Boy (duo)

Swiss–German pop duo


title: "Boy (duo)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["musical-groups-established-in-2007", "musical-groups-from-hamburg", "swiss-pop-music-groups", "german-pop-music-groups", "2007-establishments-in-germany", "german-musical-duos", "nettwerk-music-group-artists", "grönland-records-artists", "swiss-musical-duos", "female-musical-duos", "english-language-swiss-musical-groups"] description: "Swiss–German pop duo" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_(duo)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Swiss–German pop duo ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameBoy
image1LIVE Krone 2016 - 1700 - Roter Teppich - Boy-5924.jpg
captionBoy in December 2016
landscapeyes
origin*Zürich
genreIndie music
years_active2007–present
labelGrönland Records
websitelistentoboy.com
current_membersValeska Steiner
Sonja Glass
::

| name = Boy | image = 1LIVE Krone 2016 - 1700 - Roter Teppich - Boy-5924.jpg | alt = | caption = Boy in December 2016 | image_size = | landscape = yes | alias = | origin = *Zürich

Boy (stylized BOY) is a Swiss–German pop duo founded in 2007 by Swiss singer Valeska Steiner and German bassist Sonja Glass. The two met while at a pop-music course at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg in 2005.

History

The duo met at a six-week music course, but then Steiner returned to Switzerland and the two kept in touch rather irregularly. Glass occasionally sent Steiner songs she had just written, but for some time the two did not know what to write about together. The band was formed two years later. The band initially played concerts exclusively, before being discovered by and signed to Herbert Grönemeyer's label, Grönland Records, in 2011.

Their debut album, Mutual Friends was produced by Philipp Steinke and released in the autumn of 2011. The band sings entirely in English in a style reminiscent of that of Leslie Feist. In the UK, Mutual Friends was released by Decca in June 2012. The North American release of the album was in February 2013 on Nettwerk Records. Boy won the Hamburg Musician Prize HANS in 2011 in the category Hamburgs Newcomer of the Year, and their album Mutual Friends won the 2012 European Border Breakers Award (EBBA). The duo's song "Little Numbers" was also featured in the Lufthansa Airline's Business Class advertisement in mid-2012. In 2013, the song was at number 4 in the Japan Hot 100.

The duo's first-ever US tour launched on March 1, 2013, with a sold-out performance at Joe's Pub, New York City. After a two-year hiatus to focus on songwriting, the duo released their second studio album We Were Here in 2015. Their first new music in many years, a song called "Fit Back In", was released in 2021.

Band members

  • Valeska Steiner was born in Zurich on October 28, 1985. She grew up surrounded by music, taking piano and singing lessons from the age of seven. She took part in several bands of various styles all through her adolescence, ranging from heavy metal to African music, though at the time she thought of music more as an important part of her life than as a career path. With Glass, she declared it was the first time she felt she was creating something, instead of copying from what already existed.

  • Sonja Glass was born in Munich on November 30, 1976. She played the cello until she was "about 18", when a guitar player saw her on the street with the cello after a concert and asked her to play in his band. There she met some girls who were bass players and became interested in the instrument. She did not finish high school, but did study bass in the Netherlands, where she says it is easier to be accepted than in Germany.

Discography

Studio albums

::data[format=table title="List of albums, with selected chart positions"] | Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | SWI | AUT | BEL (FL) | BEL (WA) | FRA | GER | US Indie | Mutual Friends | We Were Here | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 6 | 64 | 100 | 121 | 122 | 9 | 33 | | | | | | | | 3 | 5 | 166 | — | — | 3 | — | | | | | | | "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

EPs

::data[format=table title="List of extended plays, with selected details"]

TitleExtended play detailsHungry Beast
::

Singles

::data[format=table title="List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name"] | Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | SWI | BEL (FL) | FRA | GER | JPN | US AAA | "Little Numbers" | "Oh Boy" | "Waitress" | "We Were Here" | "Hit My Heart" | "Fear" | "Fit Back In" | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2011 | 56 | 91 | 139 | 65 | 4 | 17 | Mutual Friends | | | | | | | | | | | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | — | 126 | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2015 | 74 | — | — | 57 | — | — | We Were Here | | | | | | | | | | | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Promotional singles

::data[format=table title="List of promotional singles"]

TitleYearAlbum"Drive Darling"
2012Mutual Friends
::

References

References

  1. (2011-10-12). "Der Musik die nötige Zeit lassen: Das Frauenduo Boy präsentiert sein Debütalbum in der Alten Börse - Pop und Jazz Nachrichten". Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
  2. "Interview Valeska Steiner, Boy: über 1. Album, Herbert Grönemeyer – Schweizer Illustrierte". Schweizer-illustrierte.ch.
  3. "Grönland Records angelt sich Boy | Musikmarkt". Musikmarkt.de.
  4. (2011-11-15). "– Kein Kind von Traurigkeit | Musik | Züritipp Online". Zueritipp.ch.
  5. "Boy To Release Mutual Friends In North America". Nettskinny.com.
  6. "Boy | European Border Breakers Awards".
  7. "Eurosonic Noorderslag: Act".
  8. (2 January 2013). "Japan Hot 100 : Page 1". Billboard.
  9. (March 2022). "BOY on Facebook".
  10. "Die Musikerinnen der Band "Boy" im Interview ohne Worte über ihren außergewöhnlichen Musikstil und Rituale vor Konzerten".
  11. (2015-12-17). "BOY interview - Valeska & Sonja (part 1)". [[YouTube]].
  12. (2012-05-29). "UNICUM trifft: BOY". UNICUM ABI.
  13. "Discography BOY". Hung Medien.
  14. "Discographie BOY". Hung Medien.
  15. "Discografie BOY". Hung Medien.
  16. "Discographie BOY". Hung Medien.
  17. "Discographie BOY". Hung Medien.
  18. "BOY - Germany Albums".
  19. "BOY - Billboard Independent".
  20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". [[Bundesverband Musikindustrie]].
  21. "Hungry Beast".
  22. "BOY - Japan Hot 100".
  23. "BOY - US Triple A".
  24. "Drive Darling".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

musical-groups-established-in-2007musical-groups-from-hamburgswiss-pop-music-groupsgerman-pop-music-groups2007-establishments-in-germanygerman-musical-duosnettwerk-music-group-artistsgrönland-records-artistsswiss-musical-duosfemale-musical-duosenglish-language-swiss-musical-groups