Cascada (, Spanish, 'Waterfall') is a German Eurodance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and composers/record producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou.
They consisted in a trio until 2021, with their last track together being "One Last Dance". Since then, Natalie has fronted the group as a solo project, which was confirmed with the release in 2024 of Cascada's fifth studio album, Studio 24, produced by Christian Geller.
They are best known for the hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", "Evacuate the Dancefloor" and "Miracle".
Cascada represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden with "Glorious". While being one of the most successful bands of the Electronic dance music genre itself, Cascada was named as the third-most successful German act of the 21st century.
In 2010 and again in 2014, Cascada's music was the second-most downloaded of all time in the dance category, after David Guetta.
Music career 2004–2005: Early career When Natalie Horler was 17 in 1998, she was doing studio work for various DJs. She met Yanou and DJ Manian when they were 24 and 20, respectively. Originally, they released music under the name Cascade, but due to Kaskade, another artist with a similar name, threatening legal action, they changed it to Cascada.[ Cascada's Biography]. Billboard. Retrieved 28 February 2008. At the same time, they also released music under the names of Siria, 3XM, Phalanx, Scarf!, Diamond, and Akira, before ending these projects due to the success of Cascada. Under Andorfine Records, they produced their debut and hit single, "Miracle", and its follow-up, "Bad Boy", in Germany.Andorfine Records Releases . Andorfine Records. Retrieved 29 February 2008. This caught the attention of the American dance label Robbins Entertainment. They negotiated a contract, and "Miracle" was released in 2004. When this did not attract much attention, Cascada offered them "Everytime We Touch".
2005–2007: Everytime We Touch Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name.Maggie Rielly Everytime We Touch Lyrics . Completealbumlyrics.com. Retrieved 7 April 2008. The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.RIAA Everytime We Touch Certification. RIAA. Retrieved 1 March 2008.Official Cascada Japanese Site Profile . Cascada.jp. Retrieved 1 February 2008. As the popularity of the single skyrocketed, a music video was produced,Everytime We Touch Video . Robbins Entertainment. Retrieved 7 April 2008. and an album was recorded and released a few months later.Ados.fr Natalie Interview . Ados.fr. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
A total of seven singles were released from the album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom: "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden), "Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" (originally by X-Perience), all of which gained Top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream" (which charted at No.46).All Around the World Single Chart Position Peaks . All Around the World. Retrieved 28 February 2008. The US saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of the Billboard chart.[ Miracle American Chart History]. Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2011. Their album Everytime We Touch experienced success in the UK Album chart, where it remained in the Top 40 for 24 weeks, peaking at No.2.Cascada Biography and History . All Around the World. Retrieved 28 February 2008.Everytime We Touch (Album) Chart Run . Cascadamusic.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2007. The album experienced success on the US charts as well.MTV Chart Summary . MTV. Retrieved 2 March 2008. The success of the album gained Cascada two World Music Award nominations, and won them the World's Best-Selling German Artist.Billboard's Review of What Hurts the Most . Billboard. Retrieved 2 March 2008. On 12 February 2010, a Premium Edition of the album was released featuring remixes from Pulsedriver and Tune Up!, and an exclusive vocal edit from ItaloBrothers.
2007–2009: Perfect Day At the end of 2007, Cascada released their second album, Perfect Day in the UK and several Northern European countries,Toazted Interview . Toazted. Retrieved 28 February 2008. followed by the remaining markets in the first quarter of 2008,Robbins Message Board Perfect Day Release . Robbins Entertainment. Retrieved 28 February 2008. The album contained cover versions of Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", Pink's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and the Jeffrey Steele song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It", that were previously recorded by Horler and DJ Manian under the discontinued Siria name.Perfect Day International Version's Tracklisting. HMV. Retrieved 28 February 2008. However, the US version, which was released last, replaced the Siria songsMarian Records Releases. Marian Records. Retrieved 28 February 2008. and the Pink and Avril Lavigne cover versions with three other tracks, because they could not obtain the North American rights.Robbins Message Board . Robbins Entertainment. Retrieved 28 February 2008. The lead single, "What Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a cover version of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".[ What Hurts the Most Releases]. Billboard. Retrieved 28 February 2008. The single had high success, reaching the Top 10 in many countries.acharts What Hurts the Most History . acharts. Retrieved 28 February 2008. In the UK and Germany, "What Do You Want From Me?"All Around the World News . All Around the World. Retrieved 26 February 2008.Zooland Records News . Zooland Records. Retrieved 2 February. and "Because the Night" were released as a follow-up single.Zooland Records Because the Night News . Zooland Records. Retrieved 27 May 2008.All Around the World News . All Around the World. Retrieved 27 May 2008. In the United States, "Faded" and "Perfect Day" were released as singles but received little airplay outside of the dance-radio circuit.
2009–2010: Evacuate the Dancefloor
On 29 June 2009, "Evacuate the Dancefloor" was released in the UK. The release, just four days after the death of Michael Jackson, was expected to chart below Jackson's old hits, which sold heavily after his death. Instead, it debuted at No. 1, above Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". The song went on to the top five in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as the top 10 in many more. The song was released in the US in late September and peaked at 25, remaining on the chart for 17 weeks and making it the group's second Top 40 hit.
The song has become a club staple, used in many dance-oriented video games, and even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The album, also named Evacuate the Dancefloor, was released a week later on 6 July in the UK and Germany. The album continued Cascada's progression into electro-pop, a change welcomed by mainstream audiences and fans, despite many fans missing the euro-pop feel they considered integral to the Cascada project. The album itself did not mirror the success of the single, yet it did chart in the Top 10 of many countries, including the UK where it went on to sell 100,000 copies. "Dangerous" and "Fever" were follow-up singles released from the album, the former in the UK, and the latter in the US, Australia and the rest of Europe, neither experiencing success in terms of radio play, digital or physical sales. Nevertheless, the group toured extensively to promote the album, even opening for Britney Spears during a stop in Germany.
2010–2011: Original Me A new single "Pyromania" was released in 2010, continuing Cascada's new electropop sound. During the Summer of 2010, elements of a song titled "Night Nurse" began to leak online. A music video featuring Horler in full body paint of various colours in many scenes was released in November 2010 to promote the upcoming album.
On the weekend of 26 March 2011, Cascada shot two music videos for the upcoming singles "San Francisco" and "Au Revoir". Both videos were directed by Lisa Mann and choreographed by Luther Brown, and both singles were featured on the album Original Me which was released on 20 June 2011 in the UK and 29 November 2011 in the US.
After the release of the album, Horler posed for Playboy Deutschland in July 2011, to mixed reactions from fans and critics. On 1 September 2011, US label Robbins Entertainment announced on their message board that Cascada and Robbins had amicably parted ways, and Cascada were released from the label, citing creative differences as the reason for their departure. It was also announced that Original Me would still be released, under their Zooland label.
2012–2013: The Best of Cascada, Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and Acoustic Sessions On 7 January 2012, Horler joined the jury of German singing contest Deutschland sucht den Superstar.Die zwei Neuen in der DSDS-Jury 2012: Bruce Darnell und Natalie Horler . RTL.de (4 January 2012). On 16 March 2012, the music video for "Summer of Love" premiered in Germany,Cascada tanzt sich in den "Summer of Love" . Promiflash.de. followed by the compilation album Back on the Dancefloor.
In early June 2012, a video clip of Horler performing a cover of Corona's "The Rhythm of the Night" surfaced online. Promi-Pärchen: Geissens: „Wir wetten, dass der FC aufsteigt" | Die Geissens | EXPRESS . Express.de. "The Rhythm of the Night" was released on 22 June 2012 in Germany and in the US.The Rhythm Of The Night: Cascada: Amazon.de: MP3-Downloads . Amazon.de (1 January 1970).The Rhythm of the Night: Cascada: MP3 Downloads . Amazon.com.
On 30 November 2012, Cascada released a Christmas Album, It's Christmas Time, which included a cover version of Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and a brand new track, "Somewhere At Christmas Time". Natalie Horler's father, David Horler, played the trombone on two of the tracks.
On 8 February 2013, Cascada released the single "Glorious". A week later, they won the German qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with this song. On 18 May 2013, Cascada earned 18 points in the Eurovision Final, putting them in 21st place in a field of 26 contestants.
Around this time, Cascada released their second greatest hits album, The Best of Cascada, including the brand new track "The World is in My Hands", which went on to become their follow up single after Eurovision. They also returned to the studio to work on an acoustic album, which was released as Acoustic Sessions on 1 November 2013. The album comprises acoustic versions of the band's hits as well as a few cover versions of other songs, most notably "You" performed by both Horler and Robin Stjernberg.
2014–2024: Focus on touring and new singles On 28 March 2014, Cascada's new single, titled "Blink", was released in Germany with the video premiering on the same day. The track was originally recorded by pop group U.V.U.K. In April 2014, the single was released in Australia and France, and also began receiving airplay in the UK.
According to a 2014 interview, the group had no plans to release a fifth studio album, but were working on a new single. For this single, "Madness", Cascada collaborated with Manchester-based rapper Tristan 'Tris' Henry; the single was released on 26 September 2014 worldwide, with the video premiering on YouTube on 30 September. On 20 February 2015, the band released a re-work of "Reason", a song originally released in 2004 under the previous alias 'Diamond'. The video was shot in Mallorca and premiered on 20 February 2015.