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.