Ever wondered what makes schlager oh so very schlager? Why is it so popular in Europe, and what makes it a nail-on-the-head genre for karaoke? Fasten your schlager belt and hit play on this song – we’re going in!
What is schlager music?
Schlager (meaning “hits”) is especially popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland but the Nordic countries also. Essentially, it’s European popular music revolving around love, feelings, relationships, and a little more feelings. The brain penetrating, sentimental lyrics address another human, an animal, a vehicle, or, as the popular Italo schlager-band Roy Bianco & Die Abbrunzati Boys from Germany demonstrate here, the city of Naples.
The ingredients for schlager
Schlager really took off and evolved after WWII as a German backlash against American rock and roll. Mostly gooey, very rhythmic, and simple, clichéd lyrics accompany the often pompous and sonorous rhythm. No wonder schlager is called "easy music".
The Nordic version of schlager is sometimes more wistful, carrying traces of folk songs and even tango. For example, the melancholic “Satulinna” sung by Jari Sillanpää is one of the most popular Finnish schlagers of all time.
With the popular use of synthesizers, modern schlager with its almost manic upbeatness often merges with Eurodisco and Eurodance. Especially The Eurovision Song Contest is the place to hear different kinds of versions of schlager:
According to The Schlagerboys, the dramatic key-change is one of the most important hallmarks of an epic schlager. These singers sure know how to do the key-change:
Schlager karaoke at Golden Hits, Stockholm
Because of its earworm nature, schlager is an inevitable choice for karaoke. With three dance floors, a cocktail, and a karaoke bar, the Singa-powered entertainment venue Golden Hits in Stockholm caters to around 1,400 customers per evening.
According to restaurant manager Ville Norqvist, schlager is very popular both in karaoke and on the dance floor.
“Around 80% of all karaoke songs during an average night at Golden Hits are schlager. All age groups sing it. Everybody says they don’t listen to schlager, and it’s not their thing – yet out of three of our dance floors, the schlager one is always the fullest,” Norqvist says.
Although you can sing anything from Abba to Mötley Crüe at Golden Hits, Norqvist has a pro tip for selecting a successful karaoke song:
“If you want to sing Celine Dion, you really have to know how to sing, but if you choose, for example, a Swedish schlager by Pernilla Wahlgren, you don’t have to be that good of a singer. People pick songs like Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’. It’s a helluva fast song, and the words swing by really quickly. In schlager, if you get lost with the lyrics, you can simply whistle or hum.”
Norqvist also has a theory on why learning new schlager songs or schlagers in different languages is so effortless.
“Schlager songs are like kids’ songs for adults. The songs can talk about almost anything: ‘I want to dance in the moonlight’ or ‘I want to pick cherries in your garden’ or ‘ I want to eat pizza and pasta’. For example, the Swedish schlager ‘Michelangelo’ is just lyrically nonsense,” Norqvis laughs.
If you're a karaoke beginner, you might want to check out Singa's 10 Easy Karaoke Songs for Beginners.
Top schlager karaoke songs
Restaurant manager Ville Norqvis has first-hand experience in the most popular song choices. Here are the top schlager karaoke songs at Golden Hits:
In English:
- Take me to your heaven – Charlotte (Nilsson) Perrelli
- Waterloo – Abba
- Piccadilly circus – Pernilla Wahlgren
- Heroes – Måns Zelmerlöw
- Amazing – Danny Saucedo
- Fly on the wings of love – Olsen Brothers
In Swedish:
- Alla flickor – Linda Bengtzing
- Evighet – Carola Häggkvist
- Främling – Carola Häggkvist
- Stad i ljus – Tommy Körberg
- Tusen och en natt – Charlotte (Nilsson) Perrelli
- Michelangelo – Björn Skifs
For more Eurovision songs that became huge karaoke hits head here.
Where pop begins and schlager ends
By now, you might be thinking: wait a minute – aren’t a lot of these pop songs? They sure are, but they are also schlager. All in all, schlager has more in common with what is considered awarded pop music than many realize.
“Schlager in Sweden, Germany, and other European countries… is it so different from what Lady Gaga and Madonna are doing? I think even Britney Spears’ music is American schlager. The queen of pop in Sweden is Carola, and the queen of pop in the US is Madonna,” Ville Norqvis says.
Seems that pop music owes to schlager. Many of today’s best pop songs have schlager’s 3-minute climatic formula running deep inside their core. Check out this mashup of Charlotte Perrelli’s 2008 Eurovision song “Hero” and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”.
In conclusion, although many won’t publicly want to admit it, schlager seems to be the most real thing out there. With its unapologetic campness and next-level cheesiness, it doesn’t try to be better than it is. Once you’ve heard a schlager song, you won’t be able to shake it off. What’s more pop than that?
Since you’re now most likely bitten by the schlager bug, here is a bonus selection of popular schlager songs on Singa. Enjoy! 🎤🎶
- Es war nur eine Nacht – Andre Berg (in German)
- Merci, Cherie – Udo Jürgens (in German)
- Phanomen – Helene Fischer (in German)
- Poupée de cire, poupée de son – France Gall (in French)
- Last Farewell – Roger Whittaker (in English)
- Hopeinen kuu – Olavi Virta (in Finnish)
- Ci sarà – Al Bano & Romina Power (in Italian)
- Rai-Rai – D.D.E (in Norwegian)
- Pas på den knaldrøde gummibåd – Birthe Kjær (in Danish)