??????The generational divide that exists between the affluent baby boomers and their millennial offspring is noticeable in a new study by Millward Brown commissioned by Hallmark Channel:

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I know we should probably not look to the German music market as indicative of world taste, after all they love David Hasselhoff’s odd baritone, but Universal Germany’s teen band Tokio Hotel is an interesting phenomenon. They have sold nearly 3 million CDs and DVDs in their homeland in a time when kids get most of their music from the Internet. With four number one singles and two number one albums (the band members were between 13 and 15 years old when recorded their first album) they’ve become the biggest act to come out of Germany in 20 years.

Like Disney phenomenon Miley Cyrus, AKA Hannah Montana, these teen idols sell out venues everywhere they go. When they toured Germany, the band sold out 43 venues with more than 400,000 fans, which translates into the most successful debut tour ever in Germany. But this is not sweet high school musical stuff. It‘s rock.

The band formed in Magdeburg, Germany, in 2001 as “Devilish” and consists of Bill Kaulitz, 18 (vocals), Bill’s twin brother Tom Kaulitz, 18 (guitar), Gustav Schäfer, 19, (drums) and Georg Listing, 20 (bass). After changing their name to Tokio Hotel and successfully touring other German-speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland as well as France and Israel, Interscope Records (the band’s U. S. label) now thinks that the band is ready for the American market.

Their first U.S. album is a combination of hits from their two German albums-”Schrei (Scream),” and “Zimmer 483 (Room 483),” - translated into English and re-recorded.

“It’s always been a dream of ours to make it in the States,” says vocalist Bill Kaulitz, who sings in English for the first time on Scream, the band’s U.S. debut, in a statement. “We grew up listening to American bands like Metallica, Green Day and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. We wanted to get a chance to do what they do.”

With the Internet and teen social networks, news about international phenomena like Tokio hotel travels fast. However, it remains to be seen whether U. S. girls will scream as high as German girls when Tokio Hotel lands in the U. S.

The band just seem very German to me and I have a hard time seeing American parents taking their kids to see a band that used to be called Devilish, even though every song has a positive message, so it will be very interesting to see how this one plays out.

Joakim Baage