Editing Modern Talking (section)

==Musical style and production==
{{Listen
 |filename    = Shooting Star.ogg
 |title       = "Shooting Star"
 |description = Modern Talking's "[[Shooting Star (Modern Talking song)|Shooting Star]]", a previously unreleased song from 2006.{{deletable file-caption|Tuesday, 17 December 2024|PROD}}
}}
In 1984, Bohlen cited the hit single "[[Precious Little Diamond]]" (by [[Fox the Fox]]) as his inspiration for using [[falsetto]] choruses. The studio vocal line-up of [[Rolf Köhler]], [[Michael Scholz]], [[Detlef Wiedeke]] and (on early albums) Birger Corleis, in addition to Bohlen and Anders, produced the high choruses characteristic of Modern Talking.<ref name="stern">{{cite magazine|first= Alexander |last= Kühn |title= Bohlens Sänger ist tot |trans-title= Bohlen's singer is dead |magazine= Stern |url= http://www.stern.de/kultur/musik/rolf-koehler-bohlens-saenger-ist-tot-598031.html |date= 18 September 2007 |access-date= 13 August 2009 |language= de}}</ref> Köhler, Scholz and Wiedeke later went on to work with Bohlen in [[Blue System]], before joining with songwriter Thomas Widrat to form [[Systems in Blue]]. Köhler, Scholz and Wiedeke were never credited on the Modern Talking albums, and eventually went to court over the matter. They received an out of court settlement and Bohlen published a sleeve note for his next release (''[[Obsession (Blue System album)|Obsession]]'', by Blue System), acknowledging the trio's contribution.<ref name="stern"/><ref>{{cite web|title= SIB – Systems In Blue |publisher= Systems-in-blue.de |url= http://www.systems-in-blue.de/ |access-date= 18 December 2012}}</ref>

Further influences include German-language [[schlager music]], [[disco-pop]] (the [[Bee Gees]]) and romantic English-language songs of Italian and French origin, like [[Gazebo (musician)|Gazebo]]'s "[[I Like Chopin]]". After the 1998 reunion, Bohlen produced [[Eurodance]] as well as American-style [[Middle of the road (music)|MOR]] ballads.

Dieter Bohlen also composed for other artists while still in Modern Talking, such as for [[Chris Norman]] and [[Smokie (band)|Smokie]], whose song "[[Midnight Lady]]" (1986) remains Bohlen's most popular composition. He also composed a large number of tracks for [[C. C. Catch]], using an accelerated, less-romantic sound. Some English Bohlen songs such as "[[You're My Heart, You're My Soul]]" were also recorded with German lyrics by [[Mary Roos]], using the same playback tracks. When Modern Talking disbanded in 1987, a number of tracks written for the last album were re-arranged and then transferred onto Bohlen's first solo album by Blue System. Modern Talking's sixth album was released about the same time as the first single from Blue System, "Sorry Little Sarah", where Bohlen competed on the charts against Modern Talking's "In 100 Years" hit song.

Global sales of Modern Talking when the duo definitively broke up in 2003 stood at 120 million singles and albums combined, making them the biggest-selling German music act in history.<ref name="SZ">{{cite news|title= Neues "Modern Talking" mit Medlock und Bohlen |trans-title= The new "Modern Talking" with Medlock and Bohlen |url= http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/dsds-neues-modern-talking-mit-medlock-und-bohlen-1.854734 |newspaper= [[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |date= 17 May 2010 |access-date= 3 June 2010 |language= de}}</ref>