As announced by esctoday.com on 7th December, Germany will once again host Grand Prix Vorentscheid, a national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. Following the same format as last year, three acts will compete for the right to represent Germany in Helsinki. So far, Monrose and Roger Cicero are confirmed, and a third act will be announced shortly. The show will be broadcast live on Thursday 8th March and will be hosted by Thomas Hermanns. Eurovision Song Contest winners Johnny Logan and Bucks Fizz will be performing as special guests along with Alice and Ellen Kessler. The host of the show has been confirmed as Thomas Hermanns.
Once again in 2007, Germany will select their Eurovision Song Contest entry from a choice of three acts. Already confirmed are Monrose and Roger Cicero. esctoday.com can confirm that a third act will be added to the line-up and that it will not be a straight fight between Morno and Cicero, as reported elsewhere this morning.
Monrose is a three-piece girl band made up of singers Mandy Capristo, Senna Guemmour, and Bahar Kizil. They came together during the Popstars (5th Series) in Germany this year and after winning the show on 23rd November, their debut single Shame (video shown below) became a number one hit in Germany, Austria and Switzerland this year. Their debut album, Temptation, is currently at number one in Germany and Austria. Released only two weeks ago, it has already been certified platimum! Several esctoday.com readers wanted to see their name in the hat according to the reactions to our December 7th article, and they seem favourites to represent Germany in Helsinki.
Roger Cicero is becoming a popular solo singer in his own right in Germany, and released his debut solo album, Männersachen (an all male affair),in May this year, reaching third place on the charts. He is a highly skilled jazz performer and son of famous German pianist, Eugen Cicero. He has been singing since the age of eleven and began as a support singer to Helen Vita. With five albums to his name already, he has performed with some of the greatest names in German jazz music, including the Bundesjugendjazzorchester (German Youth Jazz Orchestra).
Talking about the two known acts, host Thomas Hermanns says:"The goal of the year is to find a song which will win in Lordiland.. Monrose will bring strong girlpower with enthusiasm on stage, Roger Cicero is the charming newcomer of the year with great swing and great german lyrics will he also be able to do good in Helsinki. One thing is sure – only the best will get points in Finland, where nothing is too strange".
Special guests include two-time winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Johnny Logan, who won in 1980 with What's another year and 1987 with Hold me now. Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 with Making your mind up. esctoday.com are wondering whether Germany is seeking revenge on these two special guests!
It is interesting to note that Johnny Logan's victory in 1980 came over Katja Ebstein, who came second for Germany with her song Theater. In 1987, he once again pushed Germany into second place when Wind entered with Laß die Sonne in dein Herz. Bucks Fizz won the competition ahead of hot favourite Lena Valaitis (of surprise surprise, Germany!) with Johnny Blue, by a tiny 4 point margin in one of the closest voting runs in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Click the play icons below to watch videos from Monrose and Roger Cicero:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eyHczCAtcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cU6RzZyN2w
