Felix Jaehn

Fee Jaehn
Jaehn in 2022
Jaehn in 2022
Background information
Birth nameFelix Kurt Jähn
Born (1994-08-28) 28 August 1994 (age 30)
Hamburg, Germany
Genres
Occupations
  • DJ
  • record producer
  • remixer
Years active2012–present
Labels
Websitefelix-jaehn.com

Fee Jähn (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːlɪks kʊʁt jɛːn]; born 28 August 1994 as Felix Kurt Jähn), known professionally as Felix Jaehn, is a German DJ and record producer.[1] Jaehn achieved international success with their remix of OMI's song "Cheerleader", which topped the charts in multiple countries and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015.[2]

Early life

Felix Kurt Jähn was born in Hamburg and raised in Schönberg, near Wismar in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Jaehn took violin lessons at the age of 5 and began their DJ career at 16. Jaehn lived in London for a year, where they attended Point Blank Music College at the age of 17.[3][4] Afterwards, they briefly studied Business Administration at Humboldt-University in Berlin.[5]

Career

2013–present

They began their career in the early 2010s. In August 2013, they released their debut single "Sommer am Meer".[6] In November 2014, they released the single "Shine".[7] In March 2015, they released the single "Dance with Me".[8] In April 2015, they released a remix of Rufus and Chaka Khan classic "Ain't Nobody" retitled "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" featuring the vocals of Jasmine Thompson (based on an earlier charting version of the song by Thompson). The remix was an international pan-European hit topping the German Singles Chart. They are now signed to Universal Music.[4] In July 2015, they released the single "Eagle Eyes".[9] In 2017, they collaborated with Mike Williams for the single "Feel Good", released through Spinnin' Records.[10]

They are best known for remixing Jamaican singer Omi's song "Cheerleader". The single was an international hit, topping the charts in Australia, Germany, Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Canada, Mexico, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was also known as a popular wedding dance song in the United States.[11]

Jaehn in 2015

In 2018, NOTD and Jaehn released the single "So Close", with a music video that starred Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Camille Kostek.[12][13] In February of the same year, they released their debut studio album, I.[14] The album features guest vocals by Marc E. Bassy, Gucci Mane, Jasmine Thompson, Polina, Alma, and Herbert Grönemeyer.[14]

Eff

In 2015, Jaehn launched Eff, a music duo project made up of German singer Mark Forster (real name Mark Cwiertnia, born 11 January 1984) as vocalist and Jaehn as DJ and producer. The two met in an event in Vienna in 2015. Eff is a reference to Felix and Forster. Their first and only single as Eff was "Stimme" that has topped the German Singles Chart for three consecutive weeks, also charting in Austria and Switzerland.

Personal life

Jaehn came out as bisexual in an interview for Die Zeit in February 2018, stating "sometimes I was more interested in girls, sometimes more interested in boys."[15][16] In February 2021, Jaehn confirmed in an interview with radio station Energy that they had been in a relationship with a man since the summer of 2020 and that the two met via Tinder.[17]

In 2024, Jaehn publicly spoke about being pansexual and non-binary.[18] They prefer to be known as Fee Jaehn in their personal life, with "dey/denen" pronouns, the German equivalent to "they/them" in English. However, they continue to perform and record music as Felix Jaehn.[19]

Discography

References

  1. ^ "Like it or Not, Kygo's Tropical House is the Sound of the Summer". 4 March 2015.
  2. ^ Molanphy, Chris (20 July 2015). "Why Is OMI's "Cheerleader" No. 1?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  3. ^ Popsprite.com: Hamburgs neuer Stern Felix Jähn[permanent dead link] (in German)
  4. ^ a b "Student Success: March 2015 – Felix Jähn, Anna Kay and R3WIRE". Point Blank London. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. ^ Keller, Maren; Leppin, Jonas (27 June 2014). "Der Glücksbringer". Kulturspiegel. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  6. ^ ""Sommer am Meer – EP" von Felix Jaehn in iTunes". iTunes. 6 August 2013.
  7. ^ ""Shine (feat. Freddy Verano & Linying) – Single" von Felix Jaehn in iTunes". iTunes. 28 November 2014.
  8. ^ ""Dance With Me (feat. Thallie Ann Seenyen) – Single" von Felix Jaehn in iTunes". iTunes. January 2014.
  9. ^ ""Eagle Eyes (feat. Lost Frequencies & Linying) – Single" von Felix Jaehn auf Apple Music". iTunes. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Sich einfach mal gut fühlen: Felix Jaehn und Mike Williams helfen Dir dabei!". bigFM (in German). 4 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  11. ^ "DJ Kamayo Entertainment – The Best Wedding DJs in Ventura County". DJ Kamayo Entertainment – The Best Wedding DJs in Ventura County. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  12. ^ "NOTD & Felix Jaehn Enlist 'Sports Illustrated' Cover Girl Camille Kostek For 'So Close' Video: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  13. ^ Camille Kostek (26 June 2019), Camille Kostek x So Close Music Video, retrieved 27 June 2019
  14. ^ a b "I: Felix Jaehn". iTunes (DE). Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  15. ^ Dallach, Christoph (22 February 2018). "Felix Jaehn: "Ich träume davon, den Menschen zu finden, mit dem ich mein Leben teilen möchte"". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Innerer Konflikt: Felix Jaehn bestätigt Bisexualität". bigFM (in German). 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Felix Jaehn bestätigt im ENERGY Interview seine feste Beziehung". Energy (in German). NRJ Group. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Felix Jaehn outet sich als nichtbinär". queer.de (in German). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  19. ^ Weingärtner, Marcus (27 April 2024). "Felix Jaehn: Berliner Star-DJ ist kein Mann mehr und hat einen neuen Namen". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 7 July 2024.