The semi final of Unser Star für Oslo, the German performer selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 is about to be held. Four acts will compete for two spots in the national final.
How to watch?
There will be no official webcast, but all performances will appear on the official website shortly after the show. A full live report will be provided here on esctoday.com.
Pro 7 is available on satellite. You can find detailed information on how to receive the channel here.
The participants
The songs that the singers are going to perform have yet to be announced.
- Christian Durstewitz
- Kerstin Freking
- Lena Meyer-Landrut
- Jennifer Braun
Your opinion
- You can vote for your current favourite performer in the top four in our poll here.
LIVE
The show has started.
Matthias Opdenhövel and Sabine Heinrich welcome the audience to the penultimate show of Unser Star für Oslo.
The format of the show is explained. After the first four songs have been performed, one singer will be eliminated. The other three will perform a second song and the two favourites will qualify for the final.
In a video montage similar to last week's the top four are introduced.
The jury is now introduced. As always, head judge Stefan Raab is first on stage. He admits that he is excited as he thinks all four acts have chances of reaching the final.
The two guest judges are Barbara Schöneberger and Jan Delay. Barbara Schöneberger is a comedian, TV presenter, occasional actress and singer. Jan Delay is a successful, who started his career as part of Absolute Beginner. He also competed in the 2007 edition of Stefan Raab's Bundesvision Song Contest finshing second.
Commercial break now.
A video is shown looking behind the scenes of the quarter final last Friday.
1. Christian Durstewitz
Current esctoday.com poll result (based on previous performances): =3rd (16.0%)
Christian performs I'm yours by Jason Mraz.
Christian performs a more energetic version of 2008 hit song by Jason Mraz. The vocal performance is flawless, but especially during the verse his voice shows some squealing features, which can well be seen part of the performance but might not be everyone's cup of tea. Overall a strong performance in his familiar style.
Stefan Raab says that the reaction of the audience says more than a thousand words. He highlights that Christian manages to put his own style in songs by other artists.
Barabara Schöneberger says that she likes watching him on stage because he felt confident on stage. She says that she likes his version better than the original one. She also says that he should not change his style if he were chosen for Oslo.
Jan Delay says that Christian's version was too powerful compared to Jason Mraz'. But he likes that Christian has his own style.
2. Kerstin Freking
Current esctoday.com poll result (based on previous performances): =3rd (16.0%)
Kerstin performs Hands clean by Alanis Morissette.
It is the second time that Kerstin performs a song by Alanis Morissette. Her version is quite different from the original one, especially at te beginning of the verses, where the melody is slightly different. As always, the vocals are flawless and as always, she picked a song that manages to highlight the special features of her voice. She dressed as a hippie tonight, probably as a reference to Adel Tawil's comment last week.
Barbara Schöneberger says that she likes the song but that it is very hard to sing. Kerstin's voice was still crystal clear and she is enthusiastic.
Jan Delay says that there are two things that he does not like – Alanis Morissette and overpronoucing things. He is still "impressed".
Stefan Raab says that Kerstin's voice adds a special style to every song. Although her performance was softer than Alanis Morissette's, he did not miss the original artist.
Commercial break now.
3. Lena Meyer-Landrut
Current esctoday.com poll result (based on previous performances): 1st (50.0%)
Lena performs Mr. Curiosity by Jason Mraz.
For the first time, Lena performs a sad song. The style suits her better than most people might have expected and her performance is very authentic and emotional. Her vocal performance is not free of faults, but it's the blue notes that make it special.
Jan Delay says that he had goose bumps and that he was moved by the performance.
Stefan Raab acts surprise that she can sing and he says that this performance was the biggest surprise so far. It was moving and different from the original version.
Barbara Schöneberger says that she did not understand the lyrics herself but she understood that Lena understood them.
4. Jennifer Braun
Current esctoday.com poll result (based on previous performances): 2nd (17.9%)
Jennifer performs Heavy Cross by Gossip.
Jennifer is the only singer in the top four who regularly performed well-known songs. Today's choice is no exception as he performs the smash hit Heavy Cross. Her voice is rather different from Beth Ditto, but the song suits her very well. The vocals are flawless and Jennifer seems to get more confident on stage every week. A very powerful and authentic performance in general.
Stefan Raab says that she got better every week and that this was her best performance so far. He says that her performance was at least as good as a live performance by Gossip.
Barbara Schöneberger says that she likes the song and that it makes her angry, when somebody sings it badly – and that was not the case.
Jan Delay says that it was sung very well but he would have wished that the performance were a bit more crazy.
The lines are about to be opened. Our poll will be closed in five minutes.
Commercial break now. Our poll is closed. You can find the updated results above.
The results of the first round are about to come in.
Jennifer Braun to the second round!
Lena Mayer-Landrut to the second round!
Christian Durstewitz to the second round!
Kerstin Freking is therefore eliminated from the competition.
The second round is about to start. The votes cast in the first round will not count.
1. Christian Durstewitz
Christian performs In your hands by Charlie Winston.
At the beginning of his second performance, Christian shows that he is a better singer than a dancer. The song was a hit in the United Kingdom an France, but it is rather unknown in Germany. The song is very hectic, which manages to hide that Christian seems a bit more nervous than during the first performance. Overall another strong performance, although it might lack a distinctive concept.
Stefan Raab praises the use of the harmonica at the end of the song. He also says that it was bold to choose such an unknown song.
Barbara Schöneberger says that she felt that he likes the song and she would like to see him represent Germany in Oslo.
Jan Delay says that it was super.
2. Lena Meyer-Landrut
Lena performs The lovecats by The Cure.
Lena has mostly performed more modern songs so far, but goes for a 1983 classic this time. The performances mixes her unique style wth something completely different and the show comes across very well on screen. Another chraming performance by the hot favourite to win the national final. The audience goes crazy.
Barbara Schöneberger says that she cannot do anything wrong because every fault would be considered part of the performance. She likes that it is not as smooth as the performances usually seen on television but somehow intellectual.
Jan Dela says that she is herself, which is great. He loves her accent.
Stefan Raab likes her versatility.
3. Jennifer Braun
Jennifer performs Hurt by Christina Aguilera.
Another surprising choice. Jennifer turns Christina Aguilera's song into a rock ballad, which might sound strange and the beginning but in fact comes across quite well. The movements on stage are a bit insecure, but support the emotions very well. The first performance was probably still more convincing in general. A disadvantage might also be that the song has been performed very frequently in German casting shows since its release.
Barbara Schöneberger says that the song would be beautiful if if weren't performed by Christina Aguilera (and the audience agrees). She highlights Jennifer's secure feeling on stage.
Jan Delay likes Christina Aguilera, because he already performed on one of her tours. The song is very hard to sing and there were some minor faults, but he considers it a good performance.
Stefan Raab says that she got much better as the show proceeded and he likes the choice of a ballad. He says that it was a very good performance.
The results of the second round are about to come in.
Jan Delay now performs his latest single.
The results:
Lena Meyer-Landrut to the final!
Jennifer Braun to the final!
