Formation

The Preluders were formed in September 2003 in front of millions of viewers on the ProSieben programme Popstars – Das Duell ("The Duel"). The concept of the programme was to produce a boy band and a girl band who would be rivals and compete for winning the third installment of the reality television program. Following the success of No Angels and Bro'Sis, 12,000 applicants attended auditions in five German cities in hopes of being selected for the show. Judged by rapper Sabrina Setlur, choreographer Detlef "D!" Soost, and producer Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, 27 out of 46 contestants made it from the local recall shows to Orlando, Florida to get trained in singing, dancing and fitness.

While the judges continued eliminating two or three boys and girls each week, a small group of finalists remained, and in the end four girls were chosen to make the band: Anh-Thu Doan, Miriam Cani, Rebecca Miro, and Tertia Botha eventually formed the Preluders. While the show continued tracking the development and struggles of the new girl band and the final four members of Overground, the judges decided to add a fifth member to both groups after failed recording sessions. Selecting from the group of semi-finalists, they chose powerful-voiced Anne Ross to 'complete' the Preluders – and their promotional debut single, a remake of R.E.M.'s 1991 hit "Losing My Religion".

After three weeks of touring and promotional appearances across Germany, the season's finale was held on Wednesday, 3 November 2003. However, the girls failed to poll enough votes via telephone voting, and lost by scoring 48% against Overground.

Recording career

On 17 November 2003, the Preluders released "Everyday Girl", the first single taken from their studio album Girls in the House. The Fahrenkrog-Petersen-produced pop song debuted at number one on the German singles chart and reached the top five in Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, eventually receiving a gold certification for more than 150,00 copies sold. On 24 November 2003 Girl in the House was released. While the album failed to chart within the top ten on the Austrian singles chart, it debuted at number two in Germany, and number three Switzerland, succumbing to Overground's successful debut album It's Done. In early 2004 the group followed-up with the album's second single "Bal Privé", a summer-lite pop song with French and English vocals, and James Bond music inspired "Hotter Than You Know", a previously unreleased record. Contrary to expectations both songs sold relatively weak, and peaked outside the top 20 on the charts.

In summer of the same year the Preluders began recording their minor succeeded second album Prelude to History, a retro album, fitted with cover versions and a few new records. The album's first single was a double A-side, consisting of a remake of Katrina and the Waves' 1985 hit song "Walking on Sunshine", and a re-recorded version of Christina Milian's Kim Possible theme song "Call Me, Beep Me". While the single failed to reach the top 50 in Austria and Switzerland, it became the band's third consecutive single released not to enter the German top twenty with a peak position of number 24. "Do You Love Me", the album's second single, even undercut this success with a low entry at number 50 only.

In the following months the band continued touring throughout Germany, occasionally performing on festivals and TV shows. Although the quintet made plans to release a third album together, Tertia Botha was the first member to leave the band because of a longer recovery process after a sudden car crash in June 2005; she was soon followed by Rebecca Miro. Miriam Cani, Anh-Thu Doan, and Anne Ross remained as a trio and prepared the release of their new single "Never Before" after signing with Edel Records. However, in December 2005 Ross also decided to leave the project (forming Milk & Honey with Manel Filali), and as a result the release was cancelled. In March 2006 original band members Cani and Doan welcomed a new bandmate, Patricia "Trish" Sadowski. The trio soon began recording new songs, including "I Want Your T.I.M.E.", which would become the trio's only release in July 2006, and peaked at a disappointing number 92 on the German singles chart. After months of rumors, the Preluders eventually disbanded without any kind of media circus in fall 2006.

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist