Best known for making second place in the ninth season of the German casting show Deutschland Sucht den Superstar, Negroni came to Germany as a small child and started singing and playing the drums in high school. After taking part in the 2012 season of DSDS, where he lost to Luca Hänni, he released his first single -- a version of Hänni's "Don't Think About Me," which was heard in the show's finale. Despite heavy criticism due to the song's similarity to Pietro Lombardi's "Call My Name" from the show's previous season, the single charted at number four in Germany, number three in Austria, and number two in Switzerland (Hänni's version reached number one in all three countries). After signing with Universal, Negroni released his debut album, Crazy, which was produced by Dieter Bohlen and entered the Austrian charts at number one while charting at number two in Germany and Switzerland (losing out to Hänni's debut album, My Name Is Luca, in the latter country). In 2013, Negroni released his second album, Bulletproof, which rose to number seven on the German charts and number five in Austria, though it only made it to 38 in Switzerland. The album spawned the single "Hold on My Heart," which hit the Top 40 in Germany. ~ Christian Genzel