Dieter Thomas Kuhn was born on January 7, 1965, in Tübingen, Germany. When the German music scene experienced a revival of the schlager genre -- simplistic pop songs with overly kitschy and sentimental lyrics and imagery -- in the mid-'90s, filtered through an ironic, tongue-in-cheek sense of embracing "uncool," dated music, Kuhn quickly rose to fame. He covered old schlager hits, presented as a cheesy, in-your-face mixture of homage and parody, complete with over-the-top costumes and a chest hair toupee. He has released several successful albums, even though attempts at more serious musical endeavors have largely failed. ~ Christian Genzel