The German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 is about to take place. Lena Meyer-Landrut will perform all six songs and the German entry for Düsseldorf will be chosen by televoting.
How to watch
- Live on ARD-Das Erste at 20:15 CET
- Webcast (NDR official)
The participating songs
- Maybe
(Daniel Schaub, Pär Lammers) - Taken by a Stranger
(Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier, Monica Birkenes) - What happened to me
(Lena Meyer-Landrut, Stefan Raab) - A million and one
(Errol Rennalls, Stavros Ioannou) - Push forward
(Daniel Schaub, Pär Lammers) - Mama told me
(Lena Meyer-Landrut, Stefan Raab)
Live
The show has started.
Stefan Raab welcomes the audience from backstage before we can hear two familar tunes.
Matthias Opdenhövel and Sabine Heinreich got all dressed up for tonight. Once again, they explain the formula of the 2011 German national selection.
A video clip introduces the Eurovision Song Contest, the third biggest tv event in the world.
Lena will perform all six songs. The top two will proceed to a super final, where the eventual winning entry will be determined.
Stefan Raab enters the stage receiving a very warm applause from the audience. He says that he has drunk so much coffee that he fears that he won't make it through a show without any commercial breaks. He is sure that the audience has a good taste and that they will choose the right song für Düsseldorf.
They are talking about Share the moment, last year's motto and Feel your heartbeat, this year's motto. None of them seems to be too enthusiastic.
A video montage takes us back to Oslo and Cologne last year. Lena tells that it was unreal to her when she won. Performances shown include those of the songs Neapolitan dream, Mr. Curiosity and Foundations. Of course, her Oslo performance of Satellite is also shown.
Lena says that the team in the greenroom was very happy when they got the first 12 because they didn't expect it to happen again. She also describes the feeling when she came on stage after winning.
We are going back to the press conference, when Stefan Raab annouced that Lena would defend her title in Germany. Lena says that she thinks that it is going to be a good show and she says that she is definitely going to have fun.
It is stated that her album has debuted at number one on the charts today. It is also revealed that it is already eligible to be certified gold.
Lena says that the outfits used for the songs will be the same as in the semi finals.
The other two jury members are now introduced: Barbara Schönerberger is a popular TV presenter and occasional singer. She was already a guest judge in last year's semi final. Adel Tawil is the lead singer of Ich+Ich, one of the most successful German bands in recent years. The other half of the duo is Annette Humpe, who competed in the 1998 German national final as a songwriter.
Barbara Schöneberger also refers to the fact that there won't be a toilet break tonight. The band is being introduced and Sabine Heinrich says that the ESC is a contest for songwriters.
1. Maybe
The songwriting duo has already worked for Lena on her first album. Lena says that they are two boys who know what they are doing. She also says that the song is very fluffy comparing it to a cloud.
The postcards are basically the same as in the semi finals but they also include new footage and statements referring to the qualification. Lena says that she often forgets things which is why the lyrics suit her.
Maybe qualified from the first semi final. Tonight, Lena's performance is more confident and she delivers the song in a very charming way. It is probably the most radio friendly song in the running tonight and although it is catchy and a potential hit song, it might be a bit too fluffy – most clouds turn into rain at some point.
The audience reacts very positively to this song.
Stefan Raab says that the question tonight is, which song suits Lena best and which one would be best for Eurovision. He says that it is a nice pop song and he adds that he likes the verses.
Barbara Schöneberger says that in most countries that have chosen their songs so far the visual part seems to be important. Her statement basically means that she thinks that the song is too nice.
Adel Tawil states that it is a nice song for the album.
2. What happened to me
Current esctoday.com poll result: 4th (7.4%)
This is the first of two Raab/Lena collaborations. Lena originally came up with the song at home singing it into her iphone. It was one of the last songs written for the album.Lena says that the song is very easy for her to sing. She was very happy when her own composition made it to the final. Stefan Raab explains that there is no strategy behind this song. He hopes that everyone will call for the song he likes best.
Number 2 also qualified from the first semi final. She really seems to enjoy performing her own song, even though her semi final performance was even a bit more sparkling.
What happened to me is a well produced pop song with some retro elements, something typical for Stefan Raab. A very catchy tune with sweet lyrics. It is almost impossible to predict an outcome in the Eurovision Song Contest, especially as the song might lose some of its charm without a live band in the background.
Barbara Schöneberger says that the song heats you up. She wasn't sure in the beginning if the song would be right but now she thinks that it is very catchy. She also notes that Lena really likes singing this song. She jokingly says that she is not sure if the enthusiastic reaction by the audience was caused by them being scared of Stefan Raab. Stefan Raab says that is favourite is yet to come.
3. Push forward
Current esctoday.com poll result: 2nd (22.1%)
This is the second song written by the duo from Berlin. One of the songwriters says that the song is romantic without being kitschy. Lena is happy that at least one ballad qualified. She also liked the lighting during the semi final.
Lena was definitely right about the lighting as it adds a lot to the atmosphere created by the song. Push forward is classic ballad, which obviously draws at least 80% of its special appeal from Lena's very authentic and emotional performance, although her semi final performance seemed to work better. The chorus seems to be stronger than the verses. If Germany wants to send a ballad to Düsseldorf this is the one, also because it is the only one in the running.
The biggest applause so far.
Adel Tawil likes the song and he also liked Lena's performance. He still thinks that is might not work in a contest.
Barbara Schöneberger says that the song is great. She says that she would even listen to it at home. She finds the ending too cheesy. It is still a song you can enchant people with, as long as your performance is perfect.
Stefan Raab says that it is a great ballad, but he agrees that a ballad might not be right for the contest.
4. Mama told me
Current esctoday.com poll result: 6th (5.4%)
Stefan Raab explains that he played the song to Lena and she later added the chorus.He says that it is always fun to write songs with Lena. Lena herself says that it is a very cool song.
Mama told me is a retro style song which combines all of Stefan Raab's favourite music styles, which also means that there is a lot happening here. Without a doubt this is the strongest vocal performance tonight so far and the performance seems to suit the song perfectly. The song does include a bunch of clichés but it is one of the favourites in the audience. It has to be noted that Germany failed a couple of times with songs in US American styles in the last decade.
Adel Tawil says that it is a real Raab song.
Stefan Raab surprisingly says that his favourite is yet to come.
Barbara Schönerberger says that the song might be popular in many countries.
5. A million and one
Current esctoday.com poll result: 5th (5.6%)
This song was written by team from Hannover (Erroll Rennars and Stavros Ioannou). Lena says that the song makes her feel good. The song was written especially for her. She says that she liked that the background dancers were barefoot on stage in the semi final.
Lena says that she can understand why the songwriters were happy when their song qualified as everyoe likes to win – unless you win something stupid.
The fifth song tonight was the opener of the second semi final. The song has a real interesting beginning, which sounds like an orchestral version of a Lily Allen song. There is a little explosion after the first half, but it is probably not as overwhelming as expected.
This song works very well on stage thanks to the very strange but interesting atmosphere it creates. The performance might also work on the even bigger stage in Düsseldorf. It is obvious that the song will polarise a lot if it is the chosen one tonight but it is also obvious that it would be a secure chart hit.
The audience goes crazy.
Stefan Raab says that this song is his favourite because the song can catch you. He says that the song has that "special something". He says that people are going to ask where they found the ladies with the Woody Allen sperm costumes.
Barbara Schöneberger says that Lena will go to Düsseldorf with this song. She highlights the inner tension of this song.
Adel Tawil says that the song is different, which is the reason why it is right for Lena.
Barbara Schöneberger wants Push forward and Taken by a stranger to advance to the super final.
Adel Tawil wants Taken by a stranger and Mama told me.
Stefan Raab's favourite is Taken by a stranger.
A recap with all six songs is being shown.
A video clip shows Stefan Raab and Lena visiting Düsseldorf.
The voting is closed.
Push forward to the superfinal!
Taken by a stranger to the superfinal!
A clip shows songs already chosen for Düsseldorf.
Lena will then perform the top two songs again.
The voting is closed.
Taken by a stranger has won with 79% of the votes and will be the German entry in Düsseldorf.
