Album of the week: Vanessa Mai makes the "Rainbow" dance
11/08/2017
written by Michel Imhof
Rainbow Day: Kesha is not the only one launching her new album "Rainbow" today, Vanessa Mai is following suit with "Rainbow". Our album of the week.
The artist
Vanessa Mai was originally part of the band project Wolkenfrei, but after her two bandmates left the band and she was virtually on her own as Wolkenfrei, the now 25-year-old decided last year to perform only as Vanessa Mai. In order to gain greater recognition under the new name, she was a member of the jury of the German casting show "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" as a young singer, and it was fellow jury member Dieter Bohlen who produced her first solo album "Für dich" with the singles "Ich sterb' für dich" and "Meilenweit". This year, Vanessa Mai faced the jury in the RTL dance show "Let's Dance" and came second with her skills.
The album
Eye-catcher: Vanessa Mai's latest album cover shows her in pink.
The second album under the artist name Vanessa Mai was also produced by Dieter Bohlen. This is particularly noticeable in the lead single "Und wenn ich träum'", which was a poor choice for a first impression: the song sounds surprisingly similar to "Ich sterb' für dich" and contains many elements of a Modern Talking song. The single "Nie wieder", which was released a week ago, gave a better taste of Mai's pop hits. A total of 17 tracks made it onto the new Mai album. One theme is omnipresent: love. No wonder, Vanessa Mai recently married her boyfriend Andreas Ferber on Mallorca. This now makes her the new stepdaughter-in-law of pop queen Andrea Berg.
Vanessa Mai on her latest work
For Vanessa Mai, this album production was quite new, as she revealed in an interview with "Schlagerplanet.com": "For the first time, I didn't think about whether other people would like it," she says. "If I felt like doing something, then I did it - regardless of what others might say." With "Ich kann heut' Nacht nicht schlafen" (I can't sleep tonight), she also wrote a song entirely by herself for the first time. However, she generally has a lot of input: "There have never been lines that have just disappeared into songs. They've always gone over my desk." 17 tracks, that's quite a lot, a rainbow "also has many facets". That's why the title was quickly chosen: "After all, there isn't really anyone who isn't happy about a rainbow," says Vanessa Mai. "I also associate it with a lot of positive things like love, hope, tolerance and equality."
Verdict
Apart from the disappointing lead single, "Regenbogen" is a good pop pop album that further advances the rejuvenation and modernization of Schlager. The boundaries between pop and Schlager are becoming increasingly blurred by Vanessa Mai, but classic Schlager beats are still clearly recognizable in the songs. Anyone looking for ballads on the album will be disappointed: the album contains mainly up-tempo pop hits to dance to. The album is a step in the right direction and a logical further development for the singer and brand Vanessa Mai.
Recommended tracks
Regenbogen - The title track is a modern pop hit song to dance and sing along to.
Unbekannter Engel - Uptempo pop song with a retro factor.
Ich vermiss dich so - Should not be missing at any pop party, could be a successor to "Meilenweit".
Vanessa Mai live
The young pop singer can be seen again and again in Switzerland. The next date is on September 8th at the Schlagertage Sedrun.
