Tic Tac Toe (band)
Encyclopedia
Tic Tac Toe was an all-female German
pop group
that used hip-hop elements in their songs. They sold more than 3 million albums.
Formed in 1995, they released their self-titled debut album in 1996. Their second album, Klappe Die 2te, was released the following year. After a successful first few years, the group split due to personal difficulties. Tic Tac Toe attempted a return to the spotlight by releasing Comeback in 2006, which includes the 2005 comeback single "Spiegel". At the same time their former record company released The Best of Tic Tac Toe. After low sales, their record company ended the project in January 2007.
Their first single was "Ich Find' Dich Scheiße" ("I Think You're Shitty"). Their success continued with the 1996 release of their debut album Tic Tac Toe, which went Platinum, and the release of two singles, "Funky" and "Leck Mich am A, B, Zeh," which reached the top 20. This was followed up with the single "Verpiss' Dich" ("Fuck Off"), which landed at number one and also reached Platinum status. In this same year, Tic Tac Toe won a VIVA Comet award for Newcomer of the Year.
1997 brought the release of their second Platinum album, Klappe Die 2te, which included their biggest hit, "Warum?" ("Why?"), which spent 7 weeks in the number one spot. Other singles from this record included "Mr. Wichtig" and "Ich wär' so gern so blöd wie du." They also received attention for the song "Bitte küss mich nicht" ("Please don't kiss me"), which addressed the sexual abuse of children. Through these two albums, Tic Tac Toe sold nearly 3 million records.
Despite their professional success, the members experienced turbulence in their personal lives. At the insistence of their record company, all three members had pretended to be only 18 years old in order to market themselves to young buyers; however, it was soon revealed that Lee was not only older, but also married. This fact came to light when her husband committed suicide
while the group was on tour. A week later it was revealed that she had worked for two weeks as a prostitute in order to finance her drug habit. The band lost credibility with the public after these revelations, especially since the record company had marketed the group as "sincere girls next door." Ricky left the band in 1997 after a public dispute. Her replacement, Sara Brahms, contributed to some more hits (the first released under the name "Sara @ Tic Tac Two"). Amid the resulting fallout and a lukewarm response to their third album, Ist der Ruf erst ruiniert the band faded into obscurity.
In 2004, Jazzy attempted to initiate a solo career, appearing on "the Comeback Show," but was eliminated in the first round.
In 2005, the group reunited with its original three-member-cast and in December 2005 they produced the single
called "Spiegel
" ("Mirror"), which entered Germanys Media Control single chart
at number 9 and peaked at number 7. In February 2006, the trio released the album "Comeback," their first new material in five years. The album's success, however, could not be compared to their previous ones. It charted only at #25 in German Media Control album chart
, which drove the record company to scale back the promotional tour from the originally announced ten locations to just three. In May, they released "Keine Ahnung" ("No Idea") as their 2nd single from "Comeback". This, however, was their least successful single as it reached only #103 on the German Singles Chart. A third and presumably final breakup was announced on January 31, 2007.
, Tic Tac Toe's songs have an "explicit recognition of the need for emotional honesty." Mark Pennay compares them to the successful German rap group Die Fantastischen Vier
, writing, " Tic Tac Toe are clearly heirs to the Fantastischen Vier tradition." The music of both groups distinguishes them from traditionalists such as the previously mentioned Cora E and Advanced Chemistry
, instead creating "commercially accessible music centered on the traditional pop themes of feelings and relationships."
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
pop group
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
that used hip-hop elements in their songs. They sold more than 3 million albums.
Formed in 1995, they released their self-titled debut album in 1996. Their second album, Klappe Die 2te, was released the following year. After a successful first few years, the group split due to personal difficulties. Tic Tac Toe attempted a return to the spotlight by releasing Comeback in 2006, which includes the 2005 comeback single "Spiegel". At the same time their former record company released The Best of Tic Tac Toe. After low sales, their record company ended the project in January 2007.
History
Tic Tac Toe was initiated by Claudia Wohlfromm and comprised three young women, Jazzy, Lee, and Ricky, from the industrial Ruhr valley area. According to their record company, Tic Tac Toe was founded in 1995, when the three girls met at a hip hop festival. However, as many details of their biographies later turned out to be manipulated, one should be careful with information like this, especially as the company never disclosed where and when said festival had taken place.Their first single was "Ich Find' Dich Scheiße" ("I Think You're Shitty"). Their success continued with the 1996 release of their debut album Tic Tac Toe, which went Platinum, and the release of two singles, "Funky" and "Leck Mich am A, B, Zeh," which reached the top 20. This was followed up with the single "Verpiss' Dich" ("Fuck Off"), which landed at number one and also reached Platinum status. In this same year, Tic Tac Toe won a VIVA Comet award for Newcomer of the Year.
1997 brought the release of their second Platinum album, Klappe Die 2te, which included their biggest hit, "Warum?" ("Why?"), which spent 7 weeks in the number one spot. Other singles from this record included "Mr. Wichtig" and "Ich wär' so gern so blöd wie du." They also received attention for the song "Bitte küss mich nicht" ("Please don't kiss me"), which addressed the sexual abuse of children. Through these two albums, Tic Tac Toe sold nearly 3 million records.
Despite their professional success, the members experienced turbulence in their personal lives. At the insistence of their record company, all three members had pretended to be only 18 years old in order to market themselves to young buyers; however, it was soon revealed that Lee was not only older, but also married. This fact came to light when her husband committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
while the group was on tour. A week later it was revealed that she had worked for two weeks as a prostitute in order to finance her drug habit. The band lost credibility with the public after these revelations, especially since the record company had marketed the group as "sincere girls next door." Ricky left the band in 1997 after a public dispute. Her replacement, Sara Brahms, contributed to some more hits (the first released under the name "Sara @ Tic Tac Two"). Amid the resulting fallout and a lukewarm response to their third album, Ist der Ruf erst ruiniert the band faded into obscurity.
In 2004, Jazzy attempted to initiate a solo career, appearing on "the Comeback Show," but was eliminated in the first round.
In 2005, the group reunited with its original three-member-cast and in December 2005 they produced the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
called "Spiegel
Spiegel (song)
"Spiegel" is a song from German girl group 'Tic Tac Toe'. It was released as a single in December 2005 and entered the German Media Control single chart at number 9 and peaked at number 7. It has been one of their most successful singles up to date. This single along with 'Keine Ahnung' were the...
" ("Mirror"), which entered Germanys Media Control single chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
at number 9 and peaked at number 7. In February 2006, the trio released the album "Comeback," their first new material in five years. The album's success, however, could not be compared to their previous ones. It charted only at #25 in German Media Control album chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
, which drove the record company to scale back the promotional tour from the originally announced ten locations to just three. In May, they released "Keine Ahnung" ("No Idea") as their 2nd single from "Comeback". This, however, was their least successful single as it reached only #103 on the German Singles Chart. A third and presumably final breakup was announced on January 31, 2007.
Musical Contributions
Researcher Mark Pennay contrasted Tic Tac Toe with Cora E, an old-school German female hip-hop act. In comparison, Tic Tac Toe produced more commercial music that was received with acclaim and commercial success. Rather than striving for a political message in their music, like Cora E and Advanced ChemistryAdvanced Chemistry
Advanced Chemistry is a German hip hop group from Heidelberg, a scenic city in Baden-Württemberg, South Germany. Advanced Chemistry was founded in 1987 by Toni L, Linguist, Gee-One, DJ Mike MD and MC Torch...
, Tic Tac Toe's songs have an "explicit recognition of the need for emotional honesty." Mark Pennay compares them to the successful German rap group Die Fantastischen Vier
Die Fantastischen Vier
Die Fantastischen Vier , also known as Fanta 4, is a German hip hop group from Stuttgart, Germany. The members are Michael Bernd Schmidt alias Smudo, Andreas Rieke alias And.Ypsilon, Thomas Dürr alias Hausmeister Thomas D and Michael 'Michi' Beck alias Dee Jot Hausmarke...
, writing, " Tic Tac Toe are clearly heirs to the Fantastischen Vier tradition." The music of both groups distinguishes them from traditionalists such as the previously mentioned Cora E and Advanced Chemistry
Advanced Chemistry
Advanced Chemistry is a German hip hop group from Heidelberg, a scenic city in Baden-Württemberg, South Germany. Advanced Chemistry was founded in 1987 by Toni L, Linguist, Gee-One, DJ Mike MD and MC Torch...
, instead creating "commercially accessible music centered on the traditional pop themes of feelings and relationships."
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
HU Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
NET Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
SWI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
|||
| 1996 | Tic Tac Toe | 3 | 3 | - | - | 4 |
|
| 1997 | Klappe die 2te | 2 | 1 | 27 | 43 | 1 |
|
| 2000 | Ist der Ruf erst ruiniert... | 50 | 34 | - | - | 92 | |
| 2006 | The Best Of | 35 | 51 | - | - | - | |
| Comeback | 26 | 25 | - | - | 43 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
GER | NET Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
PL Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
||
| 1995 | "Ich Find' Dich Scheisse" | 4 | 2 | 38 | 25 | 6 |
| 1996 | "Funky" | 13 | 10 | - | 23 | 9 |
| "Leck Mich Am A,B, Zeh" | - | 21 | - | 13 | 87 | |
| "Verpiss Dich" | 3 | 1 | - | 8 | 1 | |
| 1997 | "Warum?" | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| "Mr. Wichtig" | 6 | 5 | - | 6 | 10 | |
| "So Blöd Wie Du" | 32 | 17 | - | 20 | - | |
| "Bitte Küss Mich Nicht" | - | 47 | - | 88 | - | |
| 1999 | "Nie Wieder" | 4 | 2 | - | 6 | - |
| 2000 | "Ist Der Ruf Erst Ruiniert" | - | 27 | - | 23 | - |
| "Ich Liebe Disch" | 11 | 6 | - | 18 | 38 | |
| "Morgen Ist Heute Schon Gestern" | - | 38 | - | 96 | - | |
| 2005 | "Spiegel" | 7 | 6 | - | - | 10 |
| 2006 | "Keine Ahnung" | - | 53 | - | - | - |