Hailing from Austria, Andreas Gabalier has gained recognition as a volksmusik singer, songwriter, and accordionist whose first album, Da Komm' Ich Her (2009), positioned him as a promising newcomer. While still a 24-year-old university student in Graz, Austria, he issued his major-label debut single, "So Liab Hob I Di," through Koch Universal Music in 2009. Finishing as second-place runner-up in the Austrian finals of that year's Grand Prix der Volksmusik, the track climbed into the Austrian Top 20. Released a month later, the complete album Da Komm' Ich Her advanced to the Top Five on the Austrian albums chart. Its strong reception brought Gabalier three Amadeus award nominations, among them Album of the Year and Song of the Year for "So Liab Hob I Di." The follow-up, Herzwerk (2010), further shaped his blend of schlager ballads and precise accordion playing while claiming the top spot on the Austrian charts. His 2011 release, Volks-Rock'n'Roller, intensified the sonic approach, and he followed its momentum with the 2012 live album Volks-Rock'n'Roller: Live. Later in the same year his fourth studio album, Home Sweet Home, again topped the Austrian charts, reached the Top Ten in both Germany and Switzerland, and stood as his biggest success to date.
