Daniel Dominik Kaiser-Küblböck (born 27 August 1985; disappeared, presumed dead 9 September 2018) was a German pop-singer and actor who achieved short-lived celebrity status from late 2002 until 2004 in the media circus that surrounded the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), the German version of Pop Idol, in which he came third. He was briefly promoted as Daniel K, but reverted to Daniel Küblböck as this name had already been trademarked.

Career

Daniel rose to stardom in late 2002 when he participated in the first season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), which was a massive ratings hit. Despite his high-pitched voice being considered not very good, he became massively popular with the audience due to his special appearance and finished the show on third place.

Daniel's androgynous public personality with his distinctive Bavarian dialect was regarded by many Germans as a carefully cultivated media image of der schräge Daniel ("Wacky Daniel"). Tabloid newspapers reported that he loved wearing feminine clothes, using cosmetics and collecting perfumes and incense.

After DSDS, Küblböck signed a contract with BMG. By June 2004 he had released four successful singles and one album. However, after appearing in Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! (the German version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!), his later releases proved less popular. In August 2004, the motion picture Daniel – Der Zauberer (Daniel The Wizard) was released, which was critically panned and is now regarded as one of the worst films of all time, and also bombed at the box office, which marked the end of his popularity as a media star.

He was voted by the viewers of the German Tabloid TV channel Pro7 as the most annoying personality of 2003 and the second most annoying person in 2004.

By 2006, Daniel had changed his appearance and now looked more mature and less androgynous, with shorter hair and a deeper voice, and experienced a rise in popularity. There were mixed reviews regarding his second album with some infusion of German pop-rock into the songs. His appearance on the popular dinner party show Das perfekte Promi Dinner ("The Perfect Celebrity Dinner") established him as a more audience-friendly personality.

In 2005, he appeared in the sixth season of the German version of Big Brother, and in 2015, he took part in the eighth season of the German version of Let's Dance, where he finished sixth, together with his dancing partner Otlile Mabuse. In 2013, he wanted to participate in the German national final for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with his new song Be A Man, but was rejected by the jury.

Personal life

Daniel Küblböck has four siblings. He has German and Italian ancestors. Küblböck completed his Hauptschule-education in 2001. His older brother Michael, who was described as a neo-Nazi in German tabloids, died on 3 January 2013 in Berlin due to a heroin overdose. They had not had any contact for many years prior to Michael's death.

In 2010, he came out as homosexual for the first time, after previously describing himself as bisexual.

On 24 February 2004, Daniel Küblböck caused a car crash with a truck, which received nationwide media attention. He suffered serious injuries. Küblböck was fined €25,000 and sentenced to eight hours of social work for driving without a license.

Disappearance 2018

Küblböck was reported missing on 9 September 2018. He was attending an AIDA cruise on the AIDAluna from Hamburg to New York City. According to AIDA, a passenger was reported going overboard at 6 in the morning. German tabloid Bild reported that an eyewitness saw someone jump from deck 5 of the ship. Therefore, the Canadian coast guard started a search operation, with the MS Zuiderdam on site and assisting.

On 10 September 2018 the coast guard abandoned its search due to the slim chance of survival in the cold water.

DSDS performances

• Audition: "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner
• Top 30: "Papa Don't Preach" by (Madonna)
• Top 10: "Another Day in Paradise" (Phil Collins)
• Top 9: "Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers)
• Top 8: "Everytime" (The Flames)
• Top 7: "Tragedy" (Saturday Night Fever)
• Top 6: "99 Luftballons" (Nena)
• Top 5: "My Way" (Frank Sinatra)
• Top 4: "Dancing Queen" (ABBA)
• Top 4: "Night Fever" (Bee Gees)-Bottom 2
• Top 3: "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison)
• Top 3: "Born to Be Wild" (Steppenwolf)-Elim