Tokio Hotel

Tokio Hotel

Tokio Hotel is a German pop rock group from Magdeburg, Germany, active since 2001. The band consists of Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer. Its early material is mainly pop rock and alternative rock, and from 2014 it adds electropop and synth-pop elements to its sound.

Early career and name

Before using the name Tokio Hotel, the group records a demo album as Devilish and has a contract with Sony BMG Germany, which is later ended. The band forms in 2001 and builds its career around the four original members.

Albums and releases

Tokio Hotel releases its first German-language album, Schrei, through Universal Music Germany in 2005. The album sells more than 500,000 copies worldwide and produces four top-five singles in Germany and Austria. In 2007 the group releases Zimmer 483 and its first English-language album, Scream. Together, these two albums sell more than 2.5 million copies worldwide. Zimmer 483 includes three top-five singles in Germany, while Scream yields two singles that reach the top twenty in countries including France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

The band later releases Humanoid in 2009, Kings of Suburbia in 2014, Dream Machine in 2017 and 2001 in 2022.

Awards and recognition

Tokio Hotel wins its first MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 2008, becoming the first German band to receive a VMA. It also receives awards at the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, the MTV Europe Music Awards, including Headliner in 2008, Best Group in 2009 and Best World Stage Performance in 2010, and the MTV Video Music Awards Japan in 2011.

Career overview

Across its career, Tokio Hotel sells more than 10 million records worldwide. Its recorded output spans pop, pop rock, rock, alternative, electropop and teen pop.