Erykah Badu uses soul to craft a form of music in which jazz, funk, hip-hop and electronic sounds are allowed to flow freely. In 1997 she released «Baduizm». The album reached Number 2 on the US Billboard 200 charts, won a Grammy as best R&B album, and made the then 25-year-old singer from Dallas an international star. Soon she was being called the high priestess of neo-soul. Badu lived up to the title. Her concerts don’t follow a rigid structure. She changes the tempo, extends songs, chats to the audience and steers her band in directions that no one had anticipated during the soundcheck. On «Mama’s Gun», «Worldwide Underground» and the two parts of «New Amerykah», she took this music a step further. Five Grammy awards and twenty nominations mark her career. Even more important is her influence on singers, producers, rappers and bands. A magical evening full of soul.

Calum Scott’s rendition of Robyn’s «Dancing On My Own» on Britain’s Got Talent catapulted him to instant fame. That voice, that musicality! In the UK, Calum Scott was one of the shooting stars of 2015. Released as a single, the cover version climbed to Number 2 on the UK charts, achieved platinum status and has been streamed more than 1.5 billion times on Spotify. In 2017 Scott confirmed his status with the hit «You Are The Reason», which was later released as a duet with Leona Lewis, achieved triple platinum status and broke the billion mark on YouTube. This was followed a year later with his successful début album «Only Human», and in 2025 he released his third album «Avenoir», a cinematic exploration of themes such as memory and love. Scott, who has also been a coach on The Voice of Germany talent show since 2025, has established himself as a specialist in understated, profound ballads and regularly shines in live collaborations with artists such as Ed Sheeran.

Natasha Bedingfield can be defined as the mistress of melodies that stays in your head. Her speciality is the «hook», as it’s known in pop music: an extremely catchy melody that sticks in your mind straight away. Her début album, «Unwritten», on which she worked as a songwriter and co-producer, already produced a Number 1 hit with «These Words». In 2006, the title track became one of the most-played songs on the radio in the US and the UK. Since then, the London-born singer-songwriter has collaborated with greats such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow and Bruno Mars, further honing her instinct for catchy, timeless music. People are still singing along to her songs years later.

He laid the foundations of modern pop, showing that a timeless sound is no accident, but rather craftsmanship of the highest order. For Nile Rodgers, the timeless ‘good-times groove’ is far more than a musical principle – it’s a way of life. Since the late 1970s, he has been producing songs that explicitly celebrate togetherness and joie de vivre: «We Are Family» and «He’s the Greatest Dancer» became anthems of togetherness far beyond the dance floor. As co-founder of CHIC alongside legendary bassist Bernard Edwards, Nile helped build a musical vocabulary that didn’t just top charts — it reshaped genres. Together they created “Le Freak,” the biggest-selling single in Atlantic Records history, and “Good Times,” which laid the very DNA for hip-hop itself, directly inspiring the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” — the biggest-selling 12-inch single in recorded music history. Nile Rodgers & CHIC remain one of the most electrifying live acts on the planet, delivering performances so joyful and euphoric that audiences everywhere are reminded of music’s extraordinary power to unite.

A concert evening that celebrates the charisma of one of the greatest international hitmasters. Rick Astley follows this philosophy: Music should be groovy, generate positivity and touch as many people as possible. He shot to international stardom in 1987 with «Never Gonna Give You Up». The song, written by the London-based production trio Stock/Aitken/Waterman, reached Number 1 in 25 countries, spent five weeks at the top of the UK charts, and became the UK’s best-selling single of the year. To date, it has been streamed over one billion times on Spotify. With his powerful baritone voice, Astley lends the synth-pop universe of the Hit Factory a crucial sense of musical authenticity. After retiring from the music business, the man from the north of England experienced a massive comeback in the mid-2000s when he became an internet phenomenon following the emergence of the «Rickrolling» meme. Astley views this new-found popularity with a touch of selfdeprecating humour – and proves that his hit has lost none of its appeal.

The Bernese duo Lo & Leduc wrote Swiss musical history with their song «079», which remained at Number 1 on the single charts for 21 weeks, earned them six platinum discs and is regarded as the most successful Swiss hit of all times: proof that Lorenz Häberli and Luc Oggier possess the rare gift of transforming mundane observations of everyday life in Switzerland into clever, incisive pop songs in the local dialect. Their breakthrough came in 2014 with «Zucker fürs Volk», which spent 99 entire weeks on the charts. At the 2015 Swiss Music Awards they won the «Best Group», «Best Live Act» and «Best Talent» categories. Their latest album, «Krise als Chanson», proves that their instinct for social trends remains as sharp as ever. It has been praised by critics as a barometer of contemporary concerns – whilst always retaining that characteristic touch of humour that is so typical of them.

With hits like «Au revoir», «Chöre», «Übermorgen» and «Wir sind gross», Mark Forster is one of the defining figures on the German pop scene. His success stems from the ability to turn everyday observations into catchy pop songs that stir up spontaneous emotions and some food for thought about everyday life. As a qualified business economist and experienced producer, the man from Kaiserslautern also knows exactly how to distribute his music across a wide variety of channels – whether as composer of the ZDF song for football’s European Cup, as a musical accompanist for Kurt Krömer, or as a coach on the Voice of Germany talent show. The Baloise Session offers a chance to experience Forster’s live performances. They are characterised by their close connection with the audience. On stage, he creates rousing sing-along moments and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that imbues his high-energy performances.

The son of Polish parents, German songwriter Kamrad consistently writes his lyrics in English, creating a sound reminiscent of light-hearted British pop music. His songs prove that affairs of the heart know no language barriers. In 2018, this universal approach gave him the opportunity to appear with Sunrise Avenue as the supporting act. He has appeared as coach on the jury of The Voice of Germany talent show, using music as a means of forging a close connection with the audience.