Biography

A new musical direction (2007–present)
The highly anticipated studio album, The Art of Love was released in February 2007, entering the 16th position on the German charts[19]. For the first time, Michael Cretu did not work as a producer for the album, as he was reportedly busy producing his new Enigma album A Posteriori. Sandra's management first tried to find producers from the United Kingdom, but Sandra didn't like the idea of leaving her family for a long period of time. Finally, Sandra contacted Michael Cretu's "right hand", Jens Gad, who produced the entire album. Sandra, for the first time during her career, now participated actively in composing and writing the album. Therefore, the lyrics of the songs are more personal, with Sandra revisiting her childhood and all her sad experiences in them. She worked at Gad's studio at nights, returning home to prepare breakfast for her twins, and then sleeping until they would come home from school. Also, for the first time, Sandra revealed her new, sexier look in the promotional pictures shot in New York by Bärbel Miebach.

The first single taken from the album, "The Way I Am", was released in January 2007, and it gained the 50th chart position in Germany, hardly having any promotion. The second single, "What Is It About Me", was released in May 2007 but failed to chart. The album also included a duet with DJ BoBo, and both sons of Sandra, Nikita and Sebastian, sang choirs in three songs. EMI Music in Poland decided to release her cover version of The Hooters' "All You Zombies" as a radio single instead of "What Is It About Me", and it became a big hit in Poland. Fans were campaigning to get the song released as a commercial single, while Sandra revealed in an interview that "Put Your Arms Around Me" (written by Sinéad O'Connor) was planned as a single, with an unreleased duet with DJ BoBo as a B-side. However, in a subsequent interview Sandra said that there would be no more singles released from the album.
In November 2007 it was announced that Sandra and Michael got divorced, citing "personal and professional differences". Both Sandra and Michael have since been reported to be in new relationships.

During all of 2007 and early 2008 Sandra has been busy touring around Eastern Europe and Germany. She decided to return to the busy schedule of concerts from the past, and even gave a performance in the spectacular Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. Sandra also visited countries such as Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Lithuania for the very first time. On 23 July 2008, she performed in Athens, Greece. On 24 August 2008, Sandra performed in Poland during a concert dedicated to 1980s music, together with Kim Wilde, Samantha Fox, Sabrina, Thomas Anders (ex-Modern Talking), Limahl and Shakin' Stevens. The concert was a part of Sopot International Song Festival 2008 and was broadcast live on Polish channel TVN. Sandra performed three songs: "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena", "In the Heat of the Night" and "Hiroshima".

A new Sandra album, entitled Back to Life, was released on 27 March 2009. Sandra revealed it was going to be an up-tempo, pop album, with influences of Latin pop, dance and R&B. The first single, "In a Heartbeat" was released on 6 March 2009. The album was recorded in New York with the help of Jens Gad, and his brother Toby Gad (famous for his work with Beyoncé Knowles and Fergie). The second single, released on 8 May 2009, was "The Night Is Still Young", a duet with Thomas Anders, former member of Modern Talking. Also included on the album is the duet, "I Want You" sung by Sandra and her husband-to-be, Olaf Menges. Another standout track is "Tête à tête", written and composed by Sandra and sung in French language.

On 1 August 2009, Sandra was one of the main acts on the DJ BoBo & Friends festival, held in Engelberg, Switzerland. Sandra rocked fans with a superb live performance featuring her own band, a onstage DJ, plus complete new interpretations of her songs.
On 6 November 2009, a 3-disc greatest hits compilation album entitled The Platinum Collection was released, featuring 51 song including all of her hit singles from "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" to "The Night Is Still Young", as well as some non-released tracks from her albums Into a Secret Land, Paintings in Yellow, Close to Seven, The Art of Love and Back to Life. The third disc includes eleven extended versions of her greatest hits.

Personal life

Sandra was married to Michael Cretu on 7 January 1988 with whom she had two sons (twins), Nikita and Sebastian, born in July 1995. Sandra and Michael divorced in November 2007, citing "personal and professional differences". Currently she resides in their old house in Ibiza, and Michael was reported to live in Germany since May 2009. In 2010, Sandra married her boyfriend, Olaf Menges.

Sandra is a health food lover and is a vegetarian. She likes sport and lives an active lifestyle. She's also known for her involvement in animal rights and nature protection. Both Sandra and her former husband Michael Cretu have always been gay rights supporters.

Discography

Main article: Sandra discography
The Long Play (1985)
Mirrors (1986)
Into a Secret Land (1988)
Paintings in Yellow (1990)
Close to Seven (1992)
Fading Shades (1995)
The Wheel of Time (2002)
The Art of Love (2007)
Back to Life (2009)