Music and Artist Collection: Tokio Hotel

Tokio Hotel is a German band founded in Magdeburg, Germany. Compose of vocalist Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing.

The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage. Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel - "Tokio", the German language spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels.

The quartet have scored four number one singles and have released two number one albums in their native country, selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there. After recording an unreleased demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG terminated, the band released their first German-language album, Schrei, as Tokio Hotel on Island Records in 2005. In 2007, the band released their second German album Zimmer 483 and their first English album Scream which have combined album sales of over one million copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct. They also beat bands Metallica and Linkin Park and picked up the prestigious Headliner award at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 held in Liverpool on 6th November 2008.

Tokio Hotel emerged as one of the most successful new German acts of their generation.