Haddaway

Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries.

Early life Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago. His father was a marine biologist from Germany and his mother was a local nurse. His parents separated during the early 1970s and Haddaway first lived with his father in Europe, then with his mother in America. He was raised in Chicago and relocated to the Washington, DC metropolitan area at the age of 9. He attended Meade Senior High School in Fort Meade, Maryland, where he was a member of the marching band, which resulted eventually in him forming his first group, Chances. It later reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 units. and Gold in the UK and in France for shipments of 100,000.

In 1995, he released his second album, The Drive, which included the UK top 20 hit "Fly Away", as well as "Catch a Fire" and "Lover Be Thy Name". "What Is Love" enjoyed a resurgence in popularity as the theme music for the Butabi brothers (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan) on Saturday Night Live and the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.

In 2008, Haddaway teamed up with Eurodance star Dr. Alban for the single "I Love the 90's". In 2009, "What Is Love" re-entered charts after German DJ Klaas remixed it. The track resurfaced again in 2010 when it sampled heavily in Eminem's single "No Love" featuring Lil Wayne. In 2012, Haddaway released the single "Up and Up" with the Mad Stuntman, which was a top 20 dance hit in the US.

In 2011, he said that most of his performances are in "the east", in places such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, or Siberia.

In 2016, he announced plans to star in Neverending Dream, a film about Eurodance. Despite launching a fundraiser on Indiegogo, the film was not released.

On 26 April 2024, Haddaway released the single "Lift Your Head Up" off his sixth studio album, The Sun (2026).

Personal life Haddaway lives in Kitzbühel, Austria, and also has a home in Cologne, Germany. The team won the regional championships in 2019 and 2020.

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) GER AUS FIN FRA NL NOR SWE SWI UK US Haddaway Release date: 13 September 1993 Label: Arista Formats: LP, CD, cassette 5 73 12 — 17 16 5 3 2 9 111 GER: Platinum FIN: Gold FRA: Gold SWI: Platinum UK: Gold AUT IRE NL SWE 1993 "What Is Love" 2 12 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 11 GER: 3× Gold AUT: Platinum The Album / Haddaway "Life" 2 34 2 5 3 3 1 2 6 41 GER: Platinum 2022 "Chances" — — — — — — — — — — "Thing Called Love" (with Wolfram)——————————2024 "Lift Your Head Up" — — — — — — — — — — The Sun2026 "The Sun" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.