Disappear (No Angels song)

"Disappear"
Single by No Angels
from the album Destiny Reloaded
Released	February 29, 2008
Format	CD single, ring tone, digital download
Recorded	December 22, 2007;[1] Gutleutstudios (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:19 (single version) 3:00 (ESC edit)
Label	Polydor/Universal
Writer(s)	Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, Thomas Troelsen
Producer	Remee, Thomas Troelsen
No Angels singles chronology
"Amaze Me"/ "Teardrops" (2007) "Disappear" (2008) "One Life" (2009)
"Disappear" Eurovision Song Contest 2008 entry Country Germany Artist(s) Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Jessica Wahls As No Angels Language English Composer(s) Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, Thomas Troelsen Lyricist(s) Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, Thomas Troelsen Finals performance Final result 23rd Final points 14 Appearance chronology ◄ Frauen regier'n die Welt (2007)    Miss Kiss Kiss Bang (2009) ►

"Disappear" is a pop song recorded by German pop band No Angels. It was written by Scandinavian songwriters Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, and Thomas Troelsen and co-produced by Remee and Troelsen. The track served as Germany's entry for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, having earned tight 50,5% of the audience vote at the pre-selection Grand Prix Vorentscheid. In the final show of the ESC on May 24, 2008, the song finished 23rd (out of 25) in the final voting, having earned a total of fourteen points only.^[2]

The single was released on February 29, 2008, (see 2008 in music) in German-speaking Europe, and reached number 4 on the German Singles Chart, where it became the band's biggest-selling single since the reformation in fall 2006.^[3][4] "Disappear" also reached the top 30 of the Hungarian Airplay Chart and peaked at number 21 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles.^[5]

Writing and recording

First drafts of a melody for "Disappear" were already in existence in 2005, with Troelsen, who also wrote the vocal melody, intensifying work on the track in January 2006;^[6] however, it took until November 5, 2007, the song was fully produced and provided with its final lyrics, who chronicle the aftermathes of an unforgettable love affair.^[7] The demo version of the song was recorded at the Delta Lab Recording Studios in Copenhagen by co-writer Hanne Sørvaag, who leaked her recording of "Disappear" on her MySpace on March 10, 2008.^[6]

The demo recording was eventually presented to A&R manager Niklas Hafemann and the No Angels, who accepted "Disappear" as their competition song for the Deutschen Vorentscheid.^[6] The vocals for their version were eventually recorded at the Gutleutstudios in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on December 22, 2007.^[1] Nadja Benaissa has described the song as an earworm with international ambition: "[It's] an emotional, very sentimental [song]. With music, that's raising your spirits and carries away."^[8] The song premiered during an official press conference on January 29, 2008; the same day a thirty-seconds clip of the song was previewed on the band's official fansite. A day later the song was officially serviced to European radio.^[7] On February 21, 2008, an edited version of "Disappear" premiered on the website of daily newspaper Bild-Zeitung, which was shortened to meet the three-minutes or less ESC conditions in length.^[3]

Both the official CD single and the digital download single include three remixes by the Mozart & Friends team of music producers.^[9] The atmospheric Yin Yang remix is based on a piano performance by Australian producer Alf Tuohey and was refined by Marc Mozart with "trip-hop-esque" drumloops.^[9] Alexander Hahn has contributed a trancy housemix of "Disappear," which was performed at his Chartlab Studio based in the center of Hamburg, Germany.^[9] The Soundbomb House remix has been declared "the heavier of the two house-mixes with plenty of traditional German techno elements;" the basic tracks were programmed by Manuel Loyo and Alexander Gernert, while Mozart added synthesisers.^[9]

Music video

Lucy Diakovska at a balcony on the Potsdam set of "Disappear" (Germany; January 2008).

A music video for the single, directed and produced by Daniel Lwowski for Katapult Film, was filmed on January 23, 2008, inside a castle in Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany.^[10][11] Shooting lasted until 2:00am GMT of the 24th due to operating delays.^[4] German actor Oliver Mommsen was approached to play a supporting role in the clip immediately after meeting band members Lucy Diakovska and Jessica Wahls at German talk show Die Tietjen und Dibaba.^[10]

The video opens with a scene of a Mommsen discovering a remoted mansion in a seemlingly deserted rural region, following the breakdown of his car, a BMW 2000.^[12] Deciding to search for help, he enters the empty antiquated building, which is occupied by four ghost-like entities (played by the No Angels), whose interest he awakes. Throughout the video, each of them tries to approach him in different ways, willed to either sight or touch him. However, every time he feels their presence and is tempted to catch a view of the beings, they disappear.

The clip world premiered on February 5, 2008, on German music network VIVA's show VIVA Live.^[4] On February 21, 2008, bild.de, the official website of the daily Bild-Zeitung, released a shortened version of video, which has served as the official version for the ESC version of "Disappear."^[13] The fully animated clip features previously unreleased pictures and short videos of the band.^[13] A making-of-clip of the video was released on a digital video disc on the album's re-release edition, Destiny Reloaded (2008).

Chart performance

First released on February 29, 2008, in German-speaking Europe, "Disappear" debuted at number 12 on the German Singles Chart based on composite digital singles and CD singles sales. Following the band's participation and subsequent winning of the Grand Prix Vorentscheid it rose eight places to number 4 in its second week, making it both the biggest-moving single of the week and the No Angels' first top 10 entry (twelfth in total) since their 2007 comeback single "Goodbye to Yesterday" which peaked at the same position. The single eventually spent 14 weeks on that particular chart, also making it their longest-charting single since 2002's "Still in Love with You."^[14] On Media Control's component charts "Disappear" reached number 2 on the German download chart as well as number 16 on the official airplay charts, according to Nielsen Music Control.^[15] It was ranked seventy-eighth on the German year-end chart.^[16]

In Austria, the single opened at number 63 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart.^[14] As on the German Singles Chart, sales were pushed by the Grand Prix Vorentscheid results and thus, it rose twenty-six places to number 37 in its second week of release, the group's highest peak since "Goodbye to Yesterday." The song remained another two weeks on the chart, but re-entered the top 100 at number 74 two weeks after the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.^[17] In Switzerland, the track became the group's first top 100 entry since "Goodbye to Yesterday" after the commercial failure of "Maybe" and "Amaze Me"/"Teardrops" the previous year, debuting and peaking at number 96.^[14]

On a composite Eurochart Hot 100 Singles the song debuted at number 46 in the week of March 22, 2008, before jumping to number 21 the following week. Benefiting from strong airplay on foreign music markets, the single also peaked at number 22 on the Hungarian Mahasz Radio Chart, the band's first entry since "Still in Love with You" (2002).^[5]

Eurovision Song Contest

National final

Wahls, Diakovska, Benaissa and Mölling during their performance at the national final on March 6, 2008 in Hamburg.

In January 2008, it was announced that the group and "Disappear" had qualified for the Grand Prix Vorentscheid, the German national pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, organised and broadcasted by Das Erste and the NDR.^[3] Having refused previous offers to participate in the pre-selection, it was the second time the band was asked to submit a song for the contest since their reunion in early 2007.^[3] Following several weeks of promotional appearances, the No Angels entered the competition on March 6, 2008, at the Deutsche Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, competing against all-male groups Marquess ("La histeria") and Cinema Bizarre ("Forever or Never"), and solo singers Tommy Reeve ("Just One Woman") and Carolin Fortenbacher ("Hinterm Ozean"). Dressed in white color, the No Angels hit the stage as the fifth entry of the evening, opening via lifting platform. During their performance however, their outfits transformed, with silken capes in orange, pink, purple, and blue coming from their dresses. Four wind machine were specially-installed on-stage for their performance.^[2]

After the five songs had been performed, televoters decided about the top two songs in the superfinal which were then voted on again. Widely considered as early favourites by the media^[3] the band eventually finished first, having earned tight 50,5% of the audience vote over Fortenbacher in the second and final election round, while the other three participants were ranked joint third.^[2]

Following the win of the pre-selection, controversy occurred when several news sources reported that the writers of the track were alleged to have plagiarised several elements (both motifs and melodies) from SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD contestant Steffi List's recording "Breaking the Silence" without giving credit or compensation.^[6] However, while investigators verified similarities in rhythm and phrasing, the NDR eventually denied any existing evidence proving this argument as "Disappear" was written and recorded prior to List's song.^[6][18]

ESC final

The No Angels during their performance at the Eurovision Song Contest finals on May 24, 2008, in Belgrad, Serbia.

With Germany being one the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union, the No Angels - alongside their competing entries from France, Spain, the United Kingdom and hosting country Serbia - were allowed to skip the contest's semi-finals and automatically qualified for competition with 24 other countries in the finals of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. Thus, on Saturday, May 24, 2008, the band started at number four during the show, following Albania's entry Olta Boka with her ballad "Zemrën e lamë peng" and preceding Armenia's Sirusho with "Qele Qele." Having decided to rework parts of their show for the final, the group performance differed from the Grand Prix Vorentscheid: While their stage clothes had been changed into two blue and two purple dresses with two capes each, a new choreography was added; the LED projections in the back of the stage showed flying feathers on a blue ground and moreover, pyrotechnics were included.^[19]

An estimated 100 million fans watched the final contest, and viewers from all 43 participating nations voted for their favourite performers via text message and telephone.^[20] While generally never considered a pre-contest favourite (online betting firms such as Paddy Power previously put Germany's chances of winning at 100 to 1, in the lowest third of competitors),^[21] the No Angels eventually ranked 23rd place out of the 25 countries that participated with a total of 14 points – taking 12 points from Bulgaria, band member Lucy Diakovska's native country, and 2 points from Switzerland only. In fact, only Poland and the United Kingdom placed below the four-member female band.^[20][21]

It was succeeded as German representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 by Alex Swings Oscar Sings (Alex C. and Oscar Loya) with "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang".

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Disappear."

CD maxi single "Disappear" (single version) - 3:19 "Disappear" (Yin Yang remix) - 4:13 "Disappear" (Chartlab house remix) - 5:22 "Disappear" (Soundbomb house remix) - 5:01 "Disappear" (music video) - 3:35

Digital single "Disappear" (single version) - 3:19 "Disappear" (Yin Yang remix) - 4:13 "Disappear" (Chartlab house remix) - 5:22 "Disappear" (Soundbomb house remix) - 5:01

Credits and personnel

Vocals: N. Benaissa, L. Diakovska, S. Mölling, J. Wahls Writers: Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, Thomas Troelsen Producers: Remee, T. Troelsen Vocal editing: Nicolaj Rasted

Vocal recording: Trevor U. Hurst, Marijo Dolic Mixing: Will Simms Mixing engineer: Sawas Iossifidis Mastering: Götz-Michael Rieth

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[22]	37
European Hot 100 Singles[23]	21
Germany (Media Control AG)[24]	4
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[25]	16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	96

See also

• Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Weihnachtszeit (Blog)." Official Nadja Benaissa MySpace. Retrieved on 2007-12-27
2. ^ ^{a b c} uq/dpa (2008-03-06). "No Angels singen für Deutschland". Focus Online. http://www.focus.de/kultur/musik/eurovision-song-contest_aid_264204.html. Retrieved 2008-03-06. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Pittelkau, Mark (2008-03-06). "Grand-Prix-Kandidaten 2008". Bild-Zeitung. http://www.bild.t-online.de/BILD/entertainment/musik/2008/01/10/grand-prix/kandidaten,geo=3443364.html. Retrieved 2008-01-10. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "No Angels für Deutschland?". Official website. http://www.noangels-music.de/. Retrieved 2008-01-10. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Hungarian Radio Chart". Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=radios_top_40.html. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} Schmitt, Peter-Philipp (2008-03-11). "Keine Engel – aber auch keine Plagiatoren". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. http://www.faz.net/s/RubCD175863466D41BB9A6A93D460B81174/Doc~E09E4FF0339AD4EC6AA3F6C00A0F66C94~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html?rss_googlefeed. Retrieved 2008-03-15. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ ^{a b} "Vier Engel für Deutschland". Official Fansite. 2008-01-10. http://www.noangels-inside.de/more.php?news_id=249. Retrieved 2008-01-10. 
8. ^ dpa (2003-03-03). "No Angels peilen Grand-Prix-Sieg an". Welt Online. http://www.welt.de/hamburg/article1751485/No_Angels_peilen_Grand-Prix-Sieg_an.html. Retrieved 2008-03-03. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} "No Angels single 'Disappear' features three remixes by Mozart & Friends". Mozart & Friends Website. 2008-03-06. http://www.mozartandfriends.com/news/2008_02_no_angels_single_disappear_features_three_official_remixes_by_mozart_and_friends_producers_yin_yang_chartlab_soundbomb_house_rmx_remixes.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "News". Katapult-Film.com. 2008-02-07. http://www.katapult-film.com/. Retrieved 2008-02-07. 
11. ^ ddp (2008-01-10). "Zum Feiern ist es jetzt noch zu früh". Ad-Hoc-News. http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/Marktberichte/de/14944247/Zum+Feiern+ist+es+jetzt+noch+zu+frueh. Retrieved 2008-01-10. 
12. ^ "Disappear". Crew-United. http://english.crew-united.com/index.asp?show=projectdata&ID=75669. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "'Grand-Prix-Version' von 'Disappear'". Bild-Zeitung. Official Fansite. http://www.noangels-inside.de/more.php?news_id=330. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
14. ^ ^{a b c} "Chart Performance". aCharts. http://acharts.us/song/34379. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
15. ^ "Airplay Charts Deutschland". Surfmusik. http://www.surfmusik.de/airplaycharts_2008_kw14.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
16. ^ "Jahrescharts - Singles 2008". MTV News. http://www.mtv.de/charts/Jahrescharts2008. Retrieved 2008-12-29. ^{[dead link]}
17. ^ "NO ANGELS - DISAPPEAR (SONG)". Austriancharts. http://austriancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=No+Angels&titel=Disappear&cat=s. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
18. ^ dpa/The Local (2008-03-10). "Eurovision contestants No Angels accused of plagiarism". The Local. http://www.thelocal.de/10601/20080310/. Retrieved 2008-05-24. 
19. ^ Schacht, Andreas (2008-05-17). "Germany's No Angels on the way to heaven?". Eurovision.tv. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news/belgrade-2008?id=965. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
20. ^ ^{a b} ddp/The Local (2008-05-25). "Germany's No Angels tank at Eurovision". The Local. http://www.thelocal.de/12073/20080525/. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
21. ^ ^{a b} "Germans fret no one likes them after Eurovision dud". Reuters. May 25, 2008. http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKL2559834020080525?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
22. ^ "No Angels – Disappear – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
23. ^ "No Angels Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for No Angels. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
24. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
25. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
26. ^ "No Angels – Disappear – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-05-26.

External links

• NoAngels-Music.de — official site
• Original music video on YouTube
• ESC version of the music video on YouTube