Artist
Lena
Why we feature this artist Lena: a pop voice with its own way around a beat Lena Meyer-Landrut’s early singing has a slightly off-centre charm. A phrase can sound conversational, then turn sharply into the rhythm, giving a simple pop melody an individual shape…
- From
- Germany
- Sound
- pop, independent music, indie pop
- Active
- 2010–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Lena
Why we feature this artist
Lena: a pop voice with its own way around a beat
Lena Meyer-Landrut’s early singing has a slightly off-centre charm. A phrase can sound conversational, then turn sharply into the rhythm, giving a simple pop melody an individual shape. Satellite made that quality clear to an enormous audience in a very short space of time.
Satellite in 2010
Lena represented Germany at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest and won with Satellite in Oslo. The song’s appeal is easy to hear apart from the competition: a light, mobile rhythm and a vocal which gives the repeated figures a particular personality.
The performance does not rely on a large, sustained climax. Much of its character is in the shorter lines, the accents and the quick changes in inflection. Those details make the voice recognisable even in a song designed to connect on first hearing.
My Cassette Player
The debut album My Cassette Player appeared in May 2010, before the Eurovision final, with Stefan Raab producing. Satellite, Bee and Love Me shared the track list with songs including Touch a New Day and the title track.
The album also included interpretations of Adele’s My Same and Jason Mraz’s Mr. Curiosity, both connected to Lena’s earlier selection-show performances. Those choices help place the voice beyond one competition single, giving its rhythmic quirks and lighter phrasing different melodies to work with.
A clear first impression
The debut’s mixture of pop and funk-inflected arrangements suits the way Lena places a line. The accompaniment can stay relatively tidy while the vocal supplies the unexpected angle.
Satellite remains a complete introduction because it makes that relationship audible immediately. The tune is straightforward, but the performance keeps it from sounding interchangeable. The small, distinctive choices are the point.
Essential releases
My Cassette Player
The debut album contains Satellite, Bee, Love Me and Touch a New Day.