Even in her early 30s, Vanessa Mai can look back on a long career and many comparisons with her hit colleague Helene Fischer. And these were anything but easy for the singer to cope with.
Anyone who thinks of hits in Germany can’t ignore her: Helene Fischer, 39. She has reserved the unofficial title of hit queen for herself for years. One who has also been performing on stages around the world for years is Vanessa Mai, 31. Two young and successful pop singers “The comparisons are not new to me,” says Mai herself.
Vanessa Mai: “I still admire Helene Fischer”
The 31-year-old now speaks to the “Bild” newspaper about her career, which started just a few years after that of colleague Helene Fischer. Being compared to her is nothing new for Mai. “But the difference is that today I’m above things. That’s why I can deal with it much better. It used to be a real struggle for me. “I really had to work with that,” she now reveals.
The comparisons between Helene Fischer and her were only a struggle for Vanessa Mai herself. Her reputation for her hit colleague doesn’t seem to have suffered as a result, as Vanessa further reveals. She makes it clear: “I still admire Helene.” And then emphasizes: “I am definitely very, very grateful that I grew up at a time when it was still possible to achieve fame across Germany.” In her opinion, this has “become much more difficult these days” for many artists.
“It’s not possible to be compared to someone who was much further ahead”
In previous interviews, Mai admitted how much the comparisons to Fischer weighed on her. In a conversation for the SWR format “Breast Out” Vanessa explained in 2022: “You have to imagine it like this: My very first headline when I was 20 was: ‘Is Vanessa Mai the new Helene Fischer?’ That has accompanied and burdened me throughout my entire hit career.” And he also explained the reasons for it at the time: ““To be compared to someone who has been in the industry for ten years, who has been much further along and to be able to keep up with them, is not possible at all.”
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All the better that Mai seems to have found peace with it today. The two have even appeared on stage together before: at the “Helene Fischer Show” in 2017, the singers performed the song “Damn, I love you.” And celebrated their joint success with thunderous applause from the audience.
Sources used: bild.de, youtube.de
