I expressed surprise myself but clearly the strategy has paid off so far. A competitor that can unleash as much emotion as this one must be a clever choice.
My guess is that the responsible people are already all smiles and look forward to the great ratings come May and generally care pretty little about the final result. This publicity is a success for sure.
Maybe then they will want to continue selecting established acts internally also for a few years to come? I wouldn't mind seeing any of these getting a shot at the ESC in the future. My knowledge of German pop is far from as extensive as I would have wanted but I believe these acts are pretty well known.
I've had my eyes on Glasperlenspiel for a few years already and enjoy their bubbly brand of electropop. Some of their strongest singles could surely have done well at the ESC, I'm sure.
Glasperlenspiel / Ich bin ich
Another band someone pointed out to me is more indie rock based Madsen, an act that could most probably stand out quite a lot from most things in competition while still being really catchy. This kind of fusion between pop and rock really makes me weak in a good way.
Madsen / Lass die Musik an
This example is perhaps less about Michelle herself who already had a shot at representing Germany at the ESC but more about highlighting what can happen when you let people from a pop environment write modern schlager. Peter Plate made up half of the hit duo Rosenstolz - one of my absolute top favourites to sing for Germany if it wasn't for the sad fact that they disbanded.
Michelle / Paris
If you want a sweet young pop male - and sometimes you do - I'd recommend Tim Bendzko. His appearance is possibly a tiny bit too ethereal for a contest like this but on the other hand, the surprisingly low key entries can sometimes break through the international wall of sound.
Tim Bendzko feat Cassandra Steen / Unter die Haut
After years in the popular band Ich + Ich, Adel Tawil made a most successful solo album that took off well on the German market. He had a connection to the 2014 Club concert that gave Elaiza a spot in the German final and I'm frankly surprised NDR didn't approach him instead of Xavier Naidoo. Maybe they did?
Adel Tawil / Weinen
And then the obvious one, then. Of course Queen Helene Fischer would fit Eurovision like an immaculately manicured hand in an expensive glove. All she would need was the perfect song. And the guts. She would have quite a lot to lose. And also an awful lot to win if she managed to expand her career outside the German-languaged territories once and for all.
Helene Fischer / Atemlos durch die Nacht
Well, wow! What a great selection of songs and artists on your German wish list for
ReplyDeletethe next Eurovision!
Since we now know that Xavier won’t run for Germany in Stockholm which makes me feel sad and a bit depressed, because I thought he would have been the right choice for this job, especially in these days. Of course, I share your view on some of the things he said in the past, but from a musical perspective he would have been just awesome. When did we EVER get the chance to have one of our biggest national stars on ESC stage in the past? And with him, I am quite sure that we would have had another “a little peace” message in his song, which is so important at the moment, IMO! He would have sent out a love message to all the refugees that are in Germany right now, as he represents them just perfectly with his Indian/South African roots. What a heavily missed opportunity, I can’t believe it!!! Still in shock about that decision of NDR to reject one of Germany’s greatest singers AND songwriters!
But back to your list now! Maybe there is a little chance of having Adel Tawil instead of Xavier? I’d like to see Adel Tawil in a duet with Cassandra Steen, as these two voices are the perfect match for a nice soul track; you probably know this one, which was a German no. 1 back in 2009:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x99xly_cassandra-steen-feat-adel-tawil-sta_music
I am also a fan of Tim Bendzko, Glasperlenspiel and Michelle (who already had her wonderful Eurovision moment!), and I share your love to Peter Plate and Anna R., who I would love to have a comeback just for Eurovision. That would make my day! ;)
“Herzensschöner” still is my favourite song from all German national finals.
I think the album Peter Plate did with Sarah Connor called “Muttersprache” is one of the best records in German language this year.
I wouldn’t suggest Helene Fischer for Eurovision, although she would do a perfect show on stage, but I think that fun pop or fun schlager would not be the right choice for next year’s German entry. She seems a bit too polished for my taste, and I guess she can’t do it because she has exclusive contracts with public German broadcaster ZDF, the competitor of the ARD. Everything “Helene-related” runs on ZDF at the moment.
And finally she doesn’t get me emotionally with most of her songs, it’s all nice, but never that special! The only time I was really moved was when she sang the final “Merci chérie” for Udo Jürgens in her “Helen Fischer show” last December. That was a real “goosebumps” moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHy-wyZDyhg
To be continued ...
So here are a few suggestions I would like to see in Stockholm for Germany:
ReplyDelete1. The best newcomer of the year – Joris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq0rrYrufYU
2. Another great new singer/songwriter who is very successful at the moment.
German song of the year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9HL-2IhZKg
3. The German no. 1 song from September/October this year – Namika:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ryohiCVq3M
4. Two girls that come out of my region and call themselves “Boy”, and “We were here” is just amazing, IMO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5fHxa7Xzc4
And their biggest success so far:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsyjS_vJfkw
5. Can I please have Astrid North from “Cultured Pearls” for Eurovision 2016? She is one of the most amazing singers and artists we have in Germany. She would absolutely rock the stage with her personality. Here is one of my favourites from her with Cultured Pearls that is also one of the best songs of the 90’s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6HpeUeBlA
That lady has international style and her voice is beautifully classy. Here’s another
favourite song from her first and only solo album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkFoj7a3r60
Those German acts would all get a maximum douze points from me to join the Eurovision in Sweden next year. But let’s face it: I guess none of these acts would want that ticket for the Globen! The already established acts fear it could mean the end of their career if they fail to succeed with their performance and/ or their record companies say “no”. And the promising new acts have “cold feet” because it could mean the end of their career (before it’s already begun), if they come home again with nul points, just like Ann-Sophie! They all know that Ann-Sophie lost her record deal after Eurovision 2015, so who would want that?
I really hope we will find the right artist and song that could do us proud in Stockholm, but with that decision by NDR I am soo biased at the moment!? I don’t know if it’s not a better idea for Germany to take a year off from Eurovision and return in 2017. Really!
Nevertheless, Tobias, your selection of songs and artists is great and I’m impressed that you know that many of our national artists. And I like reading your blog posts, because they are not only written as news, but always have an attitude in it. Keep going on, you are a pretty good writer!
Greets from Germany,
Wolfgang ;)
P.S. Sorry for being that today with my ‘comment’, but writing ‘short stories’ does not belong to my strengths! ;-)