JENNIFER RUSH

Jennifer Rush, one of pop music‘s most successful and recognizable vocal artists was born in New York City. Her father, an opera tenor performed in opera houses all over the world. Her mother is a concert pianist and vocal coach and her older brothers also headed for careers in the music business. Before Jennifer‘s family moved to Europe due to her father‘s singing engagements, Jennifer studied the violin at Julliard School of Music in NYC and showed an intense interest in poetry and songwriting. She says her biggest influences were Aretha Franklin, Chaka Chan, Gladys Knight and Joni Mitchell. Her father was the one to pay for her first demo tape which led to Jennifer signing her first record deal with CBS Germany. She conquered the charts and the hearts of her fans like no other musical artist at the time, scored hit by hit and sold out the biggest concert venues. Her timeless ballad “The Power Of Love” made history in music and with her exceptional voice Jennifer Rush has established herself among the best female artists worldwide.

The story of success starts in the mid 80’s when her single “25 Lovers” draws attention of radio stations and becomes her first commercial hit all over Europe. Accompanied by her next hit single “Ring Of Ice” the debut album “Jennifer Rush” exceeded all expectations and remained the in the German Top 75 for over 100 weeks. “The Power Of Love”, co-written by Jennifer, was released as the next single and marked the birth of “THE love song of the decade”. “The Power Of Love” topped the charts from Scandinavia to South Africa, reached the Top 10 in 16 countries, entered the US Billboard Charts and got listed in the Guinness Book of Records as “the best selling single by a female solo artist in the history of British pop music”. Furthermore the Spanish sung version “Si Tu Eres Mi Hombre Y Yo Tu Mujer” hit no.1 in Spain with the English version holding the no.3 spot at the same time. “The Power Of Love” song conquered the world, sold millions and set the international breakthrough for Jennifer Rush.

While “The Power Of Love” still on the charts Jennifer had been working on her second album “Movin’” which was released in autumn 1985 alongside the single “Destiny” which became her biggest single hit in Germany. To date the critically acclaimed album “Movin’” is considered a milestone in 80s pop music unifying Jennifer’s powerful voice with the unique and groundbreaking sound of her songs. “Movin’” expectably reached No.1 in Germany (with “Jennifer Rush” simultaneously at No.3), sold more than 2.5 million copies in Germany alone and became the best selling album of 1986. It also reached the No.1 spot in many countries in and outside of Europe and was awarded gold and multi-platinum. Jennifer Rush’s first tour “Movin’ In Concert” was completely sold out and fans all over Europe enthusiastically celebrated Jennifer Rush live on stage. Jennifer Rush returned with an album that was set to reinforce her massive success in the international music business. “Heart Over Mind”, her third opus, produced by Desmond Child, Andy Goldmark, Bruce Roberts among others, even topped the success of her two fist releases. Straight after it’s release “Heart Over Mind” reached No.1 all over Europe, Top 10 on all continents and also charted in the USA and Japan. The second single from the album, Jennifer’s duet “Flames Of Paradise” with Sir Elton John became a massive hit single which even entered the US Billboard Top 40. A rain of gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards proved “Heart Over Mind” as Jennifer Rush’s best selling album to date. In Germany alone the album captured the No.1 position for 12 consecutive weeks selling over 2.5 million copies. Hardly surprising that the following European tour “Heart Over Mind In Concert” became yet another triumphal happening with nothing but sold out shows, additional dates and ticket sale records.

In 1988 Jennifer Rush released her fourth studio album entitled “Passion” produced by Ric Wake, Michael Omartian and Harold Faltermeyer. Pre-orders for the highly anticipated record amounted more than 250,000 units which lead to a gold record award even before the release. “Passion” reached No.3 in Germany and Top 10 all over Europe and among three chart singles featured “Same Heart”, a duet with Michael Bolton. In Spain „Passion“ also included once again 2 songs recorded in Spanish which easily entered the national charts Before she released her next studio album Jennifer Rush dedicated herself to two outstanding musical projects: The rainforest charity single „Yes We Can“ which also featured vocals by Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan and several other artists was released in autumn 1989. Furthermore opera Tenor Placido Domingo asked Jennifer Rush to record the duet „Til I Loved You“ with him. It was released as a single from his „Goya...A Life In Song“ project and the duet reached No.17 in the UK single charts.

„Wings of Desire“ Jennifer‘s fifth studio album was produced by Christopher Neil, Phil Ramone and Michael J. Powell which sold over 500,000 copies in Germany and reached Top 10 positions in Europe again.

Having released five overly successful albums in only a few years Jennifer Rush concluded this first chapter of her recording career with “The Power Of Jennifer Rush” her first Best-Of album which included two Spanish songs previously not released internationally.

Jennifer Rush‘s sixth studio album „Jennifer Rush ‚92“ impressed with highly regarded producers again such as Desmond Child and Rick Nowels and delivered the first new song material in over three years. The album produced not only three hit singles but four acclaimed tracks in Spanish.

Her commercially most successful album of the 90’s was “Out Of My Hands”, released in 1995 introduced by the power ballad hit single “Tears In The Rain”. The album also included “Who Wants To Live Forever” a cover of the Queen classic performed as a duet by Jennifer Rush and Queen member Brian May himself.

Jennifer Rush surprised her audience with her first and to date only recording in the German language by releasing “Das Farbenspiel des Winds” the German version of “Colors Of The Wind” – the Oscar-winning theme song from Disney’s animated movie “Pocahontas”. The single instantly charted in Germany. In 1997 Jennifer Rush appeared back on the scene with „Credo“ her eighth studio album. Partially recorded and produced in South Africa, using authentic South African tribal choirs, the album turned into a remarkable success entering the charts in Germany and throughout continental Europe. Only a year later a very special concept album comes to light: Full orchestra arrangements by the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra embedded Jennifer Rush’s voice on “Classics” a collection of her biggest hits added up by four new songs. An impressive CD which staged the musical quality of Jennifer Rush’s hits as well as her outstanding vocal talents. “Classics” did not only succeed in the sales charts but also worked live on stage when Jennifer successfully toured Europe combining a live orchestra with her rock band with „Classics in Concert“ in 1999.

Her fans have been waiting for new music from Jennifer Rush ever since. The continuing sale numbers of her previous studio albums and newly released hit collections have shown impressively that there is a demand for her tenth studio album appropriately entitled “Now Is The Hour”. The first new album in over ten years, the first all-new material since 1997’s “Credo”. Songwriters for the new album include Swedish pop-mastermind Jörgen Elofsson (Celine Dion, Leona Lewis, Westlife), Alex James (Alxandra Burke, Backstreet Boys), British singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield (“Soulmate”), Niara Scarlett (Sugababes) as well as Nashville’s song writing legend Sharon Vaughn (Agnes Carlsson, Trisha Yearwood). Next to a variety of love songs including the pop ballad “I Never Asked For An Angel” the hymnic “Now Is The Hour” or the piano lullaby “Still” her new album also presents feel-good pop tunes like “Eyes Of A Woman” or the latino-esque “Betcha Never”. Above all that Jennifer Rush surprises the fans and listeners with a handful of dance-oriented disco pop tracks like “Down On My Knees” or “Echoes Love” which carry the familiar voice into the new century. Beyond a doubt, “Now is The Hour” marks the return of one of the biggest and most remarkable artists in pop music. Jennifer Rush easily answers the expectations with vocal brilliance and a strong collection of contemporary songs. She is back to recapture her place and you can’t help but enjoy her return. The voice is back – at last!

(Thomas Stegheer)