German recording artist Joy Denalane has released six studio albums, two live albums and more than two dozen singles. Denalane scored her first chart entry in 1999, when she was featured on hip hop group Freundeskreis's single "Mit dir", a duet with future husband Max Herre, that became a top ten hit in Germany. Its success led to a recording deal with the Four Music label, which released her debut album Mamani in 2001. A soul album with elements of neo soul, jazz, and afro pop, it reached number eight on the German Albums Chart and earned a gold certification from the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). It produced five singles and spawned the live album Mamani Live, which was released in 2004.
Following a longer hiatus in which she recorded collaborations with others musicians such as Herre, Afrob, and Common, Denalane released her second album Born & Raised in 2006. A breakaway form her previous album, it was entirely recorded in English language and took Denalane's work further into the rhythm and blues and hip hop genres. Upon its released, it debuted at number two in Germany and at number five on the Swiss Albums Chart. Both, the album and its lead single "Let Go", the latter of which entered the top thirty on the German Singles Chart, remain her highest-charting solo releases to date. In 2017, it reached Gold status in Germany.
Maureen, Denalane's first German-language album since Mamani, was released in 2011. It reached the top ten and top twenty in Germany and Switzerland respectively, but failed to produce a charting single. An English language version of the album was issued in 2012. In 2014, she became part of the German Band Aid 30 project; their rendition of which "Do They Know It's Christmas?" reached number-one on the German Singles Chart. In 2015, she released "Keine Religion", the theme song of the romantic comedy Traumfrauen (2015) as a single. It was followed by her fourth studio album Gleisdreieck, released in March 2017, which became her fourth top ten album in Germany, reaching number eight.
Following another hiatus, Denalane signed with Motown Records to release her fifth studio album Let Yourself Be Loved in 2020. Produced by Roberto Di Gioia, it marked the first project by a German artist to be released by the label as well as her third English language album. Let Yourself Be Loved debuted and peaked at number five on the German Albums Chart, becoming her highest-charting album in 14 years. In 2023, Lesedi Records released Willpower, Denalane's sixth studio album. Taking her work further into late 1970s-R&B, it was produced by Di Gioia and Herre and marked her lowest-charting album yet, when it debuted and peaked at number 33 on the German Albums Chart. Alles Liebe, a collaborative album with husband Max Herre, was released on November 1, 2024 and reached number five on the German Albums Chart.
Albums Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications GER AUT SWI Mamani Released: June 3, 2002 Format: CD, Download Label: Four Music84454 BVMI: Gold Born & Raised Released: August 11, 2006 Format: CD, Download Label: Nesola, Four Music2425 BVMI: Gold Maureen Released: May 20, 2011 Format: CD, Download Label: Nesola, Four Music83611 Gleisdreieck Released: March 3, 2017 Format: CD, download Label: Nesola83625 Let Yourself Be Loved Released: September 4, 2020 Format: CD, download Label: Nesola, Motown5—22 WillpowerReleased: October 6, 2023 Format: CD, download Label: Lesedi, Four Music33—— Alles LiebeReleased: November 1, 2024 Format: CD, download Label: Lesedi, Four Music55722 A Joyful ChristmasReleased: November 20, 2026 Format: CD, download Label: Lesedi, Four Music
Live albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions GER AUT SWI Mamani Live Released: October 18, 2004 Format: CD, Download Label: Four Music44—— The Dresden Soul Symphony (with Bilal, Dwele, Tweet, and MDR Symphony Orchestra)Released: October 24, 2008 Format: DVD, CD Label: Four Music———
Singles
As a main artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Album GER AUT SWI "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" (featuring Scorpio)1999——— rowspan="2" "Time Heals the Pain"——— "Sag's Mir"2001———Mamani "Geh Jetzt"200264—— "Was Auch Immer"86—— "Im Ghetto von Soweto"2003——— "Kinderlied"——— "Höchste Zeit"2004———Mamani Live "Let Go"200626—46Born & Raised "Heaven or Hell" (featuring Raekwon)——— "Sometimes Love"2007——— "Change" (featuring Lupe Fiasco)——— "Niemand (Was wir nicht tun)"2011———Maureen "Nie wieder, nie mehr" (featuring Julian Williams)2012——— "Keine Religion"201597—— Traumfrauen soundtrack "Alles leuchtet"2017——— Gleisdreieck "Wieder Kind" (with BRKN)2018——— rowspan="1" "I Believe" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)2020———Let Yourself Be Loved "Top of My Love"——— "I Gotta Know"——— "Use Me"2021———Let Yourself Be Loved (deluxe edition) "The Show"——— "Forever"——— "An meiner Seite"2022——— rowspan="2" "Christmas Will Really Be Christmas"——— "Hideaway"2023———Willpower "Happy" (featuring Ghostface Killah)——— "Fly By"——— "The Christmas Song"——— rowspan="1" "Alles Liebe" (with Max Herre)2024———Alles Liebe "Driving Home for Christmas" (with Rea Garvey and Esther Graf)2025——— rowspan="2" "I Miss the Summer Already"2026——— "My Favorite Things"———A Joyful Christmas
As a featured artist + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Album GER AUT SWI "Mit Dir" (Freundeskreis with Joy Denalane)199993012Esperanto "So Many Men" (Youssou N'Dour featuring Joy Denalane)2003——— rowspan="2" "Torch of Freedom" ([Re:Jazz] featuring Joy Denalane)2003——— "1ste Liebe" (Max Herre with Joy Denalane)200433——Max Herre "GO! (Remix)" (Common featuring Joy Denalane)2005———Be "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (with Band Aid 30 Germany)201411021 rowspan="1" "Bathele" (Mafikizolo featuring Joy Denalane)2019———African Legends "Das Wenigste" (Max Herre featuring Joy Denalane)———Athen "What You Give" (Web Web featuring Joy Denalane)2020———Worshippers "Golden" (Noah Slee featuring Joy Denalane)2022———It Takes a Village
Album appearances SongYearArtist(s)Album "Whats Up with That" 1999 DJ Thomilla, Joy Denalane Genuine Draft "Mit Dir" 1999 Freundeskreis (with Joy Denalane) Esperanto "Tabula Rasa, Pt. II" 1999 Freundeskreis (featuring FK Allstars) Esperanto "Nicht Allein (Absolut Nicht Remix)" 2000 Absolute Beginner (featuring Joy Denalane) Boombule (Bambule Remixed) "Kuck ma' wer da rollt" 2001 Afrob (featuring Joy Denalane & Max Herre) Made In Germany "In Due Time" 2001 Sékou (featuring Joy Denalane & Max Herre) D.I.a.S.P.O.R.a "Music" 2001 Tiefschwarz (feat. Joy Denalane) RAL9005 "Torch of Freedom" 2002 [RE:Jazz], Joy Denalane Infracom! Presents [Re:Jazz] "Men's World" 2003 ASD (featuring Brooke Russell & Joy Denalane) "Hey Du" "1ste Liebe" 2004 Max Herre (with Joy Denalane) Max Herre "Soulmate" 2005 Afrob (featuring Joy Denalane) Hammer "Schlaflied für die Sehnsucht" 2005 Joy DenalaneSelma – in Sehnsucht eingehüllt "Arouna" 2007 Angélique Kidjo (featuring Joy Denalane)Djin Djin "Ich geh für dich" 2007 Azad (featuring Joy Denalane)Blockschrift "À 2 contre tous" 2007 Passi (featuring Joy Denalane)Évolution "How Long Will It Last?" 2010 Nottz (featuring Joy Denalane)You Need This Music
References
External links
JoyDenalane.com — official site