Gabriele Susanne Kerner, better known as Nena, is a German singer. In the period from 1982 to 1986 Nena was the singer of the eponymous band Nena. Nena was born on March 24, 1960 in Hagen. She grew up in Breckerfeld for the first 5 years of her childhood. The name Nena has been used since childhood. She got that name, which means "little girl" in Spanish, after a holiday with her parents in Spain, where the locals called her that. Because she also uses the name Nena privately and since her youth, this is not a pseudonym.
In 1977 she met guitarist Rainer Kitzmann in a discotheque in Hagen, Germany. He asked her to be part in his band The Stripes as a singer. The band split up in 1981. Nena left for Berlin together with the drummer, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist to form the band Nena. Between '82 and '87 Nena was the singer of the band Nena. Which sometimes leads to confusion.
In 1983 the band released their most famous song '99 Luftballoons'. The song takes first place on the charts in the Netherlands and Flanders, among others. Although the English-language version reached #1 in the UK, it was the German-language version that made it to the US top.
In 1989 she started a solo career under the name Nena. She released 5 pop albums, with which she did not score any major hits. She slowly lost the attention of the general public. Although she had never been completely absent, Nena made a comeback at the end of 2002. Together with a former member of the band Nena, she made a new album. The album Nena feat. Nena was a hit with fans from the 80s, as well as with the youth. In 2003, together with Kim Wilde, she scored a hit in part of Europe with 'Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime', a bilingual remake of 'Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann' and 'Anyplace, anywhere, anytime' from 1984. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 1 on the charts.
Besides her musical career, Nena has her own autobiography, she appeared as a coach between 2011 and 2013 in the first three seasons of The Voice of Germany, she was a coach with her daughter in the German version of The Voice Kids and she released together with her daughter a clothing collection in collaboration with the German brand Tom Tailor.
