Michelle Leonard

Michelle Leonard
Born	June 5, 1973 (1973-06-05) (age 38) England
Origin	Germany
Genres	Pop, Rock, Punk, Electro
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter
Instruments	singing
Years active	1990-present
Labels	Universal Music Publishing
Associated acts	Cinema Bizarre, Sandy Mölling, Mike Leon Grosch, Vanilla Ninja, Joachim Witt, Tarja Turunen, Sarah Connor, Thomas Godoj, Stanfour, Sarah Brightman, Zoë Badwi, Hanna Pakarinen, Gregorian (band), Valentine, Zweiohrküken
Website	Official website

Michelle Leonard (born 5 June 1973) is a British singer and songwriter, now based in Berlin. Since 2006, Leonard has co-written multiple songs for singles and albums that charted in Europe, chiefly Germany.^[1] As a songwriter she is signed to Universal Music Publishing.^[2]

Biography

Leonard grew up in Germany and attended the British schools there. EMI Music Publishing signed her when she was 17.^{[citation needed]} As an artist, Leonard's songs included "Feel So Perfect". The song was used for a pan-European C&A advertising campaign that went on for three years, with different films around the song. "Feel So Perfect" was released by Cape featuring Michelle Leonard and became a radio hit. She was the headliner in Munich at the new year's celebrations in 2000. Axe also used one of her songs in their advertising as well as RMS (Radio marketing services).

Leonard's voice can be heard with the German band Such a Surge on the song "Instant Replay," and on several dance tracks such as The Mob's song "Falling," a dance hit which she recorded when she was 17. (The song, sans vocals, became the theme to the show Twin Peaks.) Between 2001 and 2004, Leonard was involved in a number of experimental projects and performed at several art happenings and underground events around the world.^{[citation needed]} Leonard is also a lecturer at the Popakademie for Songwriting. She was the Performance and music director for the German theater abroad project in New York / Public Theater. She directed the musical "Electric Society", which was staged on 12 November 2005 in Cologne, Germany. Leonard has written songs for several advertisement campaigns, films, TV-productions and many artists world wide. She was a judge in 2009 in a German casting television show named Popstars and released her Album Fragile in December 2009 (Universal music Germany).

Discography

Her co-writes include: Hanna Pakarinen's "Save My Life Tonight" (on 2004's album When I Become Me, Finnish #1, Platinum), Hanna Pakarinen's "Out Of Tears" (on Gold album Stronger), Nu Pagadi's "Virus" (on the album Your Dark Side, which made #6 in Switzerland and #1 in Germany) and Nico Weidemann's "Sag Mir Wann" (Perfekte Welle Compilation). She did translation work for the Busted single "Hurra Hurra Die Schule Brennt".

2006

Co-written songs released in 2006 include:

• Tracks on Mike Leon Grosch's Absolute album, released 26 May: "This Ride" & "Don't Let It Get You Down": #2 in Germany
• Single Mike Leon Grosch "Don't Let It Get You Down" #1 in Germany, #2 in Switzerland and #6 in Austria.
• Tracks on Vanilla Ninja: Love is War (# 16 in Germany, #1 in Estonia), released 19 May: "Kingdom Burning Down", "Dangerzone", "The Band That Never Existed", "Rockstarz", "Battlefield", "Insane in Vain", "Silence", "Love is Just a War" (int. album track), "My Name" (int. album track). Leonard also did vocal coaching for the band.^[3]
• Single "Dangerzone" by Vanilla Ninja": #17 in Germany and was released 21 April^[4])
• "Der Turm" on Joachim Witt's Bayreuth 3 (limited edition), US release, 27 January.
• Tracks on Valentine´s album Blue Merry-Go-Round (on EMI Germany): "You and Me" (single released in August 2006^[5]), "Cruel to Myself", "Hell Yeah".
• "Celebrity Queen" on Alexander Klaws' Attention! album (released on Sony BMG). The album reached #20 in Germany.
• Tracks on Frame of Mind from No Angels member, Sandy Mölling. The album made the top 20 in Germany: "It's Over", "Venom", "Occupied", "Tattooed On Me""Living Without You".

2007

Co-written songs released in 2007 include:

• Single: "Lovesongs (They Kill Me)" by Cinema Bizarre: #9 Germany
• Album:"Final Attraction" by Cinema Bizarre: Lovesongs (They Kill Me), "Get Off" and "Heaven Sent": #9 Germany
• Several tracks on the My Winter Storm album from Tarja Turunen ("Lost Northern Star", "Ciárans Well" and "Calling Grace"): #1 in Finland, #3 in Germany, #11 Austria, #15 Switzerland, #37 Norway, #41 Sweden. It reached Platinum in Finland and 2x Platinum in Russia as well as gold in the Czech Republic
• "Superstar" and "I Am Not Afraid" for Orange Blue's album Superstar
• "Atomic Love" and "Another Day" for Swedish band Nouveau Riche
• "Grossstadtkinder" and "Jenny" for Peilomat
• Several songs for the debut album by German girl group "sistanova", released September 2007
• "If I Lose You" on Lisa Bund's 2007 album Born Again (Sony BMG); the album made #66 in Austria and #88 in Switzerland.^[6]
• No Angels theme song "Life is a miracle" for the Warner Bros. animated feature Kleiner Dodo

2008

• Michelle Leonard was in the Jury for the "Landeswettbewerb" Jugend musiziert in Pop vocals
• Cinema Bizarre's album "Final Attraction" is released in 17 different countries

Co-written songs released in 2008 include:

• Single: "Love is You" by the "DSDS" winner Thomas Godoj: #1 single in Germany, #1 Austria, #1 Switzerland
• Album "Plan A'" by the "DSDS" winner Thomas Godoj: "Love is you", "Too young to grow old", "Summer breeze", "Brand new start": #1 in Germany (Platinum status), #1 Austria, #3 Switzerland
• Single: "Jesus on Extasy" with the track "Stay with me": #1 alternative charts / Germany
• Single release in France "Lovesongs (They Kill Me)" by Cinema Bizarre: #24

2009

• Cinema Bizarre: release "Lovesongs (They Kill Me)" in the US and join Lady Gaga on her US tour as supporting act. The album Final Attraction received gold status in Russia.
• Co-written: Sarah Brightman performs the "Little riding hood rap" song on her "Symphony" world tour.
• Leonard is one of the Popstars judges in Germany. A TV-Show on Pro7.
• Leonard sings the German advert song for Ford Ka "Schau mal genauer hin"

Co-written songs released in 2009 include:

• Album: My Winter Storm [Limited Fan Edition] by Tarja Turunen: bonus track "Enough"
• Single: "Love in a million shades" by Hanna Pakarinen (Album Love in a million shades, #7 in Finland and reached gold status)
• Single: "Blown Away" by the "Starmania" winner Oliver Wimmer (#1 single in Austria and #1 Airplay charts)
• Single: "No More Days To Waste" by Aloha from Hell (Single #8 international airplay charts in Japan & #1 international video charts in Japan) Album No more days to waste, #21 Album charts in Germany, Gold status, #10 in Japan, platinum status ). They win an echo award for best newcomer in Germany.
• Album Toyz Cinema Bizarre: "Touching and kissing", "My Obsession", "Je Ne Regrette Rien", "In your Cage", „Heaven is wrapped in Chains", "I Don't Wanna Know (If U Got Laid)", "Out of Love", "Sad day (For Happiness)", "Tears in Vegas": # 44 AT, # 24 in Germany (released in the US under the album name: "BANG")
• Film music for the German film Zweiohrküken (Gold status) and album track Tired again by Stanfour # 6 in Germany
• Film music for the German film Zweiohrküken (Gold status) and album track Where did we go wrong by Michelle Leonard # 6 in Germany
• Album "Fragile" by Michelle Leonard: "Where did we go wrong", "All I am", "Merry-go-round", "Fragile", "Out of ammunition", "The truth lies", "Did you feel me", "Golden rider", " Love is you"

2010

• Leonard is pop act of the year in the VW-Soundfoundation
• Leonard was in the Jury for the "Bundesswettbewerb": Jugend musiziert" in Pop vocals

Co-written songs released in 2010 include:

• Album: "What lies beneath" by Tarja Turunen (former Nightwish singer): "Anteroom of death" (It charted in 18 countries including: FI #7, AT #11, # 13 EU and #4 in Germany)
• Single: "I can´t dance alone" by Giovanni Zarella feat. Ross Anthony (#26 in Germany)
• Album: Jesus on Extasy "Beloved Enemy" (US-Release): Stay with me
• Album: Gary Cheng releases a Cantonese version of "I´m a big girl now": "An Le Chang Zan"
• Album: "The dark side of chant" by the group Gregorian: "Born to feel alive" (#22 AT, #27 CH, #7 in Germany, ) which is the first English version of the song "Geboren um zu Leben" by The German artist Unheilig
• Album: "Real Love" by Sarah Conner: Carry me home (#15 AT, #22 CH, #8 in Germany)
• EP: "Until my last breath" by Tarja Turunen: Crying moon
• EP: "I feel immortal" by Tarja Turunen: Crying moon

2011

Co-written songs released in 2011 include:

• Album:" Juwel" by Frida Gold: "Undercover" (# 18 in Germany)
• Album: "Humanology" by Marla Glen: "Daddy"
• Earbook "Insight Outside" by Bertil Mark: "Down the hole and back 3D"
• Single: "Carry me home" by Grant Smillie featuring Zoë Badwi.
• ZDF TV Film "Das grosse Comeback" title track "ich sehe dich" by Uwe Ochsenknecht

References

1. ^ Swiss Charts listing for Michelle Leonard
2. ^ Universal Music Publishing page
3. ^ Love Is War, Discogs, http://www.discogs.com/release/1140552 
4. ^ Dangerzone, Discogs, http://www.discogs.com/release/738828 
5. ^ Valentine Official site
6. ^ Swiss Charts listing for Born Again

External links

• MySpace site
• Universal Music Publishing page

Persondata
Name	Leonard, Michelle
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 June 1973
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death