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Jennifer Rush (born Heidi Stern; September 28, 1960) (2025). 9780007200771, Collins. ISBN 9780007200771 is an American Pop music and Rock music singer. She achieved initial success during the mid-1980s with several singles and studio albums, including the million-selling single "The Power of Love", which she co-wrote and released in 1984. Her initial greatest success came in Europe. Her other successful singles from that period include "Ring of Ice", "Destiny", "I Come Undone", "You're My One and Only", "Higher Ground", "25 Lovers", "If You're Ever Gonna Lose My Love", "Heart over Mind", and "Flames of Paradise", a duet with Elton John. In the 1990s she had several charting singles, including "Tears in the Rain".
Rush was first signed to CBS Songs Publishing Company as a songwriter in Frankfurt, Germany. At that time she was working for almost two years full time in the military in Munich. She has never had vocal training but she is proficient in music theory due to her two years in the children's orchestra as first violinist.
Rush's chart breakthrough came with the single "25 Lovers", which entered the West German singles chart in June 1984, spending 20 weeks on the chart and reaching its highest position at number 25. Her next hit single was "Ring of Ice", which entered the German singles chart in October 1984 and peaked at number 22. As with her first two singles, these songs were co-written by Rush with producers Gunther Mende and Candy deRouge. Mende and DeRouge were the producers behind Rush's debut album Jennifer Rush, released in West Germany in October 1984. Rush herself co-wrote eight of the ten songs on the album, and other songwriters included Mary Susan Applegate, Patrick Henderson, Richard Feldmann, Marcella Detroit and Eric Klapperton.
The most famous song from the album was "The Power of Love". Initially this song was released as the fifth and final single from the album in January 1985 in West Germany, where it initially peaked at number 16. It found greater success in the United Kingdom, where it was released in June 1985. The song was a "sleeper hit", spending sixteen weeks on the chart before finally hitting number one in October. It spent five consecutive weeks at the top and ultimately became the best-selling single of 1985 in the United Kingdom. It was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at the time as the best-selling single by a female solo artist in the history of the British music industry. "The Power of Love" held that status until 1992, when it was outsold by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". (2025). 9781476630144, McFarland & Company. ISBN 9781476630144
Following the song's success in the United Kingdom, "The Power of Love" was released as single throughout the rest of the world in 1985 and 1986. It reached number one on the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and South Africa, as well as in Spain with a Spanish re-recording titled "Si Tu Eres Mi Hombre Y Yo Tu Mujer". The single additionally reached the top 10 of the charts in Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The single was however less successful in the United States, where it peaked at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 record chart.
Rush's debut album was a big success in West Germany, where it spent 97 weeks on the chart and peaked twice at number 2 throughout its chart run. The album hit number one in both Spain and Norway, spending five and ten weeks at the top respectively. The album additionally achieved top 10 placements in Australia, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. By late 1988, the album sold three million copies worldwide.
The album was a huge success in West Germany, where it stayed at number one for thirteen consecutive weeks and spent 65 weeks on the chart in total. It was certified triple platinum for shipments of 1.5 million copies and was the most successful album in the country of 1986. The album also found success throughout the rest of Europe. It reached number one in Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and attained a gold or platinum certification in all three countries. The album was also in the top 10 of the charts in Austria and Finland, the top 30 in the Netherlands and top 40 in the United Kingdom.
The album's first single "Destiny" was top five hit in West Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It also reached the top 30 in Belgium and Netherlands, but performed poorly in the United Kingdom. The second and final single "If You're Ever Gonna Lose My Love" charted in the top 20 in Austria and Finland, and the top 30 in West Germany. This song was Rush's second single to be re-recorded in Spanish, and was re-titled "No Me Canso De Pensar En Ti".
In her most successful market, West Germany, Heart over Mind was her second number one album, and stayed at the top position for nine consecutive weeks and remained on the charts for 53 weeks. It was the second most successful album of 1987 in the country, behind U2's The Joshua Tree. The album was also certified double platinum for shipments of one million copies.
The album also found success in other European countries. In Switzerland, the album was number one for three weeks and certified platinum. The album was also certified platinum in Sweden. Top 10 positions were achieved in Austria, Finland and Norway. The album also managed to reach the top 40 in Canada and received a gold certification there. The album failed to make a large impact in the United States, where it only reached number 118 on the Billboard 200.
The album's first single was a cover of the Ellen Shipley song "I Come Undone", which reached the top 10 in Poland, Switzerland and South Africa, and the top 20 in Finland and West Germany. The second single was the Elton John duet "Flames of Paradise", which became the album's biggest hit. It reached the top 10 in Switzerland and West Germany, and the top 20 in Canada and New Zealand. It was also Rush's highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 36. The album's third single, "Heart over Mind", reached the top 30 in Austria, West Germany and Switzerland, and also entered the dance charts in the United States.
For Passion, Harold Faltermeyer and Michael Bolton once again produced and/or co-wrote some songs for Rush. Most of the writers and producers had not worked on Rush's previous albums. These included Bob Halligan Jr., Chuck Wild, Ric Wake, Michael Omartian, Diane Warren, Keith Forsey, and John Benitez.
CBS initially had high expectations for Passion. The album had 340,000 pre-release orders in Germany, the largest ever ship-out for an album released by CBS records at the time. In the long run, the album ultimately shipped 500,000 copies, achieving a platinum certification but falling short of the 1 to 1.5 million copies shipped individually by the first three albums. Passion peaked at number three in West Germany and stayed on the albums chart for 22 weeks. Outside of Germany, the album was most successful in Switzerland where it reached number four and achieved a gold certification. The album also reached the top 10 in Sweden, the top 20 in Finland and the top 30 in Austria.
The only charting single from Passion was "You're My One and Only", which reached the top 30 in Switzerland and West Germany. The second and third singles, "Keep All the Fires Burning Bright" and "Love Get Ready", failed to enter any music charts.
In 1989, Rush recorded a duet with Placido Domingo, "Till I Loved You". The single reached the top 30 in the United Kingdom, Rush's first top 40 entry in the country since "Ring of Ice".
On her next studio album Wings of Desire, Jennifer worked with new writers and producers who were not involved on earlier albums, with the exception of Michael Bolton and Bob Halligan Jr. Producers on this album were Christopher Neil, Phil Ramone and Michael J. Powell. Songwriters included Amy Sky, Bruce Gaitsch, Jackie Rawe, Alfie Zappacosta, Graham Shaw, Tomas Ledin, Felix Weber, and David Palmer.
A compilation album, The Power of Jennifer Rush, was released in 1991. The album reached the top 40 of the charts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
By the late 1990s, Rush had hit the US Hot 100 chart two times; "The Power of Love" reaching number 57 in 1985 and "Flames of Paradise" (a duet with Elton John) reaching number 36 in 1987. She publicly acknowledged that being less known as a singer in the United States allowed her to raise her daughter in a more stable and somewhat private environment. She could still travel and perform, but also enjoyed the luxury of songwriting with colleagues based on the East Coast and being available to her daughter as a single mother.
In March 2009, she announced on her official website that she had signed a recording contract with Sony Music/Ariola for one album. That album would be Now Is the Hour, released in 2010. This marked a return to the recording label where she had made her international breakthrough in the 1980s and on which she had released the first five studio albums of her career. Now Is the Hour was released on March 5, 2010, in most of Europe, with minimal input from the label and on March 8, 2010, in the UK. The album failed to chart in the US or the UK, but reached number 21 on the German Albums charts.
| 1985 | Goldene Europa | Goldene Europa | Herself | ||
| 1993 | Echo Music Prize | National Female Rock/Pop Artist | Herself | ||
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