Nena: The Life Story Behind the 99 Luftballons Singer

There is a song that everyone in the world seems to know, even if they do not speak German. It is a song about ninety nine red balloons, about a world that mistakes a child’s balloons for an enemy attack, and about a war that begins by accident. The song is 99 Luftballons, and the singer is Nena, a woman from Hagen in Germany who became one of the most famous pop stars of the 1980s, who sang in German and was loved in Britain, in America, and around the world. She was young, she was joyful, she sang barefoot, and she had a voice that was clear, bright, and full of life. She was not a star who was made by a studio. She was a girl from a small city who formed a band, who wrote songs, and who changed pop music.

She was born in 1960, she got her nickname Nena, which means little girl in Spanish, when she was a child, and she kept it for the rest of her life. She moved to Berlin, she formed a band called Nena, and in 1983 she released 99 Luftballons, a song that became a number one hit in Germany, in Britain, and in many other countries. The band broke up in 1987, and Nena went on to a solo career, to motherhood, to loss, and to a comeback in 2002 that made her a star again, twenty years after her first hit. She is still singing, still performing, and still loved by audiences who grew up with her songs and by young people who discover them for the first time.

This is the story of a girl from Hagen who became a world star, who lost a child, who kept singing, and who proved that a good song can last forever, and that a singer can come back, again and again, as long as she believes in the music.

A Girl from Hagen Called Nena

Gabriele Susanne Kerner was born on 24 March 1960 in Hagen, a city in the Ruhr region of West Germany, an area known for its steel, its coal, and its working people. Her family was ordinary, and her childhood was the childhood of many German girls in the 1960s, school, friends, and music on the radio. She loved to sing, she loved to dance, and she had a voice that was clear and strong. As a small child, during a family holiday in Spain, she was given the nickname Nena, which means little girl in Spanish, and the name stuck. She became Nena, and she would be Nena for the rest of her life.

As a teenager, she became interested in music in a serious way. She listened to pop, to rock, and to the new wave music that was coming from Britain and America, and she began to dream of being a singer. She joined a band, she sang in clubs, and she learned how to perform in front of an audience. She was not a trained singer in the classical sense. She was a natural one, a girl with a voice that could be soft and strong at the same time, and with a stage presence that made people smile. She was joyful, she was energetic, and she loved to perform barefoot, a habit she would keep throughout her career.

In the late 1970s, she moved to Berlin, the city that was the centre of German music and art. West Berlin in those years was a wild and exciting place, full of clubs, of bands, of artists, and of young people who wanted to make something new. Nena arrived in Berlin with a dream, and she began to meet other musicians, to play in bands, and to look for her own sound. She was young, she was ambitious, and she was ready to work hard. She did not know that she was about to form a band that would change her life, and that would change German pop music forever.

Her early years in Berlin taught her how to be a performer, how to work with a band, and how to write songs. She learned that pop music is not only about a good voice. It is about energy, about honesty, and about telling a story that people can feel. She was learning, and she was waiting for the right people to make music with.

Forming the Band and Nur geträumt

In 1981, Nena formed the band that would carry her name. The band was called Nena, and it included Carlo Karges on guitar, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen on keyboards, Jürgen Dehmel on bass, and Rolf Brendel on drums. They were young musicians from Berlin, they shared a love of new wave music, and they wanted to make pop songs in German that were fresh, funny, and full of life. Nena was the singer, the face of the band, and the heart of it, and the others wrote songs, played instruments, and helped to shape the sound.

Their first hit came in 1982, with Nur geträumt, which means Only Dreamed, a song about a girl who dreams of love and who wakes up to find that it was only a dream. The song was a success in Germany, it was played on the radio, and it made the band famous at home. It was a bright and catchy pop song, with Nena’s voice soaring over the keyboards and guitars, and it showed that German pop music could be as good as anything coming from Britain or America. The band began to tour, to appear on television, and to build a following of young fans who loved their energy.

The band’s early success was built on hard work. They played in clubs, they travelled, they rehearsed, and they wrote new songs. They were a group of friends as well as a band, and that friendship showed in their music. They were joyful, they were young, and they believed in what they were doing. They did not know that their next song would become one of the most famous songs in the world, and that it would change their lives in ways they could not imagine.

Nur geträumt was only the beginning. The band had found its sound, Nena had found her voice, and the German public had found a new star. The next year would bring a song about balloons, about war, and about a world on the edge, and it would make Nena a star in every country on earth.

99 Luftballons and the World Listens

In 1983, the band Nena released 99 Luftballons, a song written by Carlo Karges, with music by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen. The song tells a story. Ninety nine red balloons are released into the sky, they are mistaken for enemy aircraft by military radar, fighter jets are sent up, a war begins by accident, and the world is destroyed. It is a song about the Cold War, about the fear of nuclear war, and about how easily a mistake can lead to disaster. It is also a catchy pop song, with a driving beat, with Nena’s voice clear and joyful, and with a chorus that everyone can sing. That combination, a serious message and a great pop tune, made it a hit around the world.

In Germany, 99 Luftballons went to number one. In Britain, the English version, 99 Red Balloons, also went to number one. In America, it reached number two, an extraordinary achievement for a song sung in German by a German band. It was played on radio stations everywhere, it was shown on television, and it became one of the defining songs of the 1980s. Nena became a world star, travelling to Britain, to America, and to many other countries, performing on television, giving interviews, and singing her song to audiences who did not speak German but who loved the music.

The band followed up with other hits, including Leuchtturm, which means Lighthouse, in 1983, a song about love and about finding your way, and Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann, which means Somehow, Somewhere, Sometime, in 1984, a song about love that survives time and distance. Each song showed Nena’s voice at its best, clear, bright, and full of feeling, and each one added to the band’s fame. They were one of the most popular bands in Germany, and they were known around the world as the voice of German new wave.

But fame is not easy, and the band began to feel the pressure. They toured constantly, they were expected to produce new hits, and the members began to disagree about the music and about the future. In 1987, after six years together, the band broke up. Nena was twenty seven years old, she had been a world star, and she was now on her own, facing a future that was uncertain. She did not know it yet, but her story was far from over.

Solo Years, Motherhood, and Loss

After the band broke up, Nena began a solo career. She released albums under her own name, she sang in German, and she continued to perform, but the world had changed. The 1980s were ending, pop music was changing, and the huge fame of 99 Luftballons was hard to repeat. She had hits, including Wunder gescheh’n, which means Miracles Happen, in 1989, a song that became popular in Germany, but she was no longer the world star she had been. She was a singer building a new career, on her own terms, and she was also building a family.

She became a mother, and she had four children. Her first son, Christopher, was born with a serious medical condition and died in 1989, at the age of eleven months. It was a terrible loss, one that no parent should have to face, and it changed her life. She has spoken about Christopher with love and with sadness, and she has said that his short life taught her about what matters most. She went on to have three more children, Larissa, Sakias, and Samuel, and she raised them while continuing to sing, to record, and to perform. Motherhood became the centre of her life, and music became a part of it, not the whole of it.

The 1990s were quieter years for her as a singer. She released albums, she performed in Germany, and she lived a life that was centred on her family. She did not chase fame. She sang because she loved to sing, and she performed because she loved to perform. She was still Nena, still the girl from Hagen with the clear voice, but she was also a mother, a woman who had known loss, and who had learned to keep going. That experience gave her music a new depth, a warmth that came from life, not only from youth.

She also became known for her lifestyle, for her love of nature, for performing barefoot, and for living in a way that was close to her beliefs. She was not a star who lived in luxury. She lived simply, she cared about her children, and she kept her music honest. Those years were not the years of greatest fame, but they were years of growth, and they prepared her for a comeback that no one expected.

The Comeback: Nena feat. Nena

In 2002, nearly twenty years after 99 Luftballons, Nena made one of the great comebacks in German pop music. She released an album called Nena feat. Nena, in which she re-recorded her old hits with new arrangements and with guest singers from a younger generation. The album was a huge success in Germany. It went to the top of the charts, it sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and it introduced her songs to a new generation of listeners who had not been born when 99 Luftballons was first released. Songs like Leuchtturm and 99 Luftballons were heard again, in new versions, and they sounded fresh and alive.

The comeback worked because Nena had not tried to pretend she was still twenty three. She sang her old songs as a woman in her forties, a mother, a person who had lived, and the songs sounded different, deeper, and more moving. Young singers wanted to work with her, audiences wanted to hear her, and she became a star again, not as a nostalgia act, but as a living artist. She toured, she appeared on television, and she showed that a good song can last forever, and that a singer who believes in her music can come back at any age.

In 2005, she had another number one hit in Germany with Liebe ist, which means Love Is, a song that became one of the biggest hits of the year. It was her first German number one single in many years, and it proved that she was not only a star of the past. She was a star of the present, a singer who could still write a hit, still touch an audience, and still top the charts. She also became a coach on The Voice of Germany, the television singing competition, from 2011 to 2013, where she helped young singers and shared her experience with a new generation. She was generous with her advice, and she was loved by the contestants for her warmth and her honesty.

The comeback changed her life. She was no longer only the singer of 99 Luftballons. She was Nena, a German pop legend, a woman who had survived fame, loss, and change, and who was still singing, still performing, and still loved. She had proved that a career in pop music does not have to end at thirty, and that a singer can grow, can change, and can come back stronger.

Still Singing: A German Pop Legend

Nena continues to sing and to perform, and she remains one of the most loved pop stars in Germany. She has released new albums, including Oldschool in 2015 and Licht, which means Light, in 2020, and she continues to tour, performing her old hits and her new songs to audiences of all ages. She sings barefoot, as she always has, she talks to the audience, and she creates a feeling of joy and of community that is rare in pop music. Her concerts are not only about the songs. They are about the feeling of being together, of singing along, and of remembering.

She lives in Germany, she has her family, and she keeps her life close to her beliefs. She is a woman who has lived through fame, through loss, and through comeback, and who has kept her voice, her joy, and her love of music. She is a legend, not only because of one song, but because of a whole life in music, a life that has lasted for more than forty years, and that continues to grow.

For German audiences, her songs are part of their lives. 99 Luftballons is played at parties, at school, on the radio, and it is known by children who were not born in the 1980s. Leuchtturm is a song about love that is sung at weddings. Liebe ist is a song that is played on the radio every day. Her music has become part of Germany, and her voice has become part of its sound. That is a rare achievement, and it is why she is loved.

For the world, she remains the singer of 99 Luftballons, the girl who sang in German and was loved everywhere. But her story is bigger than one song. It is the story of a girl from Hagen who became a star, who lost a child, who kept singing, and who came back, again and again, because she believes in music. That is a story worth telling, and a life worth celebrating.

The Voice of Germany and the Later Albums

Nena’s comeback did not end with one album. She continued to record, to tour, and to reach new audiences, and in 2011 she became a coach on The Voice of Germany, the television singing competition. She worked with young singers, she shared her experience, and she helped them to find their own voices. She was generous with her advice, and she was loved by the contestants for her warmth and her honesty. She did not pretend to be a star above them. She was a singer who had been where they were, who had been young and ambitious, and who wanted to help them avoid the mistakes she had made. She stayed with the show for several seasons, from 2011 to 2013, and she became a familiar face to a new generation of television viewers.

She has continued to release new albums, including Oldschool in 2015, a record that looked back to the sound of her early years, and Licht, which means Light, in 2020, an album of new songs about hope, about love, and about life. She continues to tour, performing her old hits and her new songs to audiences of all ages, singing barefoot, as she always has, talking to the audience, and creating a feeling of joy and of community that is rare in pop music. Her concerts are not only about the songs. They are about the feeling of being together, of singing along, and of remembering, and audiences of all ages come to share in that feeling.

She has also spoken about the joy of singing for audiences of all ages, about how children who were not born in the 1980s now sing along to 99 Luftballons, and about how that makes her feel grateful, and a little amazed. She has said that a good song does not belong to one generation. It belongs to everyone who hears it, and who finds something in it that speaks to them. That is why she keeps touring, keeps recording, and keeps singing, because she believes that music is a gift that should be shared, not kept, and that a song that made people happy forty years ago can still make them happy today, and can make new people happy too. That belief has kept her going for more than forty years, and it is why her concerts are full of young people as well as old fans, all singing together, all sharing the same joy.

My Take:

When I think about Nena, I think about a song, and I think about a voice. The song is 99 Luftballons, and the voice is clear, bright, and full of joy, a voice that can sing about war and still make you want to dance. I first heard that song as a piece of pop music, a catchy tune with a great chorus, and only later did I understand what it was really about, about ninety nine balloons mistaken for enemy planes, about a war that begins by accident, about a world that destroys itself because of fear. That is a powerful idea for a pop song, and Nena sang it with a lightness that made the message even stronger. She did not shout. She sang, and the world listened. I admire that deeply, because it shows that pop music can be serious and fun at the same time, and that a singer can tell the truth and still make people dance.

What I admire most is her comeback. In 2002, nearly twenty years after her first hit, she released Nena feat. Nena, an album of her old songs re-recorded with young singers, and it became a huge success. She was in her forties, she was a mother, she had lived through fame and loss, and she came back, not by pretending to be young again, but by singing her songs as a woman who had lived. That takes courage, because the pop world is cruel to older women, and it tells them that their time is over. Nena did not listen. She sang, she toured, and she proved that a good song does not get old, and that a singer who believes in her music can come back at any age. I find that inspiring, and I think it is a lesson for anyone who has ever been told that it is too late.

I also think about her loss, about her son Christopher, who died at eleven months old in 1989. I cannot imagine that pain, and I do not want to pretend that I can. But I admire the way she kept going, the way she raised her other children, the way she kept singing, and the way she spoke about Christopher with love. She did not hide her grief. She lived with it, and she let it make her music deeper. When I listen to her later songs, I hear a warmth, a sadness, and a hope that was not there in the early songs, and I think it comes from a life that has known both joy and loss. That is what makes her a great singer, not only a good voice, but a life that gives the voice meaning.

I think about her habit of performing barefoot, and I smile, because it is such a simple and honest thing. She does not wear high heels to look like a star. She stands on stage with bare feet, feeling the floor, feeling the music, and singing as herself. I think that tells me who she is, a woman who is not interested in glamour for its own sake, a woman who wants to be close to the ground, close to the audience, and close to the music. In a world where pop stars are often hidden behind costumes and effects, Nena’s bare feet are a statement, a way of saying, this is me, this is my voice, and that is enough. I respect that, because it is honest, and honesty is rare.

There is something I find joyful in her music, and it is the joy of a person who loves to sing. When she performs, she smiles, she dances, she talks to the audience, and she creates a feeling of being together. Her concerts are not only about listening. They are about singing along, about remembering, about being part of something. I think that joy is a gift, and it is why audiences love her, young and old, German and foreign, people who grew up with her songs and people who are hearing them for the first time. She brings people together, and that is a beautiful thing.

If I have a criticism, it is only that I wish the world knew more of her music than 99 Luftballons. That song is wonderful, but it is not the whole story. Leuchtturm is a beautiful song about love. Liebe ist is a song that topped the charts in 2005, more than twenty years after her first hit. Wunder gescheh’n is a song about hope. Her albums are full of songs that deserve to be heard, and I hope that people who love 99 Luftballons will listen to the rest, because they will find a singer who has grown, who has lived, and who has much more to say.

For a young reader, I think the lesson from Nena is to keep singing, even when life is hard. She became famous young, she lost a child, she saw her fame fade, and she came back, because she believed in her music. She did not give up. She kept writing, kept performing, and kept trusting that the songs mattered. That is a lesson for anyone, in any field. Do not give up when things get hard. Keep doing what you love, keep learning, and keep believing, because the world may surprise you, and your best work may still be ahead of you.

In the end, I think Nena is one of the great pop stars of Germany, a woman who sang a song about balloons and war that the whole world loved, who became a mother, who knew loss, and who came back to sing again, with the same clear voice and the same joyful heart. She is still singing, still performing barefoot, still making audiences smile, and I hope she keeps singing for a long time. When I hear 99 Luftballons, I do not only hear a pop song from the 1980s. I hear a woman who has lived a full life, who has known joy and pain, and who has turned it all into music. That is why people will keep listening to her, and why her songs will last.

One last thought stays with me, and it is about the balloons themselves. Ninety nine red balloons, released into the sky, mistaken for a threat, starting a war. It is a story about fear, about how easily we misunderstand each other, and about how a small thing can lead to a terrible end. Nena sang that story with a pop tune, and she made the world listen. I think that is the power of music, to take a serious idea and to make it sing, to make people think while they dance. Nena did that, and she did it beautifully, and that is why her song will be remembered long after the balloons have gone.

I also think about her work on The Voice of Germany, because it shows a generous side of her that I admire. She was a coach, a mentor, a singer who had been where the young contestants were, and she shared her experience with them honestly. She did not pretend to be above them. She was warm, she was honest, and she helped them to find their own voices. I think that is a beautiful thing, for a star to give back, to teach, and to help the next generation. Many famous singers would not do that. They would keep their secrets, or they would judge harshly. Nena helped, she encouraged, and she showed the young singers that a career in music is not only about fame. It is about love, about hard work, and about believing in your own voice. That generosity is part of who she is, and it is why audiences love her.

Another thing I keep returning to is her habit of performing barefoot. It is such a simple and honest thing. She does not wear high heels to look like a star. She stands on stage with bare feet, feeling the floor, feeling the music, and singing as herself. I think that tells me who she is, a woman who is not interested in glamour for its own sake, a woman who wants to be close to the ground, close to the audience, and close to the music. In a world where pop stars are often hidden behind costumes and effects, Nena’s bare feet are a statement, a way of saying, this is me, this is my voice, and that is enough. I respect that, because it is honest, and honesty is rare, and it is why her concerts feel so warm, so real, and so joyful.

I also reflect on her later albums, like Oldschool and Licht, because they show that she is still creating, still writing, still singing new songs, even after more than forty years in music. Many singers from the 1980s stopped making new music, and they live only on their old hits. Nena did not stop. She kept writing, kept recording, and kept touring, because she loves music, and because she has more to say. I admire that, because it shows that a career in art does not have to end. It can grow, it can change, and it can keep going, as long as the artist keeps believing in it. Her later songs are about hope, about love, and about light, and they show a woman who has lived, who has learned, and who still has joy to share.

There is a lesson here about the balloons themselves that I want to hold on to. Ninety nine red balloons, released into the sky, mistaken for a threat, starting a war. It is a story about fear, about how easily we misunderstand each other, and about how a small thing can lead to a terrible end. Nena sang that story with a pop tune, and she made the world listen. I think that is the power of music, to take a serious idea and to make it sing, to make people think while they dance. She did that, and she did it beautifully, and that is why her song will be remembered long after the balloons have gone, and why it still matters today, in a world that is still full of fear, and still in need of songs that ask us to think.

I also think about her children, and how motherhood changed her music. She became a mother, she lost a child, she raised three more children, and she kept singing through it all. That experience gave her music a depth, a warmth, and a sadness that was not there in the early songs. When I listen to her later work, I hear a woman who has known joy and loss, who has loved deeply, and who has kept going. That is what makes her a great singer, not only a good voice, but a life that gives the voice meaning. I think audiences can feel that, and it is why they keep coming back to her concerts, year after year, to hear her sing, to sing along, and to be part of something joyful.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Nena best known for?

She is best known for the song 99 Luftballons, released in 1983, which became a number one hit in Germany and Britain and reached number two in America. The English version was called 99 Red Balloons.

When and where was Nena born?

Nena was born Gabriele Susanne Kerner on 24 March 1960 in Hagen, West Germany. She was given the nickname Nena, meaning little girl in Spanish, during a family holiday as a child.

What is 99 Luftballons about?

The song tells the story of ninety nine red balloons released into the sky that are mistaken for enemy aircraft, leading to fighter jets being sent up and a war beginning by accident. It is a song about the Cold War and the fear of nuclear war.

When did the band Nena break up?

The band Nena, formed in 1981 in Berlin, broke up in 1987, after hits including Nur geträumt, 99 Luftballons, Leuchtturm, and Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann. Nena then began a solo career.

What was Nena’s comeback album?

Her comeback album was Nena feat. Nena, released in 2002, in which she re-recorded her old hits with new arrangements and guest singers. It was a huge success in Germany and made her a star again.

Did Nena have a number one hit after her comeback?

Yes, her song Liebe ist reached number one in Germany in 2005, more than twenty years after 99 Luftballons, proving that she was still a major pop star.