Matthias Reim

• Name — Matthias Reim • Born — 26 November 1957 • Birthplace — Korbach, West Germany • Genre — Schlager, pop, rock • Occupation — Singer, songwriter, composer • Years Active — 1977–present • Label — Polydor, EMI • Partner — Michelle (1999-2001)

Reim was born on 26 November 1957 in Korbach and grew up in Homberg. His father was the director of the gymnasium in Homberg. After receiving his Abitur, he began his undergraduate studies in the German and English languages as well as Germanistic and Anglistic literatures in Göttingen. This took 18 terms – this is above average, as he spent time predominantly in the music studio and not in the lecture-room.

Reim's career began as a songwriter, writing for Bernhard Brink, Roberto Blanco and Tina York. He played in a rock band called Fallen Dice with Pete Goldenberg and Norbert Preis. Their debut album, Pasch 1, was released in 1981. He spent a brief time as lead singer of the band Aqua before their dissolution in 1984. In 1986, Reim formed the synthpop duo Fair Fax with Jörg Wiesner. They released one single, "Satellite Dream", through Hansa Records.

Reim's debut single "Verdammt, ich lieb' dich" ("Damn, I love you") topped the German Singles Chart for sixteen consecutive weeks in 1990. It also reached no. 1 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. His debut album, Reim, was released through Polydor on 15 June 1990. He released a further nine albums through Polydor, including 1994's Zauberland which was re-recorded in English the following year. In 1991, he won a World Music Award for Best-Selling German Recording Artist.

Reim began to see increased commercial success again in the 2000s after signing with Electrola. In September 2004, Reim released the single "Vergiß Es (Forget It)" with Bonnie Tyler. It featured on Reim's compilation album, Déjà Vu, and reached no. 64 on the German Singles Chart. They recorded a second duet on Reim's thirteenth album, Sieben Leben (2010). In 2011, Reim released a Christmas album titled Die große Weihnachtsparty, which includes a German cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham!. In 2013, Reim topped the German Albums Chart for a second time with Unendlich.

Reim moved to RCA Records in 2016 for the release of his sixteenth album, Phoenix, which peaked at no. 2 in Germany. His subsequent albums Meteor (2018), MR20 (2019) and Matthias (2022) all peaked within the top 3. In 2022, Reim wrote the song "Bastian [Blaulicht in der Nacht]" in memory of his son Bastian, who died in October 2022 at the age of 35. Reim also sang the song "Vater und Sohn" in duet with his son Julian (born 1996), a German adaptation of Cat Stevens' song Father and Son.

Reim has been married four times and has seven children from six different mothers. In 1973, at the age of 15-16, he fathered a daughter, Claudia, of whose existence he only learned in 2015. Reim married his first wife, Miriam in 1985. They had a son, Bastian, born 1987, who died in 2022 at age 35; and divorced in 1992. After his divorce, Reim married Margot Scheuermeyer, a stylist and background singer, whom he had met in 1990, they were married for eight years. They had a son, Julian, born in 1996, who became a Schlager singer. Between 1999 and 2001, Reim lived together with Michelle. They had a daughter, Marie, born in 2000, also a Schlager singer. In 2004, Reim married Sarah Stanek, 20 years his junior. They had a son Romeo (born 2004) and a daughter Romy (born 2008) together, before divorcing in 2013. In 2020, Reim married Christin Stark, a Schlager singer and moderator 32 years his junior, they had been living together since 2012. Their daughter Zoe was born in 2022. Until April 2012, Reim lived on Mallorca, since then he has been living in the Lake Constance area, first in Radolfzell. After the end of his third marriage, he and Christin Stark lived together in Bodman-Ludwigshafen, following their marriage, they moved to Stockach.

• Year — Details — Peak chart position — Certifications (sales thresholds) • GER Germany — AUT Austria — SWI Switzerland — NL Netherlands • 1990 — Reim *Released: 15 June 1990 *Label: Polydor — 1 — 1 — 1 — 30 — * BVMI Germany certification: 3× Platinum * IFPI AUT: Gold * IFPI SWI: Platinum • 1991 — Reim 2 *Released: 23 September 1991 *Label: Polydor — 5 — 6 — 8 — — — * BVMI: Platinum * IFPI AUT: Gold * IFPI SWI: Platinum • 1993 — Sabotage *Released: 10 May 1993 *Label: Polydor — 11 — — — 15 — — • 1994 — Zauberland *Released: 19 September 1994 *Label: Polydor — 26 — — — 47 — — • 1995 — Alles klar *Released: 29 September 1995 *Label: Polydor — — — — — — — — • 1997 — Reim 3 *Released: 17 March 1997 *Label: Polydor — 40 — — — — — — • 1998 — Sensationell *Released: 20 April 1998 *Label: Polydor — 51 — — — — — — • 2000 — Wolkenreiter *Released: 26 May 2000 *Label: Electrola — 33 — — — — — — • 2002 — Morgenrot *Released: 22 February 2002 *Label: Electrola — 16 — 52 — 74 — — • 2003 — Reim *Released: 15 August 2003 *Label: Electrola — 4 — 19 — 44 — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2005 — Unverwundbar *Released: 16 September 2005 *Label: Electrola — 7 — 32 — — — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2007 — Männer sind Krieger *Released: 11 May 2007 *Label: Electrola — 10 — 38 — — — — • 2010 — Sieben Leben *Released: 29 October 2010 *Label: Electrola — 5 — 17 — 56 — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2013 — Unendlich *Released: 25 January 2013 *Label: Electrola — 1 — 9 — 28 — — — * BVMI: Platinum • 2014 — Die Leichtigkeit des Seins *Released: 2 May 2014 *Label: Electrola — 2 — 11 — 34 — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2016 — Phoenix *Released: 15 April 2016 *Label: RCA — 2 — 10 — 16 — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2018 — Meteor *Released: 23 March 2018 *Label: RCA — 3 — 12 — 19 — — • 2019 — MR20 *Released: 25 October 2019 *Label: RCA — 3 — 15 — 22 — — — * BVMI: Gold • 2022 — Matthias *Released: 14 January 2022 *Label: RCA — 2 — 5 — 6 — — • 2024 — Zeppelin *Released: 26 April 2024 *Label: RCA — 4 — 5 — 11 — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.