5 catchy songs to learn German

What’s more fun than learning a language while singing a catchy tune? We have a lengthy list, but that post wasn’t approved by management, so here we are.

Learning German shouldn’t be limited to a classroom. Music and songs in the language you’re learning are far from a distraction from completing your grammar exercises.

Not only will listening to music in German train your musical ear, but it may possibly cause the boogie-woogie blues. As such, it will also help you recognize different accents, registers and intonations. Not to mention that it will improve your speaking skills, while discussing Angela Merkel’s remarkable competence.

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced learner of the language, or just looking for some hot new Deutsch-language tracks to add to your Spotify playlist, here are 5 German songs you may mistakenly put on repeat.

1) Sie ist weg, Die Fantastischen Vier, 1995

Let’s start with Sie ist weg (1995), a song by German hip-hop group Die Fantastischen Vier (The Fantastic Four), formed in 1989 in Stuttgart. 

The band also had a platinum hit with MFG (1999), a song whose lyrics are mostly made up of abbreviations.

They are affectionately referred to as Fantas by their fans, and in 2018, received the Jacob-Grimm-Preis for services to the German language.

2) Sklave, Kraftclub, 2017

The 2009 song Sklave (Slave) by rap-rock group Kraftclub, who hails from the German city of Chemnitz (formerly known as Karl-Marx-Stadt). Wonder why they changed that city’s name, seems more pertinent than ever.  

Following the 2018 Chemnitz riots, the band organized a concert protesting xenophobic violence under the hashtag #wirsindmehr (#wearemore). The concert received national attention.

After various successful musical collaborations stretching back to 2007, frontman Felix Kummer (1989-) released his first solo album Kiox in 2019, which includes a song featuring celebrated German singer Max Raabe (1962-).

3) Stitches (Parodie), Die Lochis, 2016

The 2016 song Stitches is performed by German YouTube stars Die Lochis (2011-2019). It’s a parody of an original song by Shawn Mendes (1998-).

Die Lochis are twins Heiko and Roman Lochmann (1999-). Their YouTube channel has seen them share various aspects of their transition to adulthood with their millions of fans. Seems totally healthy.

The pair began recording their own songs in 2013. Lieblingslied (2016) is one of their most popular. Their second film Take Over – Voll Vertauscht came to movie theaters in 2020.

4) 99 Luftballons, Nena, 1983

Let’s jump back 40 years with the international hit 99 Luftballons (1983), known in English as 99 Red Balloons, by German new-wave group Nena (active 1982-1987). It was written by the band’s guitarist, Carlo Karges (1951-2002).

Released six years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the song encapsulated the feeling of a whole generation in a divided Germany toward the end of the Cold War.

5) Entschuldigung, Die Prinzen, 2003

The song Entschuldigung was recorded in 2003 by the acapella pop group Die Prinzen (The Princes) who formed in Leipzig in 1991.

The classically trained musicians and choristers were previously active from early 1987 under the name Die Herzbuben (The Jack of Hearts). Their melodic debut album Das Leben ist grausam [Life is cruel] (1991) went double platinum in the charts.

Their top hits include Millionär [Millionaire] (1991), Küssen verboten [No kissing] (1992) and Alles nur geklaut [Everything is stolen] (1993).

Today’s clips are also featured in the “dessert” section of our online German course Wunderbla. Each lesson contains an authentic sample of German-speaking culture to finish off your daily exercises. These include excerpts from cinema, series, songs, and more.

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