Emo quartet
Tokio Hotel emerged as one of the most successful new German acts of their generation, scoring three number one singles via 2005's debut LP,
Schrei.
Bill and
Tom Kaulitz, 12-year-old twins, formed the group in their native Magdeburg in 2001, recruiting drummer
Gustav Schäfer and bassist
Georg Listing to round out the lineup. Originally dubbed
Devilish, the teen foursome toured aggressively before signing to Universal in 2003, adopting the moniker
Tokio Hotel in tandem with the deal. Composed primarily by
Bill Kaulitz in tandem with a series of high-profile songwriters,
Schrei was preceded by the August 2005 release of
Tokio Hotel's debut single, "Durch den Monsun." Teenage girls quickly embraced the band with puppy-love fervor, and by the end of the month the single topped the German pop chart and its Austrian counterpart. The follow-ups "Rette Mich" and "Der Letzte Tag" also hit number one, although the former appeared in a re-recorded version dramatically different from its LP version thanks to
Kaulitz's post-pubescent vocal changes. After the singer wrapped his contributions to filmmaker
Luc Besson's animated fantasy Arthur and the Minimoys,
Tokio Hotel returned to the studio to complete work on their 2007 follow-up album, Zimmer 483. In June 2007, Scream, the band's first English language album, was released in Europe. The album's tracks were comprised of songs from
Schrei and Zimmer 483 that had been translated and re-recorded. Scream was released in the United States on April 29, 2008. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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