To all karaoke fans, this one is for you.

Matthias and friends performing "Billie Jean"

Having lived in Berlin all my life I thought I had seen everything worth seeing, but I was mistaken: Last Sunday I experienced the time of my life at the Mauerpark (wallpark), a park in my new favorite district, Prenzlauer Berg.

The former grounds of today’s Mauerpark were split by the Berlin Wall, but after the fall of the wall the area became the most popular “outside-in-nature-gathering-area.” Sunday at noon, I jumped on my bicycle and headed toward the park while enjoying the warm spring breeze.

Rihanna performing "Rude Boy"

Two weeks ago, a friend asked me if I wanted to work at this year’s Echo award show. The Echo is the most important German music award, and this year’s artist line-up was impressive: Rihanna, Depeche Mode, Gossip, and the list goes on. In charge of the backstage area, I coordinated when the artists go on stage for their performance. I had a 16-hour day ahead of me that was planned by the minute. Here are the most important moments of the Echo 2010:

8 AM: Arrival at the Messe in Berlin, this year’s location for the Echo. Even though the Award Show only starts at 8 PM, my work-day begins 12 hours earlier.