In the 2000s and early 2010s, Cascada dominated the charts with hit after hit but behind the scenes, frontwoman Natalie Horler was debilitatingly shy. The German trio, who formed in 2004 , created huge era-defining tracks like Everytime We Touch and number one single Evacuate the Dancefloor. Despite this success, Natalie – who fans recently realised is actually British – used to get so nervous she would feel physically unwell before performing.
Ahead of the release of Cascada’s first studio album in 13 years, Studio 24, Natalie revealed to Metro she wouldn’t even try karaoke. ‘I was always, even as a child, I was so nervous at karaoke,’ she laughed. ‘I never did it.
I always sat there thinking “I can sing better than anyone here”. ‘I knew I wanted to become a singer but I never got up for karaoke. I was just really, really shy.
’ During her first time in a professional studio at just 17 years old, Natalie was forced to make an odd request in order to get through the crushing nerves. ‘I literally — this is so embarrassing — I literally made them turn around and not look at me while I stood in front of the microphone,’ the Miracle singer shared. She had recorded a track in her father’s home studio once before and while the pressure of having a jazz musician for a dad did weigh on her, it was nothing compared to those studio executives.
Natalie continued: ‘With strangers, I was so shy. I went in there, I remember singing Whitney Houston’s My Lo.