Yass

Yasmin Knoch, also known as Yasmin K. and Y-ass, is a German singer born on 27 September 1986 in Saint Lucia. She gained public attention by taking part in the second season of the talent show Popstars, broadcast in autumn 2001 on RTL2.

The daughter of singer Oliver Bendt, founder and owner of the Goombay Dance Band, and a mother who is also from Saint Lucia, Yasmin grew up in Hamburg. After finishing school she took singing, piano and guitar lessons; her first stage experiences date to childhood when she appeared with her older brother in televised performances of her father’s group. In 2000/2001 she had a leading role in the musical Buddy in Hamburg.

Her Popstars 2001 participation brought her to a wide audience: although she reached the final shows, the group Bro’Sis was formed without her. After her elimination she was contacted by judge and producer Alex Christensen; signed with him she recorded in summer 2002 the single “Rhythm Of The Night”, a cover of the hit by the Italian dance project Corona, released as Alex C. Feat. Yasmin K..

After a four-year break she returned as Y-Ass, again collaborating with Alex Christensen. Their single “Du Hast Den Schönsten A*$c# Der Welt” (a cover of “Run A Way” by The Sound Lovers, 1996) became her biggest hit, reaching number one on the German charts in November 2007 for one week. The sexually explicit song was followed by other singles on similar themes that met with less success.