THE MAN
Wowing audiences with his voice and stage presence for over two decades Chris can look back at a vast array of experience in the music industry.
As some of his musical and artistic influences throughout his journey he counts musicians and performers such as Freddy Mercury (Queen), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Yuja Wang, Nina Simone, Lady Gaga and composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Growing up in Germany to German parents his father, a business man, and his mother, an educator, always fought to open doors for their son to receive a quality education. One parent always showed support for his musical endeavours while the other parent always remained skeptical. As a cosmopolitan person Chris enjoys all cultures. For the past 6 years he has been serving his multi-ethnic local church as a music director.
Born to rock the stage, the story of Chris Watrin as a performer started at the age of 11. Soon after joining a kids choir Chris found himself entertaining crowds in large venues along with winning a music competition on German television. Following the casting call of Lou Pearlman, founder of the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, Chris at age 16 overnight became part of the multi-platinum selling international boyband US5 traveling the world for 3 years and collaborating with international music stars such as Robin Gibb from The Bee Gees going on to sell millions of records and receiving countless prestigious music awards. But living the teenage pop star dream doesn’t always allow the creative freedom to expand and grow as a developing artist.
Due to lack of creative fulfilment, too little say in artistic and music-related decisions and burn out Chris eventually decided to leave US5 and withdrew from the public eye. After going back to school and graduating from college he went on to study communication in social and economic context at Berlin’s art university while still following his number one passion of performing music. This time for a change on the streets of Berlin trying to find a more genuine and down-to-earth approach to his craft. 8 years down the line Chris just graduated from The Cologne Conservatory Of Music with a bachelor’s degree in music.
During challenging times of a severe personal and health crisis in 2012 and 2013 Chris fought to convert his pain and his struggles into finding his true purpose in life which he now says is to inspire and serve people through his music and story. In 2013 Chris founded a music group of people with handicaps working together for 7 years. Becoming a musical family and exploring new forms of creative and musical utterance the members and Chris helped each other find their own unique voices and musical expression.
Chris is also a passionate photographer and responsible for much of his music-related visual work.
Being a visionary, entrepreneur and strategic thinker Chris always strives to challenge himself and the people around him to set the bar higher. His debut album ‘The Rise’ tells the story of Chris's personal transformation from hopelessness to triumph referring to the latest chapter of his life. The performer aspires to encourage and add value to people while challenging the industry standard in music, art and creativity.
A 2014 performance of Chris's choir of people with special needs