"Floodlight"

Singer Michelle with personal farewell album

The German pop queen Michelle is taking early retirement for various reasons: but before that, she is releasing a massive farewell album.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Ariola, Christian Barz)

This one last album, followed by farewell concerts - then the spotlights go out for Michelle: After more than 30 years in show business, the singer is calling it quits. "I've ridden through many storms, had countless highs and lows, ran like a hamster wheel without getting anywhere, and now I'm just tired," says the 52-year-old in an interview with the German Press Agency. The announced end to her career was not a spontaneous decision.

"It was a process, a longing that grew and grew. It has nothing to do with the audience, but with everything that surrounds it. Business and private life. One always suffers. I'm simply at a point where I say: I don't want this anymore."

Lots of ups and downs
Highs and lows sounds like an understatement. It's more like peaks and abysses. Born in Villingen-Schwenningen, the artist reached the top of the charts with hits such as "Rouge", "Leben!" and "Tabu", was a permanent guest on TV shows, filled concert halls, collected gold and platinum for album sales. In 2001, she came eighth for Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in a glittering pink dress. The price for her restless life was high: a stroke, personal bankruptcy, an attempt to escape into the private sphere by opening a dog grooming salon, a debilitating seizure, broken relationships.

The new album "Flutlicht" is to be her last. The music sounds fresh, the lyrics seem mature, sometimes party mood, sometimes ballad. If Michelle is tired, you don't notice it. "Du kannst mich mal", "Das war's für mich", "Männer" and "Rache ist süß" are the names of the songs. Is someone burning the bridges behind them here? "I wouldn't call it a reckoning," says the singer. "Reckoning sounds like bitterness, that's not me. I'm simply looking back on 30 years. And there are a lot of authentic stories in there."

Traumatic childhood memories
One is called "The boy with the white hair": "There was a boy who lived with my foster family when I was nine years old. He screamed during nightmares and was beaten with a bamboo stick. I lay down with this boy so that he wouldn't have bad dreams, wouldn't scream and wouldn't be beaten," says the petite 52-year-old. "There are many stories that have stayed in my head and that I wanted to process."

In the title song "Flutlicht", she processes her experiences in show business. "I came into this industry with great naivety, believing that everyone was my friend. I had to learn that not everyone means well by me, that there are people who take advantage of me. In the end, you're just a product."

Always striding towards the sun
Michelle also sings a duet with Eric Philippi, her fiancé, on the album. She lives with him in his native Saarland and is planning her future with him. How do you want her audience to remember her? "I'm a normal person, with ups and downs and stories that also happen to people out there. But there is always a way out. Always go towards the sun and leave the shadows behind you."

Will she miss singing? "Of course," she replies resolutely, "the good Lord has given me a voice that no one else has. You either hate it or love it. I am a person who is always humming, my daughter already says: 'Mom, you're singing again. It's annoying! Sometimes I don't even notice it."

Owning up to your mistakes
One more thing is important to Michelle. "I'm not a person who blames others. In the end, it's always you who has to make decisions and take responsibility. I'm very upright and I own up to my mistakes, which happen in life and are very important. Otherwise I wouldn't be the person I am."

A few more press appointments and appearances - then it's over. After more than 30 years, there will be one last day for singer Michelle. What will the private Michelle do the day after? "Sleep in," says the artist and laughs. "The rest will work itself out."