No Angels

No Angels No Angels 是个德国女子乐组。有人翻成“无天使乐团”，这显得太有些逐字翻译。也有人翻成“堕落天使乐队”，这又显得有些引伸过渡。No Angels从字面上应该叫做“绝非天使”。不过，大概只有当年给这个乐组起这个名字的人才能确切知道他想赋予这个名字什么意义。是的，这个乐组的名字并不是乐组成员们自己起的。事实上，这个乐组本身并不是乐组成员们自己走到一起的结果，而是商业运作的产物 —— 这个乐组是由德国的一个电视选星赛的最后五个优胜者构成的。
２０００年由德国RTL 2电视台主办的第一届Popstars选星赛共有4500名女孩子参加角逐，Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakowska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo 和 Jessica Wahls 五位女孩最终胜出，并被组成和命名为No Angels。
２００１年２月No Angels推出第一支单曲“Daylight in Your Eyes”，此曲一下冲到德国、瑞士、奥地利等国的单曲排行榜第一名。一夜间名满欧洲的No Angels迅速在３月份推出第一个专辑Elle'Ments，畅销无比，共获４张金唱片奖和３张白金唱片奖。稍后，还为Elle'Ments另发了卡拉ＯＫ版和冬季特别版，并在其中添加了No Angels的另一首排行第一的单曲“There Must Be an Angel”。No Angels还有另外两首单曲被列为德国排行榜第一：２００２年的 “Something about Us”和２００３年的 “No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)”。No Angels的其他十来首单曲也大都挤入德国单曲排行榜前十名。其专辑“Now … Us! (2002)” ，“When the Angels Sing (2002)” ，“Pure (2003)”，“The Best of No Angels(2003)”也均取得了骄人的销售业绩。No Angels的总计五百万张唱片的销售量，至今仍居欧洲大陆所有女子乐组之首。No Angels还获得了许多项音乐奖，其中包括德国最重要的“回声音乐奖”的三个奖项。
No Angels创始之初的五人组，因2002年Jessica怀孕休息而减员为四人组。2003年3月Jessica生完一 女之后没能返回，似乎从士气上对剩下的四人组有所打击。2003年底，四人组的No Angels宣布休息。No Angels事实上解体后，其中的Sandy等人也单飞出了一些单曲或专辑。2007年初，No Angels宣布复出，可惜这次虽然Jessica回来了，Vanessa却兴趣不再，No Angels只好再次以四人组面貌重现江湖。新的No Angels 的单曲“Goodbye to Yesterday”和专辑“Destiny”已于2007年四月推出。
by Jason Ankeny
German pop quintet No Angels were one of the myriad acts launched to fame via the television amateur showcase Popstars, ultimately becoming the best-selling girl group in national chart history. The group's origins lie in a Popstars casting call announced by German television network RTL 2 in the fall of 2000. More than 4,500 young women auditioned for the upcoming season of the series, 200 of whom were selected to advance to the next round. From there, the judges -- Dutch entertainer Simone Angel, talent booker Mario M. Mendryzcki, and A&R director Rainer Moslener -- whittled the semifinalists to 32 before whisking them away to Majorca, Spain, for a grueling regimen of singing, dancing, and fitness. The judges continued eliminating two or three additional contestants each day until 11 finalists remained; after weeks of additional training, five winners were selected -- Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls -- to comprise No Angels. In episodes to follow, Popstars focused on the fledgling group's evolution, documenting sessions for their 2001 debut single, "Daylight in Your Eyes." The record entered the German pop charts at number one and later topped the charts in Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, Estonia, and Luxembourg as well, vaulting No Angels to global fame. Their debut LP, Elle'ments, followed in March 2001, selling in excess of two million copies worldwide and emerging as the year's best-selling German release on the strength of follow-up singles including "Rivers of Joy" and Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel." No Angels' third number one single, "Something About Us," anticipated the June 2002 release of their sophomore effort Now...Us!, which sold more than a million records but failed to match the overwhelming success of its predecessor. An appearance that fall at the Berlin Tränenpalast yielded the live CD/DVD When the Angels Swing, but also proved Wahls' swan song -- upon announcing a hiatus from No Angels to give birth to her first child in March 2003, she later opted against returning, deciding instead to mount a solo career. The remaining foursome returned in August with Pure, a more mature effort led by the chart-topping "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)." However, on September 5, 2003, No Angels announced their intentions to split -- Wahls rejoined the group to record a farewell single, "Reason," and on December 12 they played a final live date in Düsseldorf. While all five turned to solo careers in music, theater, and television, their individual efforts faltered and in mid-2006 Diakovska approached her former colleagues with reunion offers. Only Petruo declined, and the remaining members of No Angels began rehearsing and recording in secrecy, waiting until a news conference in January 2007 to make official the rumors of their return. A comeback single, "Goodbye to Yesterday," hit retail two months later.