Biography

The product of the 2005 German reality show Banaroo: Das Star-Tagebuch, Europop quartet Banaroo enjoyed widespread success with their debut single, "Dubi Dam Dam," and saw their popularity dissipate rather quickly thereafter. Comprised of Robbert "Bobby" Dessauvagie (born October 13, 1982, in Monster, the Netherlands), Stefanie "Steffy" Dreyer (January 21, 1982, in Weimar, Germany), Kathrin "Cat" Geißler (March 19, 1987, in Hamburg, Germany), and Vittorio "Vito" Magro (February 12, 1980, in St. Nicolas, Belgium) the group benefited from the enormous publicity of Banaroo: Das Star-Tagebuch, which aired in spring 2005 on Super RTL, a Cologne-based TV station. Five weeks into the show's run (i.e., May 23, 2005), Sony BMG released Banaroo's debut single, "Dubi Dam Dam," and it became an immediate hit, ultimately charting in four countries (number two, Germany; number two, Austria; number five, Switzerland; number 36, the Netherlands). The song was sung in English, as were all subsequent songs by the group. By the year's end, Sony BMG had released two Banaroo albums -- Banaroo's World in June and Christmas World in November -- and both sold well, the former charting number one in Germany and Austria. Amazing followed in March 2006, by which time the popularity of Banaroo had begun dissipating, with the TV show now a distant memory. The album sold well nonetheless, charting at number two in Austria. Fly Away (2007), Banaroo's fourth album, spawned a good-sized hit in "Ba Yonga Wamba," yet the album sold relatively poorly (failing to break the Top 40 in Germany), signaling the further erosion of the band's fan base. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi