 Make it real. Those are the Jets here on Totally Awesome 80s. One Hit Wonders. Our look at One Hit Wonders turns to a German singer now, Gabrielle Kerner. She acquired the nickname Nina at the age of three during a family vacation to Spain. Nina being the Spanish word for a little girl. Her song was released in Germany as 99 Luftballons and only came to the U.S. because a DJ in Los Angeles started playing it. The English language version of the song hit number two in the U.S. as 99 Red Balloons. U.S.