Monika Haggenmann

**Monika Elsabet Haggenmann** (born 16 March 1993) is a Lungarian singer, songwriter, and model. She was a member of the girl group VENOM from 2013 to 2017, and has since began a solo career.

## Life and career

### Early life

Haggenmann was born on 16 March 1993 in Gaust, South Dine to parents Georg and Frantscheska Haggenmann (née *Borter*). Her father works in agriculture, while her mother is a secretary. Her parents divorced when she was six, and she was subsequently raised by her mother and stepfather, who owns a small chain of grocery stores. Haggenmann has one younger sister named Sabina, who was born in 1996, and three elder step-brothers.

Haggenmann began primary school in 1999, where she grew to enjoy art. She went on to graduate from primary school in 2009, and subsequently attended Gaust School of Art and Design, where she studied fashion design. Haggenmann has identified her family as "very conservative", and stated that originally they did not support her having a career in the arts. After graduating in 2012, Haggenmann moved to Munbach where she began modeling professionally.

### 2012–2017: Early career and work with VENOM

After arriving in Munbach, Haggenmann signed with Echo Light Modeling Agency and began working as a runway model, walking in Munbach Fashion Week. Eventually, she was offered an audition to replace Lena Karuschmann in the girl group VENOM. Haggenmann was eventually chosen as the replacement, and joined the group in October 2012. Following the departure of Karuschmann, the group revealed that they had already begun work on their fourth studio album, and that all of Karuschmann's vocals would be rerecorded by Haggenmann. The group later released the single "My Lover" in March 2013. The song saw a stylistic departure from their previous work, heavily incorporating genres such as disco instead of dance-pop with heavy electro beats. The song became a massive success, becoming certified diamond in three countries, and was declared the best-selling single in Lungary of 2013.

After completing *The Power of Three World Tour*, VENOM announced that they had begun work on their fifth studio album, and described its style as "back to basics". They later released the album's lead single "Waste", which featured production by Jargerian DJ Ekoo in June 2015. Like they previously confirmed, the single was stylistically much closer to their earlier material, featuring heavy electro beats and being described as dance-pop by many critics. It became a massive success, holding the peak position of the Lungarian singles chart for six consecutive weeks. The group's fifth studio album *Gemini* was later released in September 2015. The album became a widespread success internationally, and became certified multi-platinum in eleven countries. It also became the first album to produce five number-one singles in Lungary: "I'll Never Get Over You", "Save Me", "Cloak and Dagger", and "Gemini", in addition to the album's lead single. To support the album, they embarked on the *Your Gemini World Tour*, which ran from October 2015 to March 2016.

Rumors of Haggenmann choosing to leave the group to pursue a solo career began arising in autumn 2016. The rumors were strengthened when it was reported that she had signed solo recording contracts with Intercontinental Music Lungary and Android Music in December 2016. On 1 January 2017, Haggenmann revealed that she'd be leaving the group in order to pursue a solo career. An open casting call was later announced to find a replacement for Haggenmann, with interested applicants needing to upload a video of them performing a song of their choosing on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter, and adding "#VENOMcastingcall". Jessica Blürn was eventually chosen as her replacement through the one-time special *I Wanna Be in VENOM!* in March 2017.

### 2017–present: Solo career and *Ghost Stories*

After leaving the group in March 2017, Haggenmann revealed that she had begun recording songs for her debut solo studio album beginning in January. She also stated that her new sound was "completely different" from the music that she released with VENOM. She later released her debut solo single "Slowly", in July 2017. The song saw a stark departure fro dance-pop, and instead incorporated electropop, alternative R&B, and electro-rock influences. The style of the single became compared to the "aesthetic pop" style of former VENOM member Lena Karuschmann.

"Slowly" became an international success immediately after its release, becoming certified platinum in Lungary and reaching the top five of the Lungarian singles chart. She later released her debut solo album *Ghost Stories* in September 2017. Like its lead single, the album became an international success and was certified platinum in Lungary. She promoted the album through the *Ghost Stories World Tour*, which is running from October 2017 to February 2018.

## Personal life

Haggenmann has resided in the Crondacht neighborhood of Munbach since 2014. She was raised within the Church of Lungary, but has since abandoned the religion. Regarding her religion, she has stated, "I was raised religiously, but I never really believed in it. Ever since I moved out of South Dine I've identified as spiritual but not religious. It just isn't my thing".

## Discography

*Main article: Monika Haggenmann discography.*

* *Ghost Stories* (2017)