Sasha

Sascha Röntgen-Schmitz ( Schmitz; born 5 January 1972), better known by his stage name Sasha, is a German singer and songwriter. He is also known by his alter ego Dick Brave, as part of the group Dick Brave & the Backbeats. Due to a legal dispute with the Welsh DJ also named Sasha, he is known as Sasha Alexander in the United States.

Early life Sasha is the elder of two children born to Fritz Schmitz, a former Bundeswehr soldier, and his wife Ramona, a nursery nurse. Raised in a Christian home alongside his younger brother Norman (born 1976), Sasha spent his childhood in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia, following his parents' divorce.

His early musical interest grew when he started his first school band, called Bad to the Bone, which "was exactly as bad as the name suggests", he later stated.

Recording career

1996–2002 During the following years, Sasha earned his money as a background singer for several artists, including virtual euro-dance projects H.I.M and Sir Prize, whose singles "Lookin' Out 4 Luv" and "Don't Go Away" were released in German-speaking Europe, but led to short promotional tours in Tunisia. His contribution to German rapper Der Wolf's debut single "Gibt's doch gar nicht" however, scored him his first uncredited appearance on the German and Swiss Singles Charts in early 1997. Soon thereafter, Sasha was consulted to sing on "Walk on By", the début single of rapper Young Deenay. The song became a top ten hit in Central Europe and resulted in a second collaboration, entitled "Wanna Be Your Lover", on which he received his first credited solo part and filmed a music video for.

In 1998, Sasha signed a solo contract with Warner Music. He worked with Grant, Di Lorenzo and Pete Smith on the majority of his début album Dedicated to..., whose reggae-influenced début single "I'm Still Waitin'" saw him re-teaming with Deenay and reached the top twenty of the charts in summer 1998. The track was followed by "If You Believe", which would become his highest-charting single to date and reached the top five in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, receiving one platinum and four gold discs. A "blend of romantic ballads and quicker funk- and reggae-inspired tracks", according to Billboard, the album was eventually released in fall 1998 and sold more than 400,000 copies in Germany alone. With "We Can Leave the World" and "I Feel Lonely" the album spawned two further top ten hits, which Sasha performed on a tour between September and October 1999. Surfin' on a Backbeat, Sasha's third album was released in October 2001. It reached the top ten of the albums charts in Germany, but charted significantly lower than its predecessors throughout the rest of Europe, reaching the top forty in Switzerland only. the quintet recorded a whole album together, including re-arranged cover versions of songs such as Pink's "Get the Party Started", George Michael's "Freedom", and Michael Jackson's "Black or White". Dick This! eventually became Sasha's first number-one record, but is Sasha's lowest-selling album, to date. On 7 July 2007, he performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg.

In 2009, his fifth studio album Good News on a Bad Day was released, it had the best sales so far since ...you. In 2011, he returned to his alter ego and released his second album as Dick Brave, Rock'n'Roll Therapy.

In late 2014, Sasha's sixth studio album, The One, was released. On 7 May 2021, Sasha was featured on a remix of the song "Hypa Hypa" by German metalcore band Electric Callboy (formerly Eskimo Callboy).

Acting career In 2006, Sasha made his big screen debut with a small role in the German comedy film Goldene Zeiten, directed by Peter Thorwarth. The following year he accepted a supporting role in the film adaptation of Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps (2007) alongside Benno Fürmann and Jessica Schwarz. In the film he portrayed the comedic role of a brutal biker.