One Magazine – France

UPDATED OCTOBER 10, 2008
This interview never took place. All quotes attributed to the band were NOT anything they said, including the now infamous things Tom allegedly said about Miley Cyrus.

TRANSLATION FOR TRANSLATION PURPOSES ONLY – ARTICLE WILL BE REMOVED WITHIN 24 HOURS
At the beginning of September, the Tokio Hotel returned home after a gruelling American tour. Next step: recording the successor to “Zimmer 483″. Just before they go into the studio, we’ve chatted a few minutes with them to take stock of these recent months. Bill and Tom also talk about their next album …

“I know that it would please some people if we fail with our next album.” Bill

So guys, glad to be back home after your American journey?
Bill: Yes, we are very happy to be back home and with our families … We really loved to spend all this time in the United States, but we really began to have difficulties with the country. A month abroad is a long time …

Tom: As for me, I admit that it really wouldn’t have bothered me to stay a little longer. I love the US. First, in terms of clothes, it’s really great there. I brought a ton of clothes and several pairs of sneakers that you can’t find in Europe. And then, I feel really comfortable in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. I really enjoyed it there …

Your goal was to break through in the United States. Do you have the feeling that you have attained it?

Tom: Frankly, none of us four expected that there’d be so many fans at our concerts. It has always been sold out and the public was as crazy over there as in Europe. I think, we have fulfilled our contract. The mission is accomplished in a way (laughter).

Georg: We all feel to have managed to achieve something great. I don’t think that before us a German band has met such hype in the USA.

Yet, one can slow a bit down the enthusiasm of your American success: during your promo there, you have sold only 100,000 albums, while the goal was to reach 500,000…

Bill: You’re right, despite our efforts, “Scream” has not really taken off in the U.S. charts. Frankly, I don’t know what the reason is. We have done our best to make our music known to as many people, but the U.S. market is very difficult to access for foreign artists. However, without wanting to sing our own praises, selling 100,000 albums is still enormous for a German band. We are not disappointed by this result.

Tom: What we enjoyed the most was to receive an MTV Video Music Awards for Best New Artist. We didn’t expect that at all since we were in competition with Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, who are far more popular than us over there. To receive this award was a real shock. To date, it may be the best reward we have received for our career. In addition, I must say that I really enjoyed seeing the confused puss of Miley Cyrus when the winners, in other words us, have been announced … (laughter)

You don’t seem to have taken her to your heart…
Tom: On the one hand, I am not a fan of what she does, plus, she doesn’t have the physical criteria that I look for in a girl. So, everything is said. (laughter)

Bill: Tom talks bullshit, as usual! He is an uptight fan of “Hannah Montana”, I’ve have already caught him watching some episodes secretly. (laughter)

Tom: We will settle that tonight. Secretly …

How many times have you been asked where did the band name come from when you were in the US?
Bill: (laughter) I don’t know. 250 times, the number of interviews we gave there … I thought, we had returned three years back. The total horror.

Tom: “How did you come to music” is also a question that has often been asked … Of course, it’s boring having to repeat the same thing for the thousandth time. But it makes humble, it reminds us that not everyone is supposed to know us. It does us good to regain that feeling to start from scratch or almost… We’ve got down a bit from our little cloud.

Georg: Yeah, but I admit that it’s annoying, though. I thought that American journalists would have a little better swot their subject before meeting us. Alas, no …

If you have to treasure a noteworthy event of this trip, which would it be?
Bill: For me, it would probably be one of the signing sessions that we organized in a record store. It’s always great to be able to meet our fans and listen to the stories they tell. These meetings have inspired me a lot for our next album …

Tom: As for me, I especially remember the times when two fans managed to get into my hotel room while I was getting ready to go to bed. I have absolutely no idea how they managed to find us … However, I must say it was a rather pleasant surprise. But I can not tell you the sequel, I let that to your imagination … (laughter)

Let’s talk about serious things now, the preparation of your third album. What is its state of affairs exactly?
Tom: We are just about to go into the studio. Needless to say we are 100% focused on this new project. That is why you will certainly not hear much about us in the coming months …

Bill: Yes, we are aware that this is one of the most important steps in our career. The pressure is enormous, but we try not to think about it too much. Our goal is to ensure that this album is simply the best we have recorded.

What can we expect sound-wise?
Tom: The idea is to make songs that surprise our fans and show a facet of us they probably don’t know. We don’t want to rest on our achievements and record a second “Zimmer 483″. The idea is to take some more risks, while maintaining our identity …

Bill: We also want our lyrics to be more personal. That is certainly the effort that I make. Everything I’ve experienced in the past year greatly inspired me and I filled notebooks full of lyrics …

If this third album was going worse than the previous two, would that make you worry about the continuation of your career?
Bill: I know that it would please some people if we fail with our next album. The success has not only attracted sympathies for us, far from it… Now, we don’t rack our brains over it. As I said, we are going to make the best possible album. And if it is less well received than “Schrei” or “Zimmer 483″, frankly, it wouldn’t be the end of the world …

Tom: Actually, no band can stay on top forever, we are aware of that. For now, our career is like a fairy tale, it is almost too good to be true. We’ll surely experience throwbacks. But whatever happens, we are so passionate about music that we’ll never stop doing it, that’s for sure.