Praise Berkeley

Berkeley in 2023

**Praise Adebayo-Blankenbeckler** (born February 1, 1990), known professionally as **Paige** or **Praise Berkeley**, is a German-Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. A 9-year-old winner of the 1999 Eurovision song contest, she attained international fame as a child member of *S Club Juniors* and later became notable for founding a variety of food-related dating apps.

In 2012, she founded app incubator The PB and created multiple apps the same year: Slurrp, a pasta-based dating app; Cupple, a café locator and dating app; and Glazy, a donut delivery service and dating app.

Since her 2005 biography *Life Is Sweet!*, Berkeley has been open about being autistic. She has stated that her special interests include the history of candy (particularly jelly beans); roller coasters; and analog synthesizers, particularly Moog and Roland.

## Personal life

### Early life

Praise Adebayo-Blankenbeckler was born on February 1, 1990 in Ikeya, Lagos, Nigeria. Berkeley's mother, Kikelomo "Kay" Adebayo, is a choreographer and dance instructor of Yoruba ancestry. She taught rhythm, ballroom, and modern dance in Ikeya since 1980, and in 1989. Kay Adebayo founded Yes You Can! Dance Academy in Lagos with her childhood friend, choreographer Gwaggo Abdullahi.

Berkeley's father, James Blankenbeckler, was a Lufthansa pilot of Afro-German ancestry (prior to his 2015 retirement, at age 55). The couple met in 1985 during Blankenbeckler's layover in Murtala Muhammed International Airport, after which they began dating. They married in 1986, after which the couple lived in Adebayo's Ikeya apartment. The family relocated to Berlin in 1995. The following year, Adebayo established Yes You Can Learn 2 Dance! in Berlin, Germany.

She briefly attended school in Friendship, Maryland, where she lived with her maternal cousin's family.

## Personal life

In 2013, Berkeley claimed to own the world's largest collection of Tootsie Roll, Chupa Chups, and Jelly Belly merchandise. Since 2013, she has entered into multiple contracts with the Tootsie Roll Company, who have sponsored multiple concerts in exchange for promotional social media posts and ad appearances.

## Career

In 1999, she won the Eurovision song contest with her pop song, "Y2K ist sehr OK!"

In 2001, she was featured as a contestant on reality TV show *S Club Search,* which aimed to recreate a children's version of the band S Club. Berkeley was among the winners and performed with S Club Juniors until the group disbanded in 2005. The same year, Berkeley released her German bubblegum pop album, *Juhu! Komm und Tanz!* (lit. *Hooray! Come and Dance!*), which received mixed reviews and gained significant popularity in Sweden. She continued performing, debuting *Happy World Tour!* from 2001 to 2003.

Berkeley rose to prominence again in 2012 due to chairing The PB, an dating app incubator. In 2012, she founded Slurrp, a pasta-based dating app; Cupple, a café locator and dating app; and Glazy, a donut delivery service and dating app. All three were successful, amassing 1 million active users within 3 years. All companies were purchased by Match Inc. in 2019 for a total of $20 million.

In 2020, she established SOSweet, connecting consumers to discounts from local candy and baked goods distributors.

Throughout the decades, she continued to perform in small venues. In 2023, she performed her song "Na Na Na" at Eurodance 90s Fest in Neustadt-Glewe, Germany. Gustavo provided the rap portion; he arrived late onto the stage, manhandled an audience member, and evidently did not remember his lyrics. When questioned about Gustavo's performance by after the show, Berkeley commented, "Yes, it's OK! I know what Gustavo's like."

1. ↑ We Rave You, 2023. "Europop Icon Praise Berkeley Comments on Gustavo's Performance in German Dance Festival."