Dieter Thomas Kuhn was born on January 7, 1965, in Tübingen, Germany. When the German music scene experienced a revival of the schlager genre — simplistic pop songs with overly kitschy and sentimental lyrics and imagery — in the mid-'90s, filtered somewhat through an ironic, tongue-in-cheek sense of embracing "uncool," dated music (similar to the easy listening and lounge revival, usually expressed through a "so bad it's good" attitude), Kuhn quickly rose to fame by covering old schlager hits, presented as a cheesy, in-your-face mixture of homage and parody — complete with over-the-top costumes and a chest hair toupee. He has released several successful albums, even though attempts at more serious musical endeavors have largely failed.