DJ BoBo

Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer.

He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as several compilation albums which have included his previous hits in a reworked format.

BoBo has also released 34 singles, some of which have charted high not only in German speaking countries, but also in other European territories.

As a dance music producer, his first big success came with the single "Somebody Dance with Me", which borrows its melody from Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me".

BoBo charted with the singles "Keep on Dancing", "Take Control", "Everybody", "Let the Dream Come True", "Love Is All Around", "Freedom", "Pray", and "What a Feeling", as well as "Chihuahua", almost all of which comprised fast-paced Eurodance sound with female vocals and rap verses performed by BoBo.

Peter René Baumann was born in Kölliken, Switzerland in 1968 to Italian father Luigi Cipriano and Swiss mother Ruth Baumann.

Initially, Baumann wanted to work in the area of confectionery and bakery.

This, however, did not last long as his desire for dancing clicked with the development of breakdancing after his high school graduation.

Having been involved in numerous dance-contests, Baumann managed to reach the Top 10 of the German dance-contest "Disco Kings" with his acrobatic dance style.

Baumann began his DJ career in 1985, a year after which he was a runner-up in the Swiss DJ Championships.

He continued to work as a DJ at numerous night-clubs such as Don Paco and the Hazyland, both in Switzerland.

He gained enough experience and later decided to produce his own record.

His first single "I Love You" came out in late 1989 during which time he would still work as a DJ but focused on future releases of his own production.

In 1991, DJ BoBo released two other singles, "Ladies in the House" and "Let's Groove On".

The latter was a little more successful and even made it onto the first album.

Between 1992 and 2007, he had 27 single chart hits in Switzerland and Germany and has won ten World Music Awards for being Switzerland's best selling artist.

BoBo has received numerous Gold and Platinum certifications for his releases and has found success in Europe (primarily Germany and Switzerland), Canada, Asia, and South America.

Baumann gained immense international popularity when he released his Europe-wide smash hit "Somebody Dance with Me" in November 1992.

Employing catchy refrains by Emel Aykanat as well as rap performance by himself, the single shot to number 1 in Switzerland and Sweden, while it landed in the Top 5 in numerous other European countries including Germany.

"Somebody Dance with Me" was certified Gold in Germany for selling well over 250,000 units.

His second hit, "Keep on Dancing", which followed the same technique as its predecessor, reached the Top 5 both in Switzerland and in Germany, and landed in the Top 10 in other parts of Europe.

The single reached Gold status in Germany for sales of 250,000 units.

The long-awaited album Dance with Me was released in October 1993 and remained in the charts all over Europe for quite some time, which was followed by another single, "Take Control", again from his debut album.

It earned him yet another Gold award in Germany for sales of over 250,000 units, as the song also entered the Top 20 in numerous countries.

While DJ BoBo appeared to have already separated himself from one-hit wonders, he released his next single, "Everybody", in the summer of 1994, which climbed as high as No. 2 in Germany and was certified Platinum for selling 500,000 units there.

"Everybody" differed from the previously released singles in terms of its structure; it diverged from house, leaning towards a mixture of house and hip hop ("hip house"), with female vocalists performing the chorus and rap verses performed by BoBo.

In the fall of 1994, his second studio album There Is a Party was released.

While the album peaked at No. 4 in Switzerland where it was certified Platinum for selling over 50,000 units, it entered the Top 10 in Germany, where it spent total of 26 weeks on the chart, eventually reaching Gold status for selling over 250,000 units.

The single "Let the Dream Come True" from the album topped the charts in Switzerland and entered the Top 5 in Germany, where it was certified Gold for sales over 250,000 units.

While the follow-up second single, "Love Is All Around", entered the Top 20 in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway, it was certified Gold in Germany being the sixth golden record in a row.

During the course of this ongoing success, in 1995, DJ BoBo represented Switzerland in the World Music Awards in Monaco, being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year".

In the summer of 1995, DJ BoBo went on a tour which took place in most parts of Asia, which was followed by a promotional tour in Australia.

Later that year, DJ BoBo travelled all over Europe performing in front of as many as 400,000 spectators.

BoBo released his first ballad, "Love Is the Price", in January 1996, which was introduced in Thomas Gottschalk's TV show Wetten, dass..?.

Later that year, DJ BoBo again ended up at the World Music Awards in Monaco for being the "World's Best Selling Swiss Artist of the Year", performing two songs back to back; "Freedom" (which was his eighth Gold record in a row in Germany) as well as his newly released ballad "Love Is the Price".

The release of the album World in Motion in September 1996 proved not only DJ BoBo's consistent presence in the charts, but with this album, he managed to break all his previous records.

It took only a few weeks for the album to reach the No. 3 position in Germany and be awarded Platinum for selling 500,000 units.

In Switzerland, the album jumped from 0 to No. 1 and was awarded Double-Platinum for selling 100,000 units.

It was ranked in the Top 40 albums of all-time, after remaining on the Swiss album chart for a staggering 67 weeks.

Shortly after the release of World in Motion, DJ BoBo went on a promotional tour in Asia for 20 days, which was followed up by a one month-tour in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.