Haddaway What Is Love 2017 (Tommer Mizrahi Remix)
best known for his 1993 hit single “
“, which reached number 1 in 13 countries.
Early life Haddaway was born in
in 1965. His mother was a nurse and his father was a marine biologist.
His parents separated in the early 1970s and Haddaway first lived with his father in Europe and then with his mother in the USA. He was raised in Chicago and moved to the
at the age of 9.
He listened to
, which encouraged him to learn how to play
at the age of 14.
He attended
in
, where he was a member of the
.
This eventually resulted in him forming his first group, which he called Chances.
He enrolled in
, but dropped out the same year due to lack of excitement.
Haddaway moved to
,
, in 1987 where he mostly worked in bars.
Later, he formed his own company, Energy, which was involved in organizing fashion shows and
.
Career Logotype used by Haddaway throughout his career. In 1992, Haddaway was signed by German label
. His debut single, “
“, rapidly became popular in Europe, reaching number 2 in Germany and the
.
In Germany, the single sold 900,000 copies.
In the United Kingdom, it received a
of Gold for shipment of 400,000 units.
It later reached number 11 on the
and was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 units.
By the beginning of 1994, worldwide sales of “What Is Love” reached 2.6 million.
His second single, “
“, reached number 2 in Germany, number 6 in the United Kingdom, and number 41 in the USA, and its worldwide sales reached 1.5 million by 1994.
The follow-up singles “
” and “
” also reached the Top 10 in Europe and established him as a successful
artist. His first LP,
(also known as Haddaway in the USA), was a multi-million seller which reached Platinum status in Germany for shipments of 500,000,
and Gold in the UK and in France for shipments of 100,000.
In 1995, he released his second album,
, which included the UK top 20 hit “
“, as well as “
” and “Lover Be Thy Name”. “What Is Love” enjoyed a resurgence in popularity as the theme music for the Butabi brothers (
and
) on
and the 1998 film
.
The albums
(1998) and My Face (2001; re-released as Love Makes) all failed to chart. Haddaway appeared on the television show Comeback –
in Germany in 2004. He appeared on the UK version of
in 2005 and subsequently appeared on the U.S. version. This exposure led to him scoring a moderate chart hit in Germany with the ballad “Spaceman” from his next album, Pop Splits. In 2008, “What Is Love” was featured in a commercial for
that aired during
which parodied the
and included several stars including
,
, and
, but Haddaway himself did not appear in the ad.
In 2008, Haddaway teamed up with Eurodance star
for the single “I Love the 90’s”.
In 2009, “What Is Love” re-entered charts after German DJ
remixed it. The track resurfaced again in 2010 when it sampled heavily in Eminem’s single “No Love” featuring Lil Wayne. In 2012, Haddaway released the single “Up and Up” with
, which was a top 20 dance hit in the USA.
In 2011, he said that most of his performances are in “the east”, in places such as
,
, or
.
In 2016, he announced plans to star in Neverending Dream, a film about Eurodance. Despite launching a fundraiser on
, the film was not released.
Personal life Haddaway now lives in
,
, and also has a home in
, Germany.