In 2001, four boys from Magdeburg in central Germany, all between 13 and 15 years old, form a band that would become Tokio Hotel.  

Singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, bassist Georg Listing and drummer Gustav Schäfer dressed in rock-goth style while playing pop music merging the indie and emo sounds of the 2000s.

Their debut album is released in August 2005. They immediately conquer the German, and then the international music charts.

The German language lyrics aren't an obstacle to their success. Tokio Hotel videos are on heavy rotation on global music channels such as MTV and VIVA.

The band quickly become one of Germany's most famous pop music exports, alongside Rammstein.

The Kaulitz twins are the driving force behind Tokio Hotel. 

Bill, with his androgynous looks and shape-shifting goth hairstyles, and his brother Tom, a hip hop kid sporting dreadlocks and a baseball cap, immediately become heart-throbs.

The pair aren't even 16 when they become world stars with their first single, "Durch den Monsun" (Through the Monsoon).

A polarizing band

But not everyone feels Tokio Hotel is as great as their millions of fans would suggest. Along with the often hysterical admirers, there are also haters.

Bill in particular, as a boy wearing make-up and nail polish, becomes the main target of homophobic hate.

While LGBTQ and queer fashion have since gained more prominence in mainstream culture, in 2005 Bill's gender-bending style was highly provocative.

Others would rather dismiss the four teenagers' band because the project feels purely commercial.

Music seems secondary in the band's marketing strategy; the focus is rather on Bill Kaulitz's persona. 

Fleeing to Los Angeles

In the years that follow, Tokio Hotel release several albums, including one in English. They tour around Germany, Europe and then the whole world. They collect one international award after the other.

But this mega success comes with challenges for the young musicians. The boys are not only pursued and stalked by fans, they also face homophobic threats and bullying.

They can no longer take a step outside without security guards; they end up increasingly isolated. Fans besiege their house in Hamburg, camping in front of its two-meter-high fences, despite security.

In late summer 2010, their house is broken into. That's when the Kaulitz brothers, then 21 years old, decide to flee. They leave Germany overnight and move to Los Angeles.

The move to the US saves them, says Bill Kaulitz in the Netflix documentary on their story, "Kaulitz & Kaulitz."

Suddenly, freed of the screaming crowds of fans, they can do things that like grocery shopping, walking the dog or going to the cinema.

The other band members, Gustav and Georg, stay in Germany. The band nevertheless keeps working together and touring.

Tokio Hotel then continue recording new songs, albeit rather sporadically. They work together remotely over the internet, or by flying back and forth for recordings.

The years-long breaks between albums does not affect the friendship between the four musicians.

The band changes musical style and shifts from its rock roots.

But the new sound that blends electro, R&B and 80s synth pop is not particularly successful.

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic in spring 2020, they create a new version of their most famous song, "Durch den Monsun," and call it "Monsoon 2020."

"This has brought us full circle," says Tom Kaulitz. "We looked back at where we actually came from and what has happened since then."

They also take this approach with their latest album, "2001," released in 2022. It revisits highlights of their musical career — but also explores their personal challenges and their ongoing evolution.

Hollywood lifestyle on Netflix

Bill and Tom's new life in LA is not completely anonymous, of course.

They have been juries of TV casting shows such as "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" and "The Voice of Germany," and regularly appear on talk shows or cooking programs.

They also chat away for their fans in their weekly German podcast, "Kaulitz Hills — Senf aus Hollywood."

The Netflix series "Kaulitz & Kaulitz" follows the two brothers in their everyday lives, whether while taking a driving test or at a birthday party.

The brothers come across as likeable. Bill sports shrill 1970s glam rock outfits and is looking for true love — which he has now found in the German model Marc Eggers. Tom, with his long mane and full beard, is the level-headed brother for whom family — he is married to the German top model Heidi Klum — is more important than wild party nights in Beverly Hills.

Despite their different lifestyles, the identical twins are an inseparable duo who laugh a lot and loudly.

Latin America tour starts

The Tokio Hotel musicians are now in their mid-30s, and their fans have grown up with them.

In June 2024, the band played at the Deichbrand Festival in Cuxhaven, northern Germany.

Sina and Janika, who have been fans from the very beginning, were there to celebrate the idols of their youth.

"They have always been like they are now: authentic, but now they can live it out even more," Sina told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

"Here in front of the stage, it feels like the band members are friends that you watch," added her friend Janika.

Having gone platinum in 64 countries, Tokio Hotel's global fanbase remains strong. The band are also popular in Latin America and have won different prizes at the MTV Latin Awards in 2008. That same year, the band went on their first Latin American tour — and wanted to come back in 2020.

After the concerts were canceled due to the COVID pandemic, the "Beyond The World Tour 24" is now kicking off on November 30 in Los Angeles, followed by stops in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina.

Fans can hardly wait to see the four on stage again. A fan club from Chile has its own countdown on Instagram.

From Lima to Buenos Aires, fans are preparing for a so-called "Lights Action." Fan clubs have called on all concert-goers on Instagram to let their cell phones light up when certain songs are played.

In Brazil, several fan clubs have joined forces for the campaign, as this Instagram post shows.

In addition to the cell phone light show, they want to surprise the musicians with thousands of banners that the fans are planning to hold up during the song "Home." One of of the banners reads: "You are our home."

One Brazilian fan sent the band lots of hears in another Instagram post. "I've been waiting for you since 2008. A dream come true," she writes.

In 2025, the band heads to Europe, with some venues already sold out.

This article was originally written in German.