Daniel Küblböck

Daniel Küblböck (born 27 August 1985 in Hutthurm, Lower Bavaria) is a German pop-singer and actor who achieved short-lived celebrity in 2003, in the media-circus that surrounded the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), the German version of Pop Idol, in which he came third. He was briefly promoted as Daniel K, but reverted to his legal name when it emerged that this name had already been trademarked. Daniel's androgynous public personality with his distinctive Bavarian dialect, was regarded by many Germans as a carefully cultivated media image of der schräge Daniel ("Wacky Daniel"). Tabloid newspapers reported that he loved wearing women's clothes, using cosmetics and collecting perfumes and incense. After DSDS, Küblböck signed a contract with BMG. By June 2004 he had released four successful singles and one album. However, later releases proved less popular and after he appeared in Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (the German version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!) and the release of his flop motion picture Daniel – Der Zauberer (Daniel The Wizard). He was voted by the viewers of the German Tabloid TV channel Pro7 as the most annoying personality of 2003 and the second most annoying person in 2004. On 24 February 2004, Daniel Küblböck caused a car crash with a truck, which received nationwide media attention. He suffered serious injuries. Küblböck was fined €25,000 and sentenced to eight hours of social work for driving without a license. By 2006, the androgynous Daniel was gone and with shorter hair and a deeper voice, he experienced a rise in popularity. There were mixed reviews regarding his second album with some infusion of German pop-rock into the songs. His appearance on the popular dinner party show Das perfekte Promi Dinner ("The Perfect Celebrity Dinner") established him as a more audience-friendly personality.