There are many songs about love. But when it comes to the really good ones - about terrible heartbreak just as much as about the most beautiful of all feelings and, above all, free from clichés or platitudes - you simply cannot get past Montez. This is also true when it comes to other hits and hooks. Because the Bielefeld native has long been writing great songs not only for himself but has also been involved in the successful albums of artists like badmómzjay or Helene Fischer in recent years. With more than one billion streams across all projects and albums, Montez underscores his status as one of the most exciting rappers and singers in the country. After his number-one single "Auf & Ab," which received double platinum in Germany and platinum in Austria and Switzerland, Montez entered the Top 10 in 2021 with the album "Herzinfucked". A year later, he followed up with the number-one album "Liebe in Gefahr," which remained in the Top 100 for a full 22 weeks. Since then, numerous chart successes have been accompanied by several nominations for the 1Live Krone and the German Music Authors Award in the category of "Most Successful Work 2021." Last year, Montez was also seen alongside music stars like Nico Santos, Stefanie Kloß from Silbermond, and Clueso in the anniversary season of "Sing meinen Song – das Tauschkonzert" – and he delighted not only his colleagues but a million-strong audience across the board. And in 2024, Montez continues just as he has: The 29 concerts of his "Liebe in Gefahr" tour were completely sold out and attracted more than 120,000 visitors to the largest venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Throughout the summer, Montez will perform ten open-air shows until September, most of which are already sold out and tickets are becoming scarce in other cities as well. Successes that once seemed impossible. Because Montez was once on the best path to becoming a star - but then everything turned out quite differently: depression, writer's block, self-doubt. "I was discovered at 15, was on television for the first time at 18, and played on the main stage at the splash! Festival before Kendrick Lamar in the same year," remembers Montez. "For many, that might be the coolest thing ever and the fulfillment of a dream, but I constantly compared myself to others, felt observed and never dared to see what I actually really wanted." Somewhere between writer's block and self-doubt, but also depression and panic attacks, Montez released music here and there in the following years: an album here, an EP there, or a feature - but the generous praise of the early days and the reputation that preceded him as the next big thing were long gone. When his long-term relationship fell apart in 2017, Montez began what he calls the darkest time of his life. Music didn't actually play a big role during that time. Even when he moved from Bielefeld to Berlin and into a shared apartment with producer Aside, no new tracks were created. "At some point, I just went to the studio for fun with Aside and didn't rap, but sang and he just said: 'Why don't you do that all the time?!'," recalls Montez. "I actually always had that inner conflict. In the midst of my creative chaos, the question was always whether I wanted to be a rapper or a singer-songwriter. I had always had these two poles in me and never knew how to unite them. When I suddenly didn't care what others thought, I realized I was on the right path." Not only concerning his own art: Quite coincidentally, Montez suddenly finds himself in his first songwriting sessions. Just three months after the first inquiries, he arrived in the Champions League of German songwriters and wrote hits with and for Wincent Weiss, Elif, Nico Santos, Monet192, or badmómzjay. "I was long known for having the craziest writer's block," says Montez, laughing. "Realizing that it can also go differently when I don't wait forever for that one idea has given me a massive boost in terms of self-confidence. And it's actually like this: I've been writing lyrics since I was 13 – so in a way, that's half of my life. I know how I want to say something and can." Also about his own art. Because suddenly Montez finds a way to organize the creative chaos within himself: rapping and singing - suddenly that’s no longer a contradiction. Why not simply combine the melodies from pop with the songwriting from rap and create rough pop music from it? Hits with edges and corners - and above all, in words that you might hear less often in the pop context. The interplay between his voice, as well as the sensitivity for the music, the perfect melody and the right words – Montez calls it the Montez magic. With "Herzinfucked," Montez releases his new album in 2021 after four years. The 14 songs that were created over the past two years tell - the title makes it unmistakably clear - about love in all its facets and forms. About how beautiful, but also how ugly, how uplifting, but also how heavy it can sometimes be. In the pieces, Montez processes his own relationship experiences from recent years. "Love is enormously important to me, actually the most important thing there is. Everything revolves around love," explains Montez. "To that comes the fact that I am someone who does everything he does extremely. When I love, I love extremely. When I hate, I hate extremely. All these feelings are reflected in the songs of the album." It’s about toxic relationships and the moments when big feelings give way to small secrets. A good year later, with "Liebe in Gefahr," the follow-up album about love in all its facets follows. "I found the title fitting because love is actually always in danger if you don’t take care of it," explains Montez. "It shows how fragile the feelings between two people are – and if you’re not careful or handle them inattentively, they also disappear again," explains Montez. "The songs deal with relationships that may not always be easy, where you have to confront problems and solve them together. But despite everything, one thing is certain, namely that you love each other. Most of the time at least."
Entry: 5:30 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
