Early Life
Connor is the eldest of six siblings born to Michael Lewe, an advertising writer of American descent, and his wife Soraya Lewe-Tacke (née Gray), a former fashion model and homemaker of Scottish, Irish and German heritage, in Hamburg. She has four sisters: Anna Maria, Marisa, Sophia-Luisa, and Valentina; and one brother, Robin. Her maternal half-brothers Mick and Lex were born in 2008.
Connor grew up listening to soul music, mostly influenced by her paternal grandfather who was born in New Orleans. A church choir became her first experience in the gospel music field at a very young age. In her teen years Connor tried out and was accepted to a performing arts school. Although all students were required to choose an instrument, Connor was the only one allowed to study voice. She took vocal lessons once a week and worked as a waitress in a hotel to pay for them.
In 1997, Connor was picked to sing with the backing choir during the performance of "Heal the World" at Michael Jackson's HIStory concert tour in Bremen, Germany. Overwhelmed by a personal meeting with Jackson at the end of the show, she signed a contract with her first management the following year, that resulted in her pseudonym Sarah Gray and the recording of a number of demo tapes, including cover versions such as "Silent Night" and "This Christmas" and the local radio success "Ula la Ula." In 1999, she provided the leading vocals for producer Marc van Linden's dance remix of the 1982 record "Last Unicorn," which reached number 86 on the German Singles Chart. Unhappy with her management though, Connor teamed up with manager Carlo Vista, who got her signed as Sarah Connor with producer George Glueck's label X-Cell Records a short time after. As a direct consequence, she decided to quit school and leave home at the age of 19.
Read more about this topic: Sarah Connor (singer)
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