Vice Vukov

Vice Vukov (August 3, 1936, Šibenik - September 24, 2008, Zagreb) was a Croatian singer and politician. During the 1960s, Vice Vukov was one of the most popular singers in Yugoslavia. In 1963 he represented Yugoslavia at the ESC with the song Brodovi which came 11th and in 1965 he represented Yugoslavia again at the ESC, he came 12th with the song Čežnja. In 1969 he participated at the Yugoslav national final with the song Cvijece Za Mariju which came 8th. In 1970 he represented Yugoslavia at the World Popular Song Festival in Japan with the wonderful ballad Neka Cijeli Svijet which won an Outstanding Song Award and an Outstanding Performance Award.

In the aftermath of the Croatian Spring movement, he was branded a Croatian nationalist by Yugoslav authorities and had his apartment searched by the police during the 1972 wave of arrests of Croatian Spring leaders. Vice Vukov was on an Australian tour at that time. His wife warned him not to return because he could be arrested too, so instead he went to live in France, returning to Yugoslavia in 1976. By that time, the authorities had lost interest in his case, but his singing career was effectively over; he was blacklisted, barred from performing publicly and all his records were pulled out of stores.

In 1989 an album of his new songs, without his name on the cover, appeared in Croatian music stores, signalling the political change. Soon after, Vukov made a public comeback with a series of 14 sold-out concerts at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.

After the introduction of democracy to Croatia, Vice Vukov became a prominent supporter of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. He ran several times for the seat in Croatian Parliament, finally succeeding in 2003. In 2001 he was suggested as ambassador to Switzerland.

Igor Cukrov

Igor Cukrov born (June 6 1984) is a Croatian singer, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants of the talentshow Operacija trijumf, Balkan version of Endemol's Star Academy. Igor Cukrov represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 alongside Andrea Šušnjara with the song Lijepa Tena, written by Tonči Huljić. The song qualified to the final from the second semi-final as the jury's selected qualifier. It eventually finished in 18th place with 45 points.

Igor Cukrov performed at the Split Festival where he was awarded a prize for best debutant. Has also gained experience as a tenor of the a Capella Cambi singers.

The Operacija trijumf is the Balkan version of Endemol's talents show Star Academy. It included the young talents from whole former SFR Yugoslavia. The show began on September 29, 2008. Cukrov showcased his singing abilities through a wide repertory, singing opera songs such as Con te partirò of Andrea Bocelli, but also rock songs such as Angie of the Rolling Stones and I Don't Want to Miss a Thing of Aerosmith. The contestants of the Operacija trijumf, including Igor Cukrov, supported Goran Karan at his concert in Belgrade, singing Stand by Me.

Igor Cukrov was expelled on the 13th gala event, losing in telephone voting to Vukašin Brajić. During the show, there were some rumors that the judge Tonči Huljić is very protective about Cukrov, because he was never nominated, until the twelfth gala; Tonči Huljić later stated that expelling Igor Cukrov was an injustice.

After the Operacija trijumf, all the contestants expressed the will to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The Croatian OT contestants Cukrov and Ana Bebić immediately qualified for the final event. The song Lijepa Tena was written and composed by famous Croatian musician Tonči Huljić. The Croatian final for the Eurovision Song Contest – Dora – was held on February 28, 2009, and Igor Cukrov won with the total of 30 points. The song competed in the second semi-final where it won qualification for the final as the jury's selected pick. It finished in 18th place.

Interval acts - 1991: Arturo Brachetti

Arturo Brachetti is an Italian quick-change artist. In the Guinness Book of Records 2006 and 2007, he is described as the fastest quick change artist in the world. His career covers a wide artistic range and has made him an international name. The change from one costume to another is performed in a matter of seconds, often by throwing a sheet up and completely changing costume by the time it falls. In the current show, Arturo performs 80 characters in one evening.

In 1991 he performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rome during the Interval-act.

Interval acts - 1983: Song Contest ballet with Marlène Charell

In 1983 the interval act was a dance number set to a medley of German songs which had become internationally famous, including Strangers in the Night. The host, Marlene Charell, was the lead dancer.

Marlene Charell (born Angela Miebs on 27 July 1944 in Winsen) is a German entertainer and was the leading dancer and superstar at Le Lido in Paris from 1968 until the end of 1970. Her stage name is an amalgamation of the entertainers Marlene Dietrich and Erik Charell. She also danced at The Dunes casino in Las Vegas in the show Casino de Paris in 1966 and at Folies Bergere from 1962 until 1968. Because of the apparent length and beautiful shape of her legs she was labeled as Miss Longlegs.

In 1983 she hosted the Eurovision Song Contest at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich. It was rather obvious that Marlene was a dancer and not a presenter…….

DQ

DQ (born as Peter Andersen in 1973) is a Danish singer and drag queen who won the Danish Melodi Grand Prix 2007 and therefore represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song Drama Queen. The song was eliminated in the semi-final. In 2011 DQ tried to represent Switzerland t the ESC with the song Take My Heart but the song didn't made it into the Swiss national final.

Salomé

Salomé (born June 21, 1943 as born Maria Rosa Marco Poquet in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ), is a female Spanish Catalan singer.

In 1969 she was asked to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in Madrid. At the Spanish pre-selection all the 10 songs were sung twice, once by Salomé and once by 10 other performers.

At the Eurovision Song Contest held in Madrid in 1969, she performed Vivo Cantando, composed by Maria José Cerato with words by Aniano Alcalde. The song (along with the entries from Netherlands, United Kingdom, and France) shared first place that year.

Salomé recorded Vivo Cantando in 1969 for the Eurovision Song Contest in eight languages (Spanish, Catalan, Basque, French, German, Italian, English, and Serbo-Croat).

Salomé appeared on TVE in May 2006, after the Eurovision Song Contest, to discuss the outcome with 1968 winner, Massiel, and a few other friends.

Interval acts - 1970: The Don Lurio Dancers

Donald Benjamin Lurio (Stage name Don Lurio) was born in New York in 1929 although some sources claim that his year of birth was 1933. He died in Rome in 2003. Don Lurio was a dancer, choreographer and conductor for Italian Television. Don Lurio operated a dance studio on Broadway with Bob Fosse and Jack Cole , then toured Europe before arriving in Italy in 1957.

Don was openly gay, considered scandalous given the morals of the time. It took until 1961 to establish himself on Italian Television. He appeared in several Italian films of the 1960s and 1970s. He also appeared in a handful of British films.

In 1970 he choreographed the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest in Amsterdam for a group of young dancers who called themselves The Don Lurio Dancers. This interval act was considered as very modern in 1970.

Interval acts - 1994: Riverdance

Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant watershed in Irish culture.

Riverdance was first performed during the 7-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Point Theatre, Dublin on April 30, 1994. It received a standing ovation. At Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest it was voted the most popular interval act in the history of the contest. This first performance featured Irish Dancing Champions Jean Butler & Michael Flatley, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Celtic choral group Anúna with a score written by Bill Whelan. Whelan had also composed Timedance, an early version of Riverdance, for the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Planxty. Most of the show's choreography was done by Flatley. An audio recording of Riverdance entered the Irish singles charts at number 1 on May 5, 1994, and remained there throughout the summer. A video of the Eurovision interval performance was then released by the Irish broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann under the title Riverdance for Rwanda with all proceeds going to the Rwanda Appeal Disasters Joint Appeal Committee. Many of the dance troupe featured in this performance subsequently went on to dance principal roles in later productions of Riverdance the Show. Riverdance is produced and directed by husband and wife team John McColgan and Moya Doherty, controlled through their production company Abhann Productions, based in Dublin. In November 1994 tickets were sold in Dublin for the first full-length performance of Riverdance, which opened at the Point Theatre on February 9, 1995. The show ran for five weeks and was a sell-out. After successful runs in other cities in Europe, Riverdance travelled to New York City to perform at the legendary Radio City Music Hall in March 1996. This was the first time the show had been performed in America. To the relief of the producers, the show was a success. Anúna left the show in September of that year.

In 2000 the show moved to Broadway for a year at the Gershwin Theatre with an all-new show, featuring dance leads Pat Roddy and Eileen Martin and singers Brian Kennedy and Tsidii Le Loka. Michael Flatley left the show reportedly over creative differences with the producers before the show's second run in London. Irish dancer Colin Dunne stepped into the role of lead dancer and went on to perform in subsequent productions before leaving the show in 1998. Riverdance is now in its farewell tour[5] after fifteen years of performing and touring the world. During the tour the show will play in Bradford, Ipswich, Southend-on-Sea, Blackpool, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford, London, Southampton, Nottingham and Derry as well as other venues in Europe and the Far East before finishing in 2010.

Athena

Athena is a ska punk band from Istanbul, Turkey. Its current line-up is composed of Hakan Özoğuz, Gökhan Özoğuz, Alican Tezer and Alp Ersönmez.

Athena was formed by twin brothers Gökhan Özoğuz and Hakan Özoğuz in 1987. They started their musical life as a metal band, but switched to the ska genre sometime later.

Until 1999 they performed numerous concerts and paved their way to their first album Holigan. Athena's ska sound and songs were welcomed by the local record buying public so much so that the title song Holigan was adopted as a march by football supporters of all ages at the stadiums. The album hit various Turkish charts and stayed at the top for a considerable amount of time. Shortly after releasing the Holigan' album, Athena took a large scale tour in Turkey.

The second album Tam Zamanı Şimdi was released and the first single Yaşamak Var Ya was an instant hit. The album sales reached gold status in an extremely short time. Their tour was sold out as a result of their exploding popularity. They performed a series of concerts in Germany. After the tour, their song Devam Boşver included on the album World of Ska Volume 11 which was released in Europe. Then came one of the major events in Athena’s career, the 12 Dev Adam (12 Giant Men). This song, they recorded for the Turkish National Basketball Team, had also an immense success in Europe.

In 2004 the band Athena was asked to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest. In the Turkish national final Athena sang three songs and the winner was chosen by televoting and SMS voting. The song For Real won and came 4th at the ESC.

Antique

Antique was a duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis originating from Sweden which combined Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance pop beat. Both Elena and Nikos were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. In 2001 Antique were selected to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen with the song Die For You, sung in a blend of English and Greek, which came 3rd.

In 1999 some DJ friends of Elena Paparizou asked her to make a demo of the Notis Sfakianakis song Opa Opa. Paparizou asked to sing it with her childhood friend Nikos Panagiotidis, they formed Antique and their debut single Opa Opa became a hit amongst the Greeks in Sweden and eventually entered the top ten in Sweden and Norway, making them the first act to enter into the Swedish top five with a song sung in Greek. Their later singles Dinata Dinata, Follow Me, and Moro Mou also were very successful. The duo stopped in 2003 on good terms with both members pursuing solo careers.

Rob McVeigh

Robert "Rob" McVeigh, born 28 April 1983, is a singer from Rotherham, United Kingdom. In 2007 he found fame as a contestant in the BBC TV series Any Dream Will Do, in which he was popularly known as Rob The Builder. In 2008 he participated in the UK national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Owe It All To You which came 5th or 6th.

Germany 2010

The German Final was held on March 12th at the Brainpool TV Studios in Cologne, hosted by Sabine Heinrich & Matthias Opdenhövel. Before the final there were several shows, starting with two introductory shows where the ten finalists were chosen. Further shows were held on February 16th & 23rd (2 singers eliminated in each show), March 2nd, 5th (1 singer eliminated in each show) & 9th (2 singers eliminated). In the final, the winner was chosen in two rounds - the first to select the favourite song for each singer and the second to select the winner. The voting in all shows was determined by televoting.

Lena Meyer-Landrut won the German pre-selection, Unser Star für Oslo, with the song Satellite which was written by Julie Frost, John Gordon.

Results:

Final, song selection:

Bee - Jennifer Braun, out
Bee - Lena Meyer-Landrut, out
Satellite - Jennifer Braun, out
Satellite - Lena Meyer-Landrut, adcanced
I care for you - Jennifer Braun, advanced
Love me - Lena Meyer-Landrut, out

Final, performer selection:

1. Satellite - Lena Meyer-Landrut
2. I care for you - Jennifer Braun

As a member of the Big Four, Germany automatically qualified for the final on May 29. Lena Meyer-Landrut performed 22nd out of the 25 participating countries and won the contest with 246 points. It is the first time that Germany has won the contest since 1982 and the first time as a unified state.

***

Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 23 May 1991 in Hannover), known professionally as Lena, is a German singer-songwriter.

She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, Norway, and won the contest with the song Satellite. With her three entries from the German national final Unser Star für Osl0,  Lena Meyer-Landrut set an all-time chart record in her home country by debuting with three songs in the top five of the German singles chart.  Both Satellite and her first album My Cassette Player debuted at number one in Germany, while the former has been certified double Platinum since, the album has been certified five times Gold for sales of over 500,000 units.

Lena Meyer-Landrut represented Germany, for the second consecutive time, in the Eurovision Song Contest at Düsseldorf in 2011 with the song Taken by a Stranger which came 10th.

Germany 2009

The group Alex Swings Oscar Sings was internally selected to represent Germany at Eurovision with the song Miss Kiss Kiss Bang.

The group, composed of Alex Christensen and Oscar Loya, performed Miss Kiss Kiss Bang at the ESC 2009. American burlesque model Dita von Teese joined Alex and Oscar on stage. Germany finished 20th with 35 points.

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Alex Christensen (born April 7 1967 in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Germany), Jasper Forks or Alex C. as he is known, is a German dance music composer, producer, and DJ, generally known as the face, and one of the founding members, of U96. Since 2002, he has been collaborating with Yasmin K. also known as Y-ass.

Christensen started in 1991 as a music producer and DJ, and had his first success in 1992 as U96 with a techno version of Das Boot. In several countries this song was the first techno song to obtain a number one position. Since 2002 Christensen also works under the name Alex C. and frequently collaborates with Yasmin K. whom he met as a judge on the second season of Popstars.

As a producer and/or composer Christensen worked for big artists as Right Said Fred, Tom Jones, *NSYNC, Rollergirl, Marianne Rosenberg, Sarah Brightman, and ATC.

Christensen represented Germany at the Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow together with Oscar Loya, performing the song Miss Kiss Kiss Bang finishing in 20th place.

Alex Christensen's song Doktorspiele which featured additional vocals from Yass, won the 2008 Eurodanceweb Contest, which were determined by points assigned by a professional jury of disc jockeys, journalists, music producers, webmasters, radio speakers from all over the World.

***

Joseph Oscar Loya (born June 12, 1979) is an American singer and Broadway musical theatre performer.

Loya was born in 1979 in Indio, California and grew up as the youngest of five children in California. He is openly gay and lives in Munich.

Loya released his debut album in 2009. His voice coach is Professor Dennis M. Heath (Munich). Heath teaches other successful professional artists in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Germany 2008

The German Final was held on March 6th at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, hosted by Thomas Hermanns. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting - the first to select the top 2 and the second to select the winner. The winning song, Disappear was written by Remee, Hanne Sørvaag, and Thomas Troelsen and co-produced by Remee and Troelsen.

Results:

01. Disappear - No Angels, 50.5%
02. Hinterm Ozean - Carolin Fortenbacher, 49.5%

oter participants:

La histeria - Marquess
Just one woman - Tommy Reeve
Forever or never - Cinema Bizarre

No Angels came equal 23rd at the ESC.

***

No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ Music Award, two Comets, a Bambi and a Goldene Kamera.

Originally a quintet, the group originated in 2000 on the international television talent show Popstars and was one of the first television-casted acts to enjoy attention throughout Central Europe in the early 2000s. Following a major success with record-breaking single Daylight in Your Eyes and debut album Elle'ments in 2001, a series of hit records established their position as one of the most successful female band vocalists to emerge in the early decade. They have since been ranked as both the biggest-selling German girlband to date and most successful girlband in Contintental Europe by the media, with four number-one hits, three number-one albums and record sales in excess of more than 5.0 million. In fall 2003, the members went their separate ways due to lasting exhaustion, focusing on their individual solo careers in music, theatre, television and film.

In 2007, it was confirmed that four members of the original line-up, excluding original band member Vanessa Petruo, had reformed permanently and were set to record their first studio album in over four years, Destiny (2007). A year after, the group represented Germany with their single Disappear at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, where they finished 23rd in the final voting. After another musical hiatus, the band released a second post-reunion studio album entitled Welcome to the Dance in 2009. In September 2010, Nadja Benaissa officially left the band to due to private reasons, leaving No Angels as a trio.

Germany 2007

The German Final was held on March 8th at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, hosted by Thomas Hermanns. The winner was chosen by televoting and only the winner was announced.

The national selection was won by Roger Cicero with more than 50% of the votes with the song Frauen regier'n die Welt which was written by Matthias Hass and Frank Ramond.

Results:

01. Frauen regier'n die Welt - Roger Cicero
02. Even Heaven Cries - Monrose
03. Die Welt ist Pop - Heinz Rudolf Kunze

Germany finished 19th in the final with the song Frauen regier'n die Welt.

***

Roger Marcel Cicero Ciceu (born July 6, 1970 in Berlin) is a German jazz musician[1] and the son of the Romanian pianist Eugen Cicero.

He made his first appearance at the age of eleven supporting German singer Helen Vita. He appeared on television for the first time aged 16, alongside the RIAS-Tanzorchester, then under the direction of Horst Jankowski. Cicero joined the Hohner Conservatory in Trossingen when he was 18, where he received coaching in piano, guitar and singing. Between 1989 and 1992, he appeared alongside the Horst Jankowski Trio, the Eugen Cicero Trio (his father’s group) as well as with the Bundesjugendjazzorchester (German Youth Jazz Orchestra), which was then directed by Peter Herbolzheimer. From 1991 to 1996 he studied jazz singing at the Amsterdam Academy of Arts (Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten) at Hilversum. Since then, he has been a guest singer with the groups Jazzkantine and Soulounge with whom he took part in the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2003 he founded the Roger Cicero Quartet, as well as continuing to perform with his eleven-piece big band. His style is predominantly that of 1940s and 1950s swing music, combined with German lyrics.

In 2006, Cicero was involved with the album Good Morning Midnight by jazz pianist Julia Hülsmann, and released his first solo album Männersachen in May of the same year. Working alongside thirteen composers (predominantly Matthias Haß and Frank Ramond), his music has an unusual composition. Schieß mich doch zum Mond is the German version of Frank Sinatra’s classic Fly Me to the Moon. The covered track Zieh die Schuh aus, which deals ironically with the battle of the sexes, reached number 71 in the German singles chart. The album Männersachen made it to number 3.

Cicero made his film debut in Hilde (2009) and received good notices for his performance as musician Ricci Blum. Directed by Kai Wessel, the film is a biography of the German singer and actress Hildegard Knef, who is played by Heike Makatsch. He appeared as the singing and speaking voice of Prince Naveen in Küss den Frosch, the German dubbed version of The Princess and the Frog.

His third studio album, Artgerecht, was released on April 3, 2009. On March 20, 2009 the first single from the album, Nicht Artgerecht, was released.

He was one of the participating artists at the concert in honor of the Dalai Lama in August 2009 in Frankfurt.

Cicero and his Big Band headlined at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12 2010. This performance introduced an English version of his song Murphy's Gesetz, and That you and I feeling, a new version of his song, Ich hab das Gefühl für dich verlor'n.

In October 2010 Cicero published a book, Weggefährten: Meine Songs fürs Leben reflections on songs that have personal meaning for him, revealing his memories associated with the songs, and exploring the history of the songs and their composers. The book describes Cicero’s youth in West Berlin, his musical studies in Holland, and a formative trip he made as a teenager with his father to his paternal family’s native Romania then under the rule of Ceauşescu’s government.

After appearing in promotional talks for Weggefährten at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Cicero toured in a series of concerts with his pianist and musical director Lutz Krajenski. The Roger Cicero Solo programme featured the duo performing songs from their albums, including jazz numbers Cicero and Krajenski recorded as part of the group After Hours. Along with swing and jazz, they showcased rock and soul songs in English and German, and presented new arrangements of Every little thing she does is Magic, What’s Going On, Let’s Stay Together and Prince’s Forever in My Life. During some of the numbers, Cicero accompanied himself on piano and guitar. Reviews of the tour acclaimed Cicero and Krajenski’s virtuoso performance of Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo A La Turk.

Cicero's song Für nichts auf dieser Welt, from his fourth album In diesem Moment was chosen by the German football association as the official fan song to support the German team for the Euro 2012 tournament. Cicero performed the song at a Germany-Israel friendly football match in Leipzig on May 31, 2012.

Germany 2006

The German Final was held on March 9th at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, hosted by Thomas Hermanns. The winner was chosen by televoting.

Texas won and represented Germany with the song No No Never. The song is written and composed by Jane Comerford, lead vocalist of the band.

Results:

01. No no never - Texas Lightning, 365,361 votes
02. Songs That Live Forever - Thomas Anders, 216,457 votes
03. Don't Break My Heart - Vicky Leandros, 213,139 votes  

At the final of the ESC they finished 14th with 36 points.

Texas Lightning is a quintet that describes itself as hip and old fashioned. The group consists of Olli Dittrich, Jon Flemming Olsen, Markus Schmidt, Uwe Frenzel, and Jane Comerford. They have remade songs by country singers such as Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, but have also recorded hit songs such as Highway To Hell and Like A Virgin with a country twist. They also recentently covered Waterloo, ABBA's 1974 Eurovision hit.

Germany 2005

Gracia represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song Run and Hide.

The song was composed and produced by David Brandes and written by Bernd Meinunger. Run and Hide stirred some controversy in Germany, when it turned out that Brandes had bought numerous copies of the CD himself so the song would chart high in the German Top 100. The song was temporarily disqualified from the chart listing, but Gracia's Eurovision appearance itself was never in any danger.

The German Final was held at the Berlin Treptow Arena on March 12th, hosted by Reinhold Beckmann. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting - the first to select the top 2 and the second to select the winner.

Results:

01. Run & hide - Gracia, round 1: 16.7%, round 2: 52.8%
02. A miracle of love - Nicole Süssmilch & Marco Matias, round 1: 22.7%, round 2: 47.2%

other participants:

Picking Up the Pieces - The Murphy Brothers
Plattgeliebt - Ellen ten Damme
A Million Teardrops - Orange Blue
Unschlagbar - Königwerq
Adrenalin - Vilaine
Dein lied - Allee der Kosmonauten
Wunderschönes Grau - Stefan Gwildis
Alive - Mia Aegerter

At the ESC, Gracia came 24th.

***

Gracia Arabella Baur (born November 18, 1982 in Munich), mostly known as Gracia is a German singer.

During her teenage years she took vocal lessons to strengthen her voice. To fulfill her dreams of a career as a professional singer, she started recording demos and passed several auditions. In 2000 she even made it through the first round of Popstars, but was forced out when she forgot the words of her song.

In 2002/2003 she took part in Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol, and eventually reached #5. Pushed by the publicity she released her first album Intoxicated, which peaked at #10 on the German album charts and spawned the hit singles I Don't Think So and I Believe In Miracles. Afterwards, she teamed up with fellow DSDS runners-up Daniel Küblböck, Nektarios Bamiatzis, and Stephanie Brauckmeyer, releasing the charity single Don't Close Your Eyes under the name 4 United.

Gracia was selected to represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Run & Hide, produced and composed by David Brandes. After the German national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest it was revealed that Brandes had bought thousands of his own CDs to ensure chart placement, a requirement of the ESC (the single had actually hit the top 30 on the German charts). In contrast to the Swiss entry Vanilla Ninja, who had also had their entry produced by Brandes, Gracia opted to continue her association with the newly controversial figure.

However, Run & Hide, a modern pop-rock song with heavy use of synthesizers, failed to catch the audience's imagination in the Eurovision Song Contest and placed 24th. Gracia, however, was not deterred and went on with her second solo album Passion, released in November 2005.

2004 she recorded Götter der Ewigkeit, part of the German soundtrack of the Walt Disney Feature Animation Brother Bear.

In December 2006 Gracia released the Song Cos I believe together with Marvin Broadie under the name Xantoo. It charted at #39.

Germany 2004

 
Germany was represented by Max and the song Can't Wait Until Tonight at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, held in Istanbul, Turkey. The German representative for Istanbul was chosen on March 19 in the national final Germany 12 Points!.

The German Final was held at the Berlin Treptow Arena on March 19th, hosted by Jörg Pilawa & Sarah Kuttner. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting/SMS voting - the first to select the top two songs and the second to select the winner. Max won with the Can't Wait Until Tonight which was written by Stefan Raab.

Results:

01. Can't Wait Until Tonight - Max, round 1: 67%, round 2: 92%
02. Jigga Jigga - Scooter, round 1: 7%, round 2: 8%

other participants:

Undone - Patrick Nuo
Hungriges Herz - MIA.
Liebe - Sabrina Setlur
Der letzte Stern - Overground
Ich schenk' dir mein Herz - Tina Frank
Dancing with the rebels - WestBam feat. Afrika Islam
Höher - Laith Al-Deen
Silent tears - Wonderwall

At Eurovision, Max delivered a simple performance with stools and a band surrounding him on the stage. During the performance, Max swapped between using English and Turkish and overall produced a memorable stage act. Max scored Germany 93 points and a successful 8th place.

***

 Maximilian Nepomuk Mutzke (born May 21, 1981 in Krenkingen, Baden-Württemberg) is a German singer and drummer. In 2004 he took part in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Max Mutzke started his career in a funk band called Project Five. He gained public interest in spring 2004 when he won SSDSGPS (Stefan sucht den Super-Grand-Prix-Star), a talent contest hosted in Stefan Raab's Late-Night-Show TV total. Afterwards he released his first single Can't Wait Until Tonight, which entered the German single charts at #1 on March 22, 2004 and eventually met the conditions laid down for Max to be admitted into Germany's pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 as a wild-card entry.

In the televoting of the final show on March 19, 2004 Max defeated nine other competitors. A majority of 92,95 % of all votes made him the German entry for the 49th Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, where he finished eighth with 93 points.

Thereupon the singer went back to school and passed his final high school examination, before teaming up with Raab once again to finish his self titled solo album in summer 2004. The record, a mixture of funk, soul and pop in German and in English language, debuted at #1 on the German album charts and included the singles Schwarz Auf Weiß, Spür Dein Licht and Catch Me If You Can. From May to June 2005 Max then went on a club tour across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, before touring with Katie Melua.

His second album Max Mutzke ...aus dem Bauch was released on June 8, 2007. His third album Max Mutzke ... Black Forest was released on November 28, 2008.

In 2010, he co-wrote the song I Care For You for Jennifer Braun, who placed second in the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

Belinda

In 1995 Belinda came 2nd in the Belgian national final with the song Plus Jamais which was my favourite of the Belgian pre-selection that year. Belinda was born in 1979 in Verviers, Belgium and lives since she was 5 years for the music. Her fullname is Virginie Boland. As a child she won several contests, and at the age of 12 she won the SABAM-price. One of her hobby's is dancing.

Germany 2003

Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 by Lou with the song Let's Get Happy, written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. Germany's representative was chosen during a national final called Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision which was held at the Ostseehalle in Kiel on March 7th, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting/SMS voting - after the first round, the top 3 songs were voted on again.

01. Let's Get Happy - Lou, round 1: 85984 votes, round 2: 139600 votes
02. Woran Glaubst Du - Beatbetrieb, round 1: 66418 votes, round 2: 116214 votes
03. Alles Wird Gut - Die Gerd Show, round 1: 98455 votes, round 2, 111601 votes
04. Herz Aus Eis - Senait
05. Living in a perfect world (Mükemmel Dünya Icin) - Tagträumer feat. Aynur
06. Liebe Macht Spaß - Troje
07. Golden Key - Isgaard
08. Für Immer - VIBE
09. Somehow-Somewhere - Elija
10. Wenn Grenzen Fallen - Sascha Pierro
11. Hörst Du Meine Lieder - Freistil
12. Life - Charlemaine
13. Die Seite, Wo Die Sonne Scheint - Der Junge mit der Gitarre (DJMDG)
14. Love Is Life - Lovecrush

Marie - Joachim Deutschland (DQ)

In the Eurovision Song Contest, Germany finished joint 11th with 53 points. The highest vote came from Sweden - 10 points.

In an interview at the aftershow party of the Eurovision Song Contest, Lou was asked why she did not reach a better position. She answered that she was too old, too fat and too ugly. That quote made it to the front page of BILD the Monday after the contest. Previously, Lou had made it to front page of that newspaper stating that she lost weight for Riga and reduced her wrinkles with Botox.

Lou is the stage name of Louise Hoffner (born October 27, 1963 in Waghäusel), a German pop singer. She was the sixth child of her parents and was immediately surrounded by her elder brothers and sisters. The happy-go-lucky, orange-haired singer has toured with her band for over 15 years, in Germany as well as abroad.

Germany 2002

The German Final was held on February 22nd at the Ostseehalle in Kiel, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt. The winner was chosen in two rounds of televoting - the first to select the top 3 and the second to select the winner. Corinna May won with the song I can't live without music which was written and composed by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger.

Results:

01. I can't live without music - Corinna May, round 1: 19.5%, round 2: 41.1%
02. Jou to the world - Joy Fleming & Jambalaya, round 1: 14%, round 2: 32,5%
03. Hold on - Normal Generation, round 1: 12%, round 2: 26,4%
04. I wanna be loved - The Kelly Family
05. Don't say goodbye - Nathalie
06. Will my heart survive - Isabel
07. Es ist niemals zu spät - Ireen Sheer & Bernhard Brink
08. Bravo Punk - SPN-X
09. Und wenn du lachst - Nino de Angelo
10. Du bist mein weg - Tuesdays
11. Fleisch - Mundstuhl
12. Higher ground - Linda Carriere
13. Get up - Disco Brothers feat. Weather Girls
14. To be or not to be - Zarah
15. You never walk alone - Unity 2

In spite of being one of the pre-contest favourites, the song received only 17 points, placing it at 21st in a field of 24.

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Corinna May (born October 10 1970 in Bremen, Germany as Corinna Meyer) is a blind singer from Germany. She is best known for competing in the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest with the song I Can't Live Without Music.

From an early age she was interested in music due to her father's love for jazz. She also sang in a school choir and a gospel choir. After several talent competitions, Corinna could release her first album in 1997; a jazz album, produced by herself. Two years later she released an album called Wie ein Stern.

Her final breakthrough came in 1999 with the German preselections for the Eurovision Song Contest. She won, but her song Hör den Kindern einfach zu was disqualified because it was already released on an album by someone else. Her second try was in 2000 with the song I Believe in God, which finished in second place.

She entered again in 2002 and this time won with the song I Can’t Live Without Music. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. She was not very successful however, reaching only 21st place.

In March 2006, she made a guest appearance at that year's German Eurovision preselection, singing I Can’t Live Without Music in a medley of past German Eurovision entries. She also accompanied comedian Hape Kerkeling in a rendition of Italian Eurovision winning song Insieme. In October 2006, the album Jetzt wie noch nie was released. Following this she was released from her recording contract due to poor sales.

Germany 2001

selected through a national preselection called Countdown Grand Prix 2001, hosted from the Preussag Arena in Hanover by Axel Bulthaupt. To decide the winner, 2 rounds of televoting were held, the first round to select the top 3, the second to decide the winner. Michelle with the song Wer Liebe lebt, composed by Gino Trovatello and Matthias Stingl with lyrics by Eva Richter, was chosen to represent Germany.

Results:

01. Wer liebe lebt - Michelle, round 1: 22.2%, round 2: 36.6%
02. Power of trust - Lesley, Joy & Brigitte, round 1: 22.1% round 2: 34.7%
03. Happy birthday party - Lou & Band, round 1: 18%, round 2: 28.7%
04. A song for our friends - German Tenors
05. Ich weiß es nicht - Illegal 2001
06. Einer für alle - Zlatko
07. Träumen und hoffen - Tagträumer
08. Set me free - Soultans
09. Techno Rocker - Balloon
10. Teilt Freud und Leid - Münchener Zwietracht feat. Rudolph Moshammer
11. Playing on my mind - Kevin
12. Better life - Wolf Maahn

At Eurovision, Michelle finished eighth with 66 points.

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Michelle is the stage name of German singer Tanja Shitawey. She was born in Villingen-Schwenningen on 15 February 15,1972. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song Wer Liebe lebt, which placed 8th from 23 participating countries with 66 points. She is one of the most popular singers of Germany during the last decade.

Michelle has been singing in local amateur bands since age 14. Through a friend who was working at a state broadcast company, she got the chance to perform on German TV in 1993. The popular German singer Kristina Bach recognized Michelle's talent. A little bit later, the songwriter Jean Frankfurter wrote and produced the song Und heut' nacht will ich tanzen for her. Michelle's first single became a great success. Michelle got the chance to perform at ZDF-Hitparade, one of Germany's most popular music shows of the time. Her performance made her popular throughout the country.

Afterwards she participated in several German pop music festivals, for example the preliminary competitions for the Eurovision Song Contest and the traditional Deutsches Schlagerfestival. Michelle came 3rd in the German pre-selection for the ESC in 1997 with the song Im Auge des Orkans. She won the Schlagerfestival in 1997 with her single Wie Flammen im Wind. The album with the same name gained her her first TOP 10 success in Germany. The following years marked the heyday of her career, gaining her two more TOP 10 albums, golden records and the chance to represent Germany in 2001's Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen.

In 2003 she decided to take a break to cure out some major health problems, both physical and psychical. Her 2005 comeback album Leben was another success, reaching TOP 3 in Germany and was awarded another golden record. Afterwards she started a modelling career and released My Passion, a cover album of disco classics. After a breakdown on stage on 30 January 2007 she had to cancel her 2007 tour of Germany due to health problems. In March 2007, Tanja Shitawey decided to put the "project" Michelle to an end.

In October 2009 she released a new album called Goodbye Michelle and played several concerts and TV shows, explaining she wanted to give her fans a real farewell. She stated, however, that this was definitely her final album under the name Michelle. The new single from her album Goodbye Michelle will be Nur noch dieses Lied. It's the second single after the song Goodbye Michelle. The third single will be Gefallener Engel in May 2010.

In November 2010 she releases her new album Der beste Moment. In March 2012 she is going to reliese her new album L'amour including her new song Große Liebe.

Germany 2000

Germany was represented by Stefan Raab, with the song Wadde hadde dudde da?, at the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 13 May in Stockholm. Wadde hadde dudde da? was the winner of the German national final, held on 18 February. Raab had been the composer of Germany's notorious 1998 Eurovision entry Guildo hat euch lieb!

The final was held at the Stadthalle in Bremen, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt. 11 songs took part and the winner was chosen by televoting. Runner-up was Corinna May, who had won the German national final the previous year before her song was disqualified for violation of pre-performance rules.

Results:

01. Wadde hadde dudde da - Stefan Raab, 57%
02. I Believe in God - Corinna May, 14.1%
03. Bitter Blue - Kind of Blue, 7.6%
04. Ick wer zun Schwein - Knorkator
05. We Can Move a Mountain - Fancy
06. Queen of light - E-Rotic
07. Fliegen - Lotto King Karl & Die Barmbek Dream Boys fischering ROH
08. Du mußt kein Model sein - David Kisitu
09. Alles wird gut - Goldrausch
10. Free - Claudia Cane & Mother Bone
11. Adios - Marcel

On the night of the final Raab performed 15th in the running order. At the close of voting Wadde hadde dudde da? had received 96 points (including maximum 12s from Austria, Spain and Switzerland), placing Germany 5th of the 24 entries.

Wadde hadde dudde da? occasioned much debate as to whether or not Raab had intended it to be a joke entry in the manner of Guildo hat euch lieb!. The quasi-nonsensical lyrics and extravagant costumes and stage presentation led some to this conclusion, but it was also pointed out that, stripped of its visuals, the song was a fairly contemporary-sounding dance track with no obvious comedic elements, and a wacky presentation did not necessarily imply ironic intent.

Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, comedian and musician. Stefan Raab began his television career hosting the comedy show Vivasion in 1993 and has been hosting the late-night comedy show TV total since 1999. He became well known in 1994 after composing a hit single spoofing national football coach Berti Vogts in 1994. Raab has also been the creator of a number of other television shows, such as Schlag den Raab and Bundesvision Song Contest. He is considered the most powerful man in German entertainment television.

Raab is also known for his recurring role as producer, writer and performer of German entries to the Eurovision Song Contest. He was involved in the organisation of the national pre-selection show Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo), in which Germany's winning entry at the 2010 contest in Oslo was determined.