From backbencher to secret favorite Why the Tokio Hotel drummer wins the RTL show "Let's Dance"
From silent beat maker to shining crowd favorite: Tokio Hotel drummer Gustav Schäfer shows a surprising new side in the RTL show "Let's Dance" alongside Anastasia Maruster - and dances his way closer to victory with every show.
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- Gustav Schäfer surprises with his performance on the RTL show "Let's Dance" - and has now established himself as a secret favorite.
- The drummer from Tokio Hotel, who normally prefers to act in the background, shows a whole new side to himself alongside professional dancer Anastasia Maruster.
- The 37-year-old really blossoms on the dance floor and wows not only the TV viewers but also the jury with his performances.
Gustav Schäfer likes to be in the second row.
Over the past 25 years, the Tokio Hotel drummer has left the big stage to the Kaulitz twins Bill and Tom - but that's over now.
The 37-year-old is currently dancing his way into the hearts of TV viewers as a contestant in the 19th season of the RTL show "Let's Dance" with his sense of rhythm, swing and wit.
Last week, Gustav Schäfer performed a Charleston with professional dancer Anastasia Maruster to "Morgens bin ich immer müde" by Trude Herr - and even impressed jury member Joachim Llambi.
Llambi, who is known for his tough judgments, only had a weary smile for the musician's dance performances in the first four live shows.
Gustav Schäfer skips "Let's dance" dress rehearsal
After the performance in the fifth show, Joachim Llambi was also thrilled - all the more so because Schäfer had skipped the dress rehearsal because it overlapped with another professional commitment, as the drummer revealed on Instagram shortly beforehand .
A look back: As a 12-year-old young drummer and metal fan, Gustav attended a performance by the Kaulitz twins in his hometown of Magdeburg in Germany in 2001.
Bill and Tom were performing as "Black Questionmark" at the time. A short time later, Schäfer joined the band together with bassist Georg Listing, who then briefly called themselves "Devilish" before the quartet became Tokio Hotel.
After a contract with Sony BMG fell through, the band ended up with Universal in 2005 - and suddenly Gustav Schäfer was the drummer for one of the most successful German bands and was playing on the big stages in Europe.
Tom Kaulitz: "Gustav is in other spheres"
Away from the hustle and bustle surrounding the Kaulitz twins - they fled to Los Angeles in 2010 to escape the sometimes abusive fans - Gustav Schäfer lived a secluded life in his hometown of Magdeburg despite his major musical successes.
This makes his appearance on "Let's Dance" all the more of a sensation among Tokio Hotel fans.
In the RTL show, Gustav Schäfer shows a new - and thoroughly likeable - side to his character. He also demonstrates a sense of rhythm and that he is not above a joke.
Airs and graces? - Not a chance.
In the "Let's Dance" podcast, Gustav Schäfer revealedthat after a Tokio Hotel tour, the garbage bag is waiting for him at home, followed by cleaning and shopping. Oh yes - and he loves barbecuing more than anything.
No wonder Bill Kaulitz describes his bandmate as "calm and stable" in his autobiography "Career Suicide".
Bill Kaulitz: "'Let's dance' is boring"
Gustav Schäfer describes his family as an "anchor" in the podcast. The musician has been married to his wife Linda since 2014, and their daughter was born two years later. The family still lives in Magdeburg.
And how well does Schäfer's "Let's dance" appearance go down with the Kaulitz twins, who are omnipresent in the media? Bill complained in the podcast "Kaulitz Hills - Mustard from Hollywood" that the TV show "Let's Dance" was "boring as shit".
Despite being over 9200 kilometers away, the twins follow their bandmate's performances - and apparently keep their fingers crossed for him too.
However, Bill and Tom are surprised that Gustav Schäfer is still on "Let's dance" after five shows. "We've known him for a long time and he can't dance," Bill jokes in the podcast - but immediately adds that it's "not meant in a bad way".
Schäfer would rather make music than talk about it
Well then, anyone who experiences Gustav Schäfer in interviews quickly realizes: the man would rather make music than talk about it.
This became clear in an interview with the "Berliner Zeitung" three years ago. When asked whether he felt the same way about the structure within Tokio Hotel as his colleagues, Schäfer replied succinctly: "Yeah, yeah."
Tom Kaulitz commented dryly: "Answer done, thanks! Gustav likes to answer yes or no."
The musician has long since proven in the first five shows of "Let's dance" that Gustav Schäfer has more to offer.
Schäfer/Maruster only scored 18 points for the slow waltz in the first show. Since then, the couple has steadily improved - and last week, the three judges Motsi Mabuse, Jorge González and Joachim Llambi awarded them a whopping 27 points (out of a possible 30) for the Charleston.
It's quite possible that Gustav Schäfer will even win in the end.
