissing,” a song based on BLACKstreet’s “No Diggity.” However, it was the album’s third single “From Sarah with Love” which reached the top position in Germany, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland and raised Connor’s fame all over Europe. The song garnered the singer a Comet and an ECHO Award. Album reviews were generally positive, with laut.de especially praising Connor’s vocal strengths.⁶

Only ten months later, her second album Unbelievable (2002) was released in Europe. Wyclef Jean wrote, produced and rapped on the album’s lead single, “One Nite Stand (of Wolves and Sheep),” which once again entered the top 5. Unbelievable simultaneously achieved gold status in Germany within 48 hours and spawned another three singles, including Diane Warren-penned “Skin on Skin,” “He's Unbelievable” and “Bounce” (which would be released as a single on 3 different occasions and countries including the United States.)

In October 2003, Connor released a live DVD branded Sarah Connor Live – A Night to Remember: Pop Meets Classic, whose performance had been recorded at the Alten Kasselhaus in Düsseldorf on January 24, including indiviudal performances of own songs with a classical orchestra backing her up. In November 2003, in spite of being heavily pregnant with her first child, Connor released her third album called, Key to My Soul. The album’s first single, “Music Is the Key” featuring New York a cappella singers Naturally 7, became her second number-one hit in Germany. “Just One Last Dance”, the album's second and final single, was a re-recorded edition of the album’s original version, including new vocals by Marc Terenzi’s band Natural. The duet once again reached number-one in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and the top 20 on a composite World Top 40.

2004–2006

In fall of 2003 Connor’s previous hit “Bounce” was getting heavy radio airplay overseas and Sony Records decided to release the song as a single stateside. Connor was about six months pregnant when “Bounce” began charting, eventually peaking inside the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 as she was unable to promote. A self-titled compilation of her previous three album’s singles, entitled Sarah Connor, was released in 2004, a few weeks before her son Tyler was born. The album debuted and peaked at number 106 on the Billboard 200 album charts.⁷

After a short hitaus following the birth of her son Tyler, Connor returned with “Living to Love You,” which again peaked at number-one in Germany and Switzerland. In March 2005, she contributed to the soundtrack of the computer-animated movie Robots with her single “From Zero to Hero;” The song which became her fifth chart-topping single in Germany and the fourth number-one hit single in a row. The following summer Connor and husband Marc Terenzi starred in their own reality show Sarah and Marc in Love on the ProSieben network. The series was a one off type documentary that led up to Sarah and Marc’s re-wedding in Spain at the end of July. A DVD featuring all of the episodes was released on November 25, 2005.

In December 2005, as Connor toured to support her new album Naughty but Nice, Connor released a Christmas album barnded Christmas in My Heart. Its same-titled lead single reached number 4 on the German Singles Chart, while the album reached the top 10 of the domestic albums chart. Following this, it was announced during her tour in December 2005 that Connor was again pregnant and so for the time being her music was put on hold.

2006–present

On November 24, 2006 Connor released a new Christmas single titled “The Best Side of Life.” The song debuted at number 6 on the German Singles Charts and was used for Coca Cola’s christmas promotional campaign in Germany. On the same date Connor also reissued her Christmas album, Christmas in My Heart, this time featuring the new single. The reissue debuted at number 49 in Germany. Her final 2006 release was the Christmas in My Heart DVD.

In February 2007, it was announced that Connor was working on a new album, called Soulicious. Mainly made up of 1970’s Motown covers, but also including two originals, the album spawned the single “The Impossible Dream (The Quest),” which was featured in a publicity campaign for the comeback fight of German boxer Henry Maske. Eventually released on March 30, 2007 the album debuted at number 6 on the German Albums Charts. The album's second single, a remixed version of Marvin Gaye's “Sexual Healing” featuring American singer Ne-Yo charted at number 11 in Germany. A third digital-only single, “Son of a Preacher Man” was released towards the end of the year.

Heading into a new musical direction, Connor started intensifying work on her sixth regular studio album with producers such as Remee, Thomas Troelsen and J.R. Rotem. On May 21, 2008, it was announced Connor and her family would once again participate in an eight-part reality show titled Sarah and Marc: Crazy in Love" on ProSieben. The special began airing on July 3, 2008, and followed the recording and promotional events for the new album, branded Sexy as Hell.⁸⁹ Its first single, "Under My Skin," was released on August 1, 2008 in German-speaking Europe, with the album following on August 22, 2008.

Personal life

Connor speaks three languages fluently: English, German, and Spanish. She is a vegetarian and a supporter of PETA.¹⁰

In 1997, Connor started dating singer Martin Scholz, who was a member of the German boy band Touché and thus, shared the same management with her.¹¹ Their three-year relationship ended in early 2000.¹¹

Following rumors about affairs with fellow collaborators TQ and Wyclef Jean, Connor met Marc Terenzi, lead singer of American boy band Natural, backstage at Bravo Happy Holidays festival in Rust, Germany on July 27, 2002. In June 2003 the couple became engaged and announced Sarah was pregnant with their first child, Tyler Marc Terenzi, who was born on February 2, 2004 in Orlando, Florida.

On February 29, 2004 the couple invited their friends to a dinner supposedly to celebrate the birth of their son. However they announced that they in fact had eloped. The couple renewed their vows this time with a big family wedding on August 18, 2005 in Altafulla, Spain; near Barcelona. The wedding was the subject of their reality show Sarah and Marc in Love.

On June 23, 2006 Sarah gave birth to their second child, a girl, named Summer Antonia Soraya. Summer was named after Marc’s mother Antonia and Sarah’s mother Soraya. It was revealed a short time later that Summer had a hole in her heart. Summer had an operation in August 2006, and has been in good health since.

In November 2008 the couple announced their separation to the tabloid press ("Bild").

Impact and controversy

Sarah on the debut cover of the German version of Vanity Fair (2007).

Connor has made an impact in Germany as well as surrounding countries. She is one of the best selling German artists of all time, holding records for having four consecutive number ones (ending with “From Zero to Hero”), and five number ones overall (four of which are ballads). She ties with Modern Talking and Boney M for this feat.

Image wise her image and logo have graced several products. In Germany outside of her own promotional merchandise, she has her own line of jeans, perfume, and her own cakes.¹²

Connor has also been embroiled in a few controversies. In January 2002, she performed on the popular German television show Wetten, dass..? wearing a tight and revealing dress. Rumors swirled she had worn no panties, which created such a controversy that the front pages of popular tabloids (including Bild) ran headlines about it. Connor had actually worn skin colored panties so they would not show. She later auctioned the dress off for charity.¹³

In June 2005, she got into another controversy, when she performed the German national anthem at the opening ceremony of the new stadium in Munich, at the Allianz Arena, singing “Brüh im Lichte dieses Glückes” (“Scald in the light of this fortune”) instead of “Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes” (“Flourish in the blessing of this fortune”).¹⁴ This faux pas was documented in her show 'Sarah and Marc in Love'.

Unfortunately some of the impact and controversy has also touched her personal life. In 2005, German comedian Oliver Pocher mocked and parodied Connor’s reality show Sarah and Marc in Love on his show Rent a Pocher. Not liking having her family mocked, Connor brought legal action against him. The outcome is unknown but he did eventually apologize.¹⁵

Discography

Main article: Sarah Connor discography

Awards

2001

• Comet Award – “Best National Newcomer”
• Top of the Pops Award – “Best German Newcomer”

2002

• ECHO – “Best National Female Rock/Pop”
• Goldene Europa – “Most Successful German Female Singer”
• BRAVO Otto – “Supersinger National” (Silver Otto)
• Radio Regenbogen Award – “Best Hit 2001” (“From Sarah with Love”)
• Maxim – “Woman of the Year – Popstar”

2003

• Radio Hamburg Award – “Best Female National Pop Act”

2004

• World Music Award – “Best Selling German Artist”
• Neo Award – “Most Successful Download Album” ("Key to My Soul")

2005

• Diva Awards – “Music Artist of the Year”
• Goldenen Kamera – “Pop National”
• BRAVO Otto – “Supersinger Female” (Golden Otto)
• Comet – “Best Female Artist”
• Eins Live Krone – “Best Female Artist”

2006

• BRAVO Otto – “Supersinger Female” (Golden Otto)
• Comet – “Best Female Singer”

2007

• BRAVO Otto – “Supersinger Female” (Golden Otto)
• Comet – “Best Female Singer”

2008

• BRAVO Otto - “Supersinger Female”

References

External links

• Official website
• Official American website
• Sarah Connor at Allmusic
• Complete discography page
• Vanity Fair interview