Gracia Baur, the German representative at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, backs her producer David Brandes. Brandes has been accused of manipulating the singles sales charts in favor of his protegés, resulting in a three-week German chart ban for Gracia and the Swiss representatives Vanilla Ninja.
In an interview with the German newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger, Gracia said “I am not the one who knows if this is true or not”. Nevertheless, the 22 year old singer made clear that she stands behind her producer and song author David Brandes.
“Should the accusations turn out as true, I would not hold that against him. After all, it's not a crime, just against the rules. It is only about bought CDs,” Gracia stated. She pointed out that allegedly, there were attempts of manipulating the charts by other producers in the past too, without any consequences.
Gracia also made clear that she will not resign as German representative for the Eurovision Song Contest. “In the end, Germany voted for me, not a chart position.” NDR already said that she will not face a disqualification.
