Florian Silbereisen (45) is one of the celebrated pop music singers, hosts and entertainers in the country. As captain of the "Traumschiffs", he has also established himself as an actor. On August 4th, the multi-talented star turns 45 years old. But those who only know him from the stage of the "Feste" shows or from the bridge of the cruise ship are missing out on plenty of curious details from his exciting life.

Child star with the accordion

It all started with a gift from his grandfather to the then three-year-old Flori: a Styrian accordion. At six, the boy from Tiefenbach near Passau played at folk festivals with the group "Lustige Almdudler", at ten his first single was released and he appeared for the first time on Karl Moik's "Musikantenstadl". He released his first album "Lustig samma" at just 15 years old.

The rest happened quickly: In 1999, an appearance on Carmen Nebel's show made him known nationwide. By then he had long since quit a banking apprenticeship after just a few days. In 2002, he got his first own show on MDR with "Mit Florian, Hut und Wanderstock", in 2004 he took over the "Feste" shows from Nebel. This made him the youngest host of a Saturday evening show in Europe at that time.

Poor fashion sense

Nevertheless, Silbereisen often attracted people's mockery back then: With his long blond hair, his dusty ruffled shirts and velvet ties, not everyone took him seriously. In 2008, the men's magazine "Men's Health" even put him in second place among the worst-dressed men of the year because he discriminated against "an entire generation with his clothing and his hairstyle". Things only looked worse for host Elton (55).

Today, nothing remains of bleached streaks and glitter jackets. The entertainer now relies on slim suits and gray temples - and female fans have been chasing after him for years. So the probably most thorough glow-up in the pop music industry has paid off.

117 kisses in 60 seconds

Could this be related to the fact that Silbereisen has been immortalized twice in the "Guinness Book of Records" for his kissing talent? In 2011, he kissed 117 women in one minute at the "Winterfest der Volksmusik" - a record. In 2017, he followed up in the "ZDF-Fernsehgarten": 74 kisses in 30 seconds from cheerleaders from Berlin.

Privately, the singer was much more reserved. For ten years, he and Helene Fischer (41) were considered the dream couple of German pop music. The breakup shortly before Christmas 2018 caught fans off guard, yet no harsh word was ever spoken publicly. To this day, both emphasize their friendship and Silbereisen's upper arm still sports the portrait tattoo of his ex. Most recently, the two sang their hyped duet "Schau mal herein" at the finale of Fischer's 360-degree tour last month.

Officially nothing is known about a new love since then, even though rumors about Beatrice Egli (38) have persisted recently. In the duet "Das wissen nur wir", the two pop music stars deliberately flirted with the speculation.

"That's my best friend"

The friendship with Helene Fischer is just one of many that Silbereisen has maintained for decades. Colleague Stefan Mross (50), with whom he was on tour over 20 years ago, raved about his colleague on MDR's "Riverboat": "That's my best friend." Silbereisen was also best man at his live TV wedding to Anna-Carina Woitschack.

It sounds similar with DJ Ötzi (55), who founded the trio MFG with Silbereisen and Mickie Krause. "Florian is like a brother to me, for 25 years. We have no secrets from each other", the Austrian told "Bild" newspaper in 2024. And added what everyone in the industry would probably agree with: Flori is someone you can really party with. No wonder he has also released albums together with Thomas Anders or Jan Smit and Christoff De Bolle.

Red underwear

Besides the probably most famous ex-relationship in the German pop music scene, Florian Silbereisen probably also has the most famous underwear. Since his first live show in 2004, he has worn red underwear at every live performance. "That has become my lucky charm and is always with me to this day", he told "Bild" in 2021. After every show, the precious item is washed, ironed and put back in the closet.

He has needed it often. From the "Winterfest" to the "Adventsfest der 100.000 Lichter" to "Schlagerbooom", Silbereisen has been hosting the big Saturday evenings on ARD for two decades, plus a detour to the "DSDS" jury in 2022.

To keep it from becoming too much, he also has to turn down many offers, Silbereisen revealed to "AZ" in June. He prefers to do his tasks one hundred percent. "And besides: No matter how tempting something may be, time with family and friends doesn't come back."