“Talent was not required, this was a meat inspection.” Harsh words from Joy Fleming, Germany's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 towards this year's winner Ruslana. The singer celebrates her 60th birthday next Monday, but still wouldn't refuse an offer to do it once again.
Joy, still heavily adored by many Eurovision fans in Germany, only reached a 17th position back in 1975 with the fan-favorite 'Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein'. Since then, she participated in three German national finals: 1986, 2001 (where she was the runner-up) and 2002. This year, she was a jury member in Stefan Raab's casting show SSDSGPS, which led to the selection of Max Mutzke, who later won the German final and represented the country in Istanbul.
Joy recently released a new album with songs written by herself and her partner. “I prefer hand-made music, not everything coming from the computer”, she said in an interview with press agency AP. She also mentioned that she “would not be averse to” another participation in the German final if someone comes up with a good idea. With the recent emphasis of NDR on chart acts with international appeal, this is unlikely though.
