Stefanie Heinzmann
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Cover Interview
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Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria
“I WANT TO MAKE MUSIC THAT HELPS PEOPLE FEEL GOOD” With her latest album, Circles, Swiss singer Stefanie Heinzmann lets listeners get close to her true self. The record is an intimate testimony of her personal journey and an endorsement of the benefits of looking closely at who you really are.
built around perfection, but around vulnerability, doubt, the challenge of accepting oneself as well as the pressure to keep functioning.
TEXT: SILKE HENKELE
An exceptionally emotional song on the album is Feel, in which she confronts the harsh inner voice that so many people carry within themselves. “I made peace with that voice and often tell it to sit down and have something to drink,” she smirks. “The important part was learning to understand what that voice actually wanted from me,” Stefanie recalls.
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PHOTOS: MAXIMILIAN KÖNIG
Speaking with Stefanie, you do not meet a pop diva, but a woman who talks with remarkable openness about topics like insecurity, personal growth, self-acceptance and, last but not least, the benefits of spring cleaning, which she has interrupted for our meeting. BECOMING A STAR Stefanie’s career was not drafted at a drawing board and hence did not begin with a well-constructed master plan. In fact, she never necessarily intended to go on a major stage at all. It was her brother who persuaded her to audition for Stefan Raab’s television casting show SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD (short for Stefan is looking for a superstar who may sing whatever he or she wants and who is also happy to appear on RTL) back in 2008. “I didn’t want to apply,” she recalls with a laugh. “My brother teased me and said, ‘You won’t get very far anyway.’ So I went.” Shortly afterwards, the then 18-year-old won the competition. “I think it’s safe to say that my family and I were almost in shock! I re-
member that my parents went to console the runner-up, the magnificent Gregor Meyle, before they congratulated and hugged me.” What makes her and her story different from other pop fairy tales is the honesty with which she speaks, not only about her beginnings but also about the darker chapters of her life. At 17, Heinzmann spent a long time in hospital and it may be this experience that plays a huge part in explaining Stefanie’s determination to look into herself. “I’ve always had a deep trust in myself,” she says. “And I always wanted to grow.” Her words show a deeply-anchored self-awareness that becomes palpable throughout her latest album. “Circles is a hymn of our unique ways and needs,” the singer explains. THE EMOTIONAL WORLD OF CIRCLES Stefanie’s honesty towards herself and others may well be the reason why the singer’s listeners feel emotionally connected to her music. The songs on Circles do not feel strained or artificial. They feel real and are not
Hurricane, a song which initially sounds almost defiant, is less about fighting but about remaining steadfast; a hymn to stay focussed on yourself. For Stefanie, a hurricane symbolises the chaos of the outside world. “The storm is happening around us. If we manage to sit in the calm eye of the hurricane we can stay quiet, remain connected to our true self and prepare to face what is happening around us.” Myself feels like an ode to solitude, though never to loneliness. “I used to be very insecure about being introverted,” the singer says. “Now I understand that it’s simply part of who I am. And that’s ok.” So, on the tour bus, while her band and team are sitting to July 2026
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Issue 14 3
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