Prior to today’s rehearsals, plenty of Eurofans had written Germany off. But today Michael Schulte delivered three touching performances that silenced the haters and announced his arrival as a likely Top 10 finisher.

The show begins with Michael standing centre stage before a black projection screen that displays the lyrics to his song, which come with cute drawings — a house, for instance. All the while Michael looks straight into the camera. He really does seem to be singing to you.

The angle of the camera and the lack of light transports Michael to another world. On the close-ups, in particular, the stage really seems to disappear. The drawings and the words become unidentifiable and it’s as if we’ve moved from Altice Arena to some representation of his memory and most inner thoughts.

As the song progresses, the screen turns to red — black for death, red for life? — and we see touching images of people with their own fathers. Michael spreads his arms and the projection screen seems to mirror an infinite series of him with white outlines against the black screen. It suggests rightly that his story — the loss of a parent, or indeed any loved one — is actually everyone’s.

Vocally Michael didn’t falter. And on the final run-through his eyes watered up and it became even more apparent how much the song means to him. The show ends with him standing before a black screen with the word “ALONE” in white. It’s a stirring conclusion that’s sure to leave plenty of viewers remembering their own losses, recent and distant.

Many acts strive for a sense of authenticity and sincerity, but end up coming off as sterile or forced. This bucks the trend. It really seems to come straight from Michael’s heart. My clear winner of the day.

Michael Schulte — “You Let Me Walk Alone”: Reviews and Reactions

Germany: First rehearsal at Eurovision 2018

Germany: First press conference 2018

Read all of our Eurovision rehearsal reviews

Read all of our Germany Eurovision news here

Photo: Eurovision.tv (EBU)

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AngieP
AngieP
5 years ago

I’m so excited! I loved the performance and the snippet looks beautiful!

perrs
perrs
5 years ago

I think Germany will be best of Big 5 and host country in final. Germany only one in TOP 10 thanks to juries, then Italy, France,Portugal, UK and Spain.

Kappes
Kappes
5 years ago

Technically a good entry that deserves a high ranking in my opinion. For me the projection is a bit childish and unnecessary, though.

Tuvddtgccj57g
Tuvddtgccj57g
5 years ago

Just about the staging: at one point the pulsing black and white stripes are so unpleasent.. People with epilepsia watch out..

kjj
kjj
5 years ago

boring projector song with (sub)titles in the background. wow, so “new”

Miguel
Miguel
5 years ago

I don’t know what to say about this… It’s a very simple performance.
It’s all about the projector. The black and white suits the song quite well and the effects are well thought. It’s definitely a plus. But in a way it’s also distracting…

phillis
phillis
5 years ago

I wish this wins to stop hearing about that Lena 2010. 2011. How can you have two cringy songs in a row, and be so high on the scoreboard? Lena should stop singing about sex, and for that she needs to solve her father issues.

Matty
Matty
5 years ago

The staging from Germany is the best of the Big-5-countries this year.

Music is Art
Music is Art
5 years ago
Reply to  Matty

Well Matty…. so far. It also depends what a good staging means for you,.I do not imagine Spain’s entry, for example, with visuals. They must keep it simple so that it doesnt become cheese. Or France…. visuals would kill it. But the German song is perfect for this.

My2Cents
My2Cents
5 years ago
Reply to  Music is Art

Spain needs not cling to each other like they’re Jack and Rose and then maybe it will not be so cheesy.

Music is Art
Music is Art
5 years ago
Reply to  My2Cents

What I’ve seen is not cheese, that’s why they keep it simple, no pianos and similar things. In fact it was the most potentiallly cheese performance and after all I have seen so far…. they are far more cheese stagings this year then this one hehe

Fast Food Music Lover
Fast Food Music Lover
5 years ago

Oh look, a projection! That’s so 2016…

Conii
Conii
5 years ago

He doesnt have any charisma.

cheek
cheek
5 years ago

Germany did a good job this year. I can see this in top 10, but some parts of those LEDS made me dizzy.

hadden
hadden
5 years ago

I want Germany to be second after Cyprus, just because I want Salvador to give the trophy to a song called Fuego. Music is fire(works).

cheek
cheek
5 years ago
Reply to  hadden

Ok hun. Bruno Mars is one of Sobrals favorite artists and he uses fireworks on his concerts. You can move on now.

Jo.
Jo.
5 years ago
Reply to  hadden

That would be hilarious, but I don’t think Cyprus will win. Every year we have this kind of hype with an entry that was well staged, but it wasn’t a contender before. Sometimes it works (Armenia 2016), sometimes it doesn’t (Armenia 2017), but it never wins.

Denis
Denis
5 years ago

Don’t Think Germany will end up near the bottom again

Music is Art
Music is Art
5 years ago
Reply to  Denis

Im my opinion, they do not deserve it this year. Already heard song style, but beautiful anyway.

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago

My comment is awaiting for moderation. If there’s any moderator around to set it free, I’m asking for your help. 🙂

fugu
fugu
5 years ago
Reply to  Sabrina

I had one mysteriously go to moderation – a very mild comment that wouldn’t violate the terms of service of Sesame Street – it got approved a day later.

Javier
Javier
5 years ago

Germany, you’ve been waiting for eight years. This is another winning performance. I WOW’ed when I saw the snippet. Congrats.

fugu
fugu
5 years ago
Reply to  Javier

I like this far better than Satellite. The lyrics on that were creepy and there was something about Lena’s voice (not talent or performance) that were like nails on a chalk board to my ears (though apparently just me) and still make me cringe to this day.

Kyna
Kyna
5 years ago

The trippy hypnotizing part was the most (and only among all the other songs tbh) off-putting stage element for me. It reminded me Ariana Grande’s „Problem“ music video and it killed the vibe. Don’t get me wrong I do like his song and the topic is relatable for me in some sense, but this ruined the heartwarming atmosphere. It makes sense to have it for a pop song, not for a ballad. Delete that part and you’re good to go.

Jo.
Jo.
5 years ago

From the snippet, I love the background, but I confess it is very distracting. Perhaps, with the entire performance, the lyrics can make we focus on the song instead of just on the graphics.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing tho.

Ally
Ally
5 years ago

Simmply amazing, whole ”package” is here

Nicolas
Nicolas
5 years ago

Still so boring and hurts the eyes with the stupid animations behind. Sing in german and then you can put the lyrics english behind you OK ? Is this eurovision for deafs ?

Music is Art
Music is Art
5 years ago

I agree. It’s the best rehearsal of the day followed by Spain and Portugal. It seems ready for the show. As for the others, it’s just their first rehearsal and seems they were checking camera angles, lightning and so on . Still a lot to be seen.