Michael Hirte

Michael Hirte is a harmonica player from Germany whose debut album, Der Mann mit der Mundharmonika (2008), was a chart-topping success throughout the German-language world in the wake of his rise to fame on the television show Das Supertalent. Born on October 10, 1964, in Spremberg, Germany, he suffered a terrible accident in 1991 that left him severely injured and in a coma. After recovering from the accident, Hirte found solace in the harmonica. His remarkable talent for playing the instrument led to an opportunity to compete on the television show Das Supertalent, a German-language version of the show Britain's Got Talent. His performances on the show led to fame within the German-language world, where the tragedy of his back-story became as well known as his musical ability. On the night of November 29, 2008, Hirte won the televised talent show by a wide margin, garnering 72.62 percent of the votes; by comparison, the closest competitor won a meager 5.47 percent of the votes. Within a month's time, Hirte had signed a major-label recording contract with Sony BMG and released his full-length solo album debut, Der Mann mit der Mundharmonika, the week before Christmas. A chart-topping success on the album charts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Der Mann mit der Mundharmonika features the minor hit singles "Ave Maria" and "You Raise Me Up." In 2009 Hirte mounted an extensive tour of Germany in support of his album debut. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide