Mark Leon Medlock (born 9 July 1978) is a German singer and the winner of the

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of ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...

'' (DSDS), the German version of ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

''.

Early life

Medlock is the elder of two siblings, born to an African-American father from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Larry Medlock, and a German mother, Monika, in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Mark and his brother Larry were raised in a semi-poor home in the Lohwaldsiedlung neighborhood of

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

during their formative years, before eventually moving to the Lauterborn neighborhood in 1997. At the age of 6, Medlock began singing

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

, widely influenced by his father and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singers such as

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

. At the end of the 1990s, his mother fell sick with cancer. Medlock subsequently left school and cared for her until her death in 2000. Two years later, his father died of a heart attack. In the meantime Medlock made a living with various jobs, including employment as a

geriatric Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' mean ...

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. These duties a ...

, gardener, swamper, and garbage remover.

''Deutschland sucht den Superstar''

Medlock was one of the favorite contestants right from the beginning of the competition. He had wowed the audience and the judges with his first performance in the Top 20 motto show and so on to the final. Medlock eventually won the competition with 78.02% of the votes against Martin Stosch who originally placed fourth but returned because of Max Buskohl's withdrawal. Medlock is next to season five winner

Thomas Godoj Thomas Godoj (born Tomasz Jacek Godoj; March 6, 1978) is a Polish-German rock singer and songwriter. He was the winner of the fifth season of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (2008), the German version of ''Pop Idol''. Early life Godoj was b ...

the second contestant of all German seasons who always gained the majority of vote calls during any of the nine theme shows and the two Top 20 shows. He is also one of two winners who was revealed to have never been in the bottom three during the competition, as well as being the first multiracial winner.

Performances

Discography

upMedlock performing in 2008 *''Mr. Lonely'' (2007) *''Dreamcatcher'' (joint album with

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen on 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of the pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous G ...

; 2007) *''Cloud Dancer'' (2008) *''Club Tropicana'' (2009) *''Rainbow's End'' (2010) *''My World'' (2011) *''Im Nebel'' (2014) *''Zwischenwelten'' (2017)

References

External links

Official site of Mark Medlock

Radio Comedy at 1live.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medlock, Mark 1978 births German people of African-American descent People from Offenbach am Main Deutschland sucht den Superstar winners 21st-century German male singers German LGBTQ singers German gay musicians Gay singers 20th-century German LGBTQ people 21st-century German LGBTQ people English-language singers from Germany Living people