00s pop icon was ‘so shy’ that recording songs made her physically ill --[Reported by Umva mag]

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 Love Is Your Love – I’ll never forget that. They were really quite flabbergasted because I was so young, and they were like “You [sound] amazing”.

‘But I was just like, “Don’t turn around!”

Admittedly, being a world-famous singer is not the most obvious career path for the painfully shy and Natalie acknowledged it was ‘very strange’.

‘It used to give me a stomach ache, to be honest,’ she confessed before adding with a laugh that it still happens ‘to this day’.

Even singing at her sister’s intimate wedding ceremony, with around 40 guests, had left her stomach in knots for days before due to the ‘pressure’.

However, fans headed to a Cascada show shouldn’t panic as the superstar reassured us she will ‘rock everyone in the audience’ at her usual gigs.

Cascada shows, which there are plenty of in the next few months, are always a mix of new releases and those deep-cut chart toppers we all know and love.

‘I would never be one of those artists that takes their biggest anthems out of the show, I’m so appreciative of where I am today,’ Natalie said.

‘I’m still going so strong after 20 years and there’s no way I’m going to take an ‘Everytime We Touch’ out of the show just because I’m fed up with singing it.’

She pauses here and reassures us that she is definitely not fed up with the tune, adding: ‘I love it because the warmth that comes across from the audience, they know every word and they love it.’

Cascada’s popularity in the UK was overwhelming; the trio even knocked Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror off the number one spot the week after he died.

‘It was a very weird situation,’ Natalie, who was a fan of the Grammy winner, recalled. ‘No way was it going to take away my joy for having my first number one in England but it was a weird situation because I was sort of grieving too, it was a really intense time.’

The song solidified Cascada as icons and remained in the top 100 for 18 weeks, although it turns out Natalie herself doesn’t choose to listen to it.

‘I don’t listen to Cascada,’ she added in a shocking twist. ‘I just do that on stage every weekend… so I don’t listen to my own music.’

Despite this, she has returned to the studio to record new album Studio 24 – we don’t think Natalie made anyone turn around this time though.

The new album includes covers of tracks from the era of the iconic New York nightclub, Studio 54, as well as several original songs, including the titular Studio 24.

‘It was disco and the fashion and everything around it was all a little bit tongue in cheek,’ Natalie explained. ‘Everyone sort of does what they want, there are no real rules, and that’s what I love about the whole vibe.’

Her reimagining of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough was the one Natalie was most excited to record but gave a shout-out to ‘hidden gem’ original track Playing For Keeps.

Two decades on from her shy studio debut, Natalie is feeling confident about the disco-influenced record, adding: ‘I haven’t really taken a break in 20 years, and I’m not starting anytime soon.

‘I want to do more music, I want to keep touring, I love being on stage. I’ve not felt so energetic in years.

‘I love my job so much. It’s tough as well, you don’t sleep, you’re away from family all the time and the travelling is not glamorous, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

‘I think you’re going to see me for quite a few years to come.’

Cascada’s brand new album Studio 24 is out on October 11.

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