If attention is the most important currency in a world that is moving ever faster, then things could hardly be better for Shirin David. She has been touring Germany for the very first time since the beginning of November, and the duet version of “Atemlos durch die Nacht (Atemlos durch die Nacht) was recently released (10 Year Anniversary Version)” with Helene Fischer. And on Saturday evening David, real name Barbara Schirin Davidavičius, was finally at “Wetten,dass..?” to guest. The maximum nobility in prime time, arrived on the nation’s sofa.
If it hadn’t been for this Thomas Gottschalk, who spoke to Gottschalk in such a frank and clueless way: “What I never would have thought, Shirin, but I was told: You’re an opera fan. […] I wouldn’t have looked at you as a feminist either.” In the past, a sentence like this would have been consigned to a footnote and laughed away by the audience. But Shirin David wouldn’t be Shirin David if she had simply swallowed the impudence she was saying. The singer immediately countered: “I would like to say that as feminists we can look good, be smart and eloquent and beautiful at the same time. One does not exclude the other.”
There was support for this on social media. David’s fans know that she stands for a clear edge, for empowerment, for not bending. That’s precisely why she is a role model for many, which became clear at the start of the tour in Stuttgart. “Shirin gives me a good feeling because she sets an example for me: I can be anything I want,” said one visitor, while another explained: “I come from the village, where I was always the funny one, the eye-catching one, the colorful one . Shirin makes me feel like I’m completely right the way I am.”
It is no coincidence that Shirin David is considered one of the most successful rappers in Germany today. She worked hard for her success. She repeatedly talks about the difficult family background from which she comes, for example to “Funk”: “If I had stayed in Lithuania, everything would have been different.” Although David was born in Hamburg, she spent a large part of her childhood in Lithuania, her mother’s home country. David’s father, on the other hand, comes from Iran, which is why “three hearts” beat in her chest, as he once said.
In an interview with “Capital” she reported on the family’s poverty: “We used to have no money at all and only made ends meet with government help. I didn’t know this until I was 13. My mother was a single parent and had all sorts of jobs accepted to give me and my sister a good life.” Nevertheless, they went to the opera and listened to classical music. Education and good manners were “the most important thing” to her mother.
Her favorite composer was Johann Strauss, she told Gottschalk on Saturday evening, and the exchange of blows between the two was already over. As a four-year-old, she played the piano and violin, later trained in singing, acting and dancing, and even took part in some productions at the Hamburg State Opera.
A classic path, a foundation that was followed by consistent self-marketing. David recognized the potential of making money on the Internet early on. She started her YouTube channel in 2014, where she has amassed 2.85 million subscribers to date. “YouTube was an important marketing platform to build the necessary reach and financial strength,” she told Capital.
“2015 was the golden year of YouTube, I earned it stupidly and stupidly. There were very few YouTubers and the companies had no idea about online marketing. They rewarded our work very generously.” Her sister Pati Valpati is also in the public eye and is a YouTuber, although not as successful as David with 165,000 followers.
To this day, there is a colorful mix on Shirin David’s channel; there are currently many vlogs from the tour to be seen, but also food hotspots in Berlin and behind-the-scenes insights. At one point she shows the wigs she uses. As early as 2017, when David was a juror on “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”, her changing hair was noticed. But you would be wrong if you wanted to reduce David to her appearance.
David is hardly bothered by the fact that she is often underestimated because of her love for styling and beauty, as she once said. “Now I actually think it’s a good thing.” She wanted to be “allowed to be loud and confident without being labeled as rude.” And she wanted to “make it clear that sexism is unacceptable,” said the musician in “Capital”. “If I can be a role model and make young girls feel more comfortable, braver and stronger, that makes me proud.” Your “Wetten, dass…?” appearance may have helped.
Sources: “Funk”, “Capital”, “YouTube by Shirin David”, “RTL”
