“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” is back – without Dieter Bohlen, but with a juror who hardly anyone in Germany knows. In America, however, one wouldn’t have to ask too much who Toby Gad is.
“Deutschland sucht den Superstar” has been on TV again since this weekend – it’s the first season of the post-Bohlen era. The DSDS jury is now the Dutch singer-songwriter Ilse DeLange, the pop star, showmaster and “dream ship” captain “Florian Silbereisen and – a certain Toby Gad. Many viewers in Germany probably had to google the latter first. No wonder, alive and the native of Munich has been working in the US for more than two decades In his adopted homeland of the USA, he has long been a music legend – as a songwriter and producer of hits with John Legend, Beyoncé and Madonna.
Toby Gad hardly spoke German for more than two decades. When the German Press Agency interviewed him via zoom in his Los Angeles studio, the native Bavarian spoke his native language quite easily again. The DSDS viewers also had the same impression on Saturday evening. Only that Gad didn’t know what a polonaise was in the first episode of the DSDS casting – DeLange and Silbereisen demonstrated it to him and pushed him through the studio.
Toby Gad in the DSDS jury – first read a few German books out loud
But it was probably not that easy with his German, as the dpa reports. “I had to get my German back together,” he said in the interview. “I read some books out loud and my mouth hurt,” Gad said with a grin. “It’s a lot more mouthwork than American pronunciation.” During the dpa interview, the 53-year-old music producer sat in his studio in Los Angeles with a view of the countryside. Pool, palm trees, hammock in front of the window.
The offer to become a juror on DSDS alongside Silbereisen and DeLange now brings Gad back to his old homeland. The 19th season was recorded in Germany last summer, and the talent show is now on the air. The first edition on Saturday evening was watched by 2.65 million, a market share of 9.0 percent.
Quieter than Dieter Bohlen – but opinionated
You don’t even have to compare Gad with the long-standing DSDS chief judge. While Bohlen was famous for his rough-and-tumble comments, Gad appeared more reserved in the first episode of the season on Saturday night – but that didn’t stop him from voicing his opinions, which at times differed from those of the other two judges.
Gad looks back on 21 eventful years in which he fulfilled a dream in New York and Los Angeles. He co-wrote the hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry” with Fergie, produced “If I Were A Boy” with Beyoncé, and created the hit ballad “All Of Me” with John Legend. Recordings with Madonna, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus or Demi Lovato, invitations to Grammy parties, music trophies – Gad became a star himself in the American music scene.
Hardly earned anything at first: the start in America was tough
But the way was difficult. In the beginning he earned next to nothing. “You just have to persevere and work very hard for the first three years and don’t expect anything at first,” says the songwriter and producer.
A cheap apartment with mold on the walls, a tight budget, noodles and soup, door-to-door cleaning every day in search of young talent and studios who want to work with him – this is what Gad describes in his autobiography “All of Me”, which was published on Tuesday ( 25.1.) appears in Germany.
In any case, the son of a Dane and a German mother brought musical ability with him. At an early age he played in a band with his older brother and learned to play the piano and guitar. By the time he was 20, he was working for hit producer Frank Farian and writing songs for a Milli Vanilli album.
Toby Gad’s song for Fergie became a hit after a five-year wait
With the then unknown Fergie, Gad wrote the song “Big Girls Don’t Cry” in New York in 2002, but the song was only released five years later – and became a hit. It takes perseverance and patience in the industry, says Gad. “The music business is almost always a disappointment, 99 percent rejections, but something always worked out,” he says with a wink.
In 2009, Gad moved to Los Angeles with his wife, who was born in China, and their two daughters. It was there that his career finally took off. Of course, one is nervous about meeting big stars for recording, admits Gad. “It’s a bit like speed dating, because you don’t know them beforehand and then you have a few hours together.” He always prepared himself well, learned a lot about the artists and what was happening in their lives. “The goal is actually that you can improvise together and have fun together and just let the music flow out of you.”
Things didn’t go so well with superstar Madonna at first. “It took a while and also needed some arguments,” says Gad about a longer recording in 2014. There was a veritable war of words when he urged Madonna to repeat a song with the comment “You can do it better”. record, Gad describes in his book.
For Madonna he is the “German Dictator”
“Madonna began to respect me. From then on she was also interested in my opinion, appreciated my honesty […] From then on I was, jokingly called, something like your German Dictator.” He experienced Madonna as a “warm-hearted” person, writes Gad. He and his wife were also invited by the singer to her birthday party at a castle in France.
Gad has many success stories, but also talks about missed opportunities when he failed to recognize and turned away young talent. “Taylor Swift, 13, was in the studio with me and Katy Perry, after she lost her second record deal and was so devastated, I could have started with him,” says the producer.
He is also critical of himself. At times, the job completely determined his life, music was like a drug. His family often had to hold back, he writes in “All of Me”. A few years ago, Gad pulled the brakes. Now he produces significantly fewer songs, but devotes himself to other hobbies and projects. He lives with his family on the edge of the Hollywood Hills, close to nature. He goes hiking and surfing and is active in environmental protection with his wife.
His heart project is the protection of endangered orangutans on the island of Borneo. Gad is currently making a film about Canadian primatologist Biruté Galdikas and her organization Orangutan Foundation International.
Gad describes his new role as a DSDS judge as a “beautiful experience” that he would like to continue for many years. In principle, it’s like him in the record studio, where artists introduce themselves with their songs – “only that it’s in German with “DSDS”,” laughs Gad. He would love to inspire others to believe and work on their dreams. “It’s worth fighting for and trying,” says Gad – from experience.
Watch the video: A cigarette that suddenly disappears, people with the same heart rate or objects that repair themselves. In movies, logic is often pushed backwards, but in some scenes, you just think: Huh?