Ute Freudenberg

Best known for the song "Jugendliebe," German pop singer Ute Freudenberg was one of her country's most popular vocalists in the early '80s, but her career stretched from the '70s to the 2000s. Born in Weimar in 1956, Freudenberg was discovered at age 15 and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1972 to 1977. During her studies there, she was a founding member of the rock band Elefant and appeared on the albums Jugendliebe from 1981 and the following year's Alles Oder Nichts. After Elefant disbanded in 1983, Freudenberg moved to Düsseldorf and worked as a session vocalist. She also performed as Heather Jones in the Netherlands and on cruise ships, and recorded the song "This Was the Last Time" as Heather Jones for a 1988 episode of the television crime drama Tatort. Two years later, she returned to her given name to record "Ein Tag Wie Heut," a German-language version of Whitney Houston's hit "One Moment in Time"; she had another hit in 1992 with "Zwei Alte Freunde." In 1994, Freudenberg returned with her first solo album, Und da Fragst du Noch; by 1996, she had moved back to Weimar and founded the Ute F. Live Band, with whom she recorded the following year's Land in Sicht. In 1998, Freudenberg won the Golden Henne for Music. During the 2000s, she remained busy with her music and television careers, releasing albums such as Träumerland and Puppenspieler. In 2008, Freudenberg received the Federal Cross of Merit from German President Horst Kohler for her work with the McDonald's Children's Aid Foundation. Freudenberg planned to release another album in spring 2009.