Marta Jandová

Marta Verner (born April 13, 1974, in Prague), formerly known as Jandová, is a Czech singer known primarily for her work in the German band Die Happy. In the Czech Republic, she sings as a solo artist.

Life Marta Verner was born as the daughter of Petr and Jana Jandová. Her father is the frontman of the band Olympic. She studied at the Czechoslovak Academy of Trade, Dr. Edvard Beneš, focusing on languages. During her studies, she spent a year studying abroad in the United States, shortly after her mother passed away from cancer when Marta was seventeen. A few years later, her older brother Petr also succumbed to the same illness.

In the 1990s, Marta Jandová first appeared as a singer in the Czech Republic, often performing together with Petr Janda on television. She had the opportunity to perform with her band on Czech TV 2 before achieving major success in Germany. In 1998, she performed with her backing band at the Český Slavík awards. Her first musical in the Czech Republic was Daniel Landa’s “Krysař” in 1996, where she alternated in the lead role of Agnes with Lucie Bílá.

At the age of 19, after not being accepted into university, the aspiring singer met Thorsten Mewes (guitarist of Die Happy) in Prague and originally went to Germany with him for a year to learn another language and gain new experiences. After a few weeks of living with Thorsten’s parents, she accepted the position of vocalist in his rock band Die Happy, initially as a hobby. Between 1993 and 1999, before Die Happy signed a recording contract with Sony BMG in Germany, she held several jobs, including working in a tea shop, washing dishes, distributing flyers, working as a secretary, and providing security at concerts. After signing the contract, she began to fully support herself through singing. The band’s first breakthrough album was titled “Supersonic Speed” and achieved success in Germany. Marta lived in Germany for sixteen years, first in Ulm and then mostly in Hamburg. The band’s rehearsal space was located in Berlin.

The singer returned to the Czech Republic in the spring of 2009. She landed the leading role of Mona Lisa in the musical of the same name at the Broadway Theatre. In addition, she accepted an offer to join the jury of the historic first season of Česko Slovenská SuperStar, where she was voted the most sympathetic judge by the audience. In 2010, she appeared in the leading female role of Dorothy in the musical “Kat Mydlář,” the role of Evelína in the musical “Baron Prášil,” and the role of Sonia in the musical “Ať žije rokenrol.” That same year, she also served on the jury of the German singing competition “PopStars” and hosted her own music program called “NeoMusic: Wanted” once a week on German television channel ZDF, focusing on live music performances.

In 2012, the series “Gympl s (r)učením omezeným” began airing, in which Jandová played the role of teacher Jana “Džajna” Pelnerová. This role was very popular among viewers, and thanks to this series, Marta Jandová and Ondřej Brzobohatý became great friends. Jandová also made guest appearances in one episode of the series “Doktoři z Počátků” and the show “Ordinace v růžové zahradě.” She was then invited to be a judge on the show “Hlas Česko Slovenska” (The Voice of Czech Republic and Slovakia), alongside Dara Rolins, Josef Vojtek, Majk Spirit, and Michal David.

Another project for Marta Jandová is “Rocksymphony” with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín. Since 2014, their performances have been repeated with great success. In 2018, the project continued as “Rocksymphony 2.” Her musical partner for this project was Václav Noid Bárta.

At the beginning of 2015, Marta Jandová was chosen by Czech Television (prompted by viewers) to represent the Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, together with Václav Noid Bárta. They performed the ballad “Hope Never Dies,” which achieved a better result than any previous Czech delegation. In 2015, Jandová served as a judge on “Česko Slovenská SuperStar.” In 2016, she appeared on the show “Tvoje tvář má známý hlas 2” (Your Face Sounds Familiar 2), where she transformed into Beyoncé, CeeLo Green, and her father, Petr Janda.

In 2018, Marta Jandová celebrated the 25th anniversary of her German band Die Happy with an acoustic tour in Germany. The final concert took place in Prague at the end of October. During this time, she also joined the judging panel of “Česko Slovensko má talent” (Czechoslovakia’s Got Talent). Finally, in the autumn, she fulfilled her dream and released her first solo album titled “Barvy” (Colors). 

In 2019 she teamed up with Pavoll Callt for the song “Nechat vítr vát”, the theme song of the Avon March. She teamed up with Václav Noid Bárta again in September 2020 to record the song and video “Barvy zeme”.

In 2021, Marta took part in the show Tvoje tvář má známý hlas (Your voice sounds familiar). After COVID19 she was finally able to perform again with Die Happy in September 2021. She also teamed up with Marek Ztraceny for a concert together.

In October 2022, she was part of a tribute concert for Miro Žbirka, who passed away the year before.