Christina Stürmer, Austrian singer-songwriter
Christina Stürmer (born 9 June 1982) is an Austrian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Linz, she rose to fame as the runner-up of the inaugural season of the ORF eins television talent series Starmania. Following her participation, she signed with Universal Music and released her debut single "Ich lebe" which spent nine weeks atop the Austrian Singles Chart. It was followed by the release of her first two albums, Freier Fall (2003) and Soll das wirklich alles sein (2004), both of which debuted atop the Austrian Albums Chart and produced eight top ten hits, including the number-one singles "Mama (Ana Ahabak)" and "Vorbei".
With the release of her international debut album Schwarz Weiss, Stürmer became one of the biggest-selling Austrian artists to emerge in German-speaking Europe in the mid-2000s. She followed her international breakthrough with a series of successful albums, including the chart toppers Lebe lauter (2006), In dieser Stadt (2009), Ich hör auf mein Herz (2013) and Seite an Seite (2016). Several singles from these album became hits on the pop charts in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, including the number-one hits "Nie genug" and "Um bei dir zu sein" as well as top ten singles such as "Mitten unterm Jahr" and Millionen Lichter".
Throughout a career spanning 15 years, Stürmer has sold over 2.0 million records. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including eleven Amadeus Austrian Music Awards, a Goldene Stimmgabel, and two ECHO Awards. In 2015, Stürmer took part in the second season of the German The Best Singers adaptation Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert. In 2017, she served as a coach on the German television series It Takes 2.