Is Germany going the way of Switzerland and internally selecting its act for Eurovision 2020? Amid the ongoing silence from broadcaster NDR, Eurofans feel increasingly safe saying that Unser lied für Rotterdam won’t be happening. As we wait for news, why not name our top picks for an internal selection? Here are nine artists on the tip of our tongues.
Benedikt Köstler
Benedikt Köstler may have a baby face, but his voice is all man. He proved that on the seventh season of The Voice of Germany, where he dropped his sonorous tones on some very soulful songs like Ben E King’s “Stand By Me” and Elton John’s “Your Song”. Coached by Mark Foster throughout the show’s run in 2017, he ultimately finished as runner-up to Natia Todua. You’ll no doubt see the Eurovision connection: Georgian-born Natia went on to compete in Germany’s 2018 national selection. Of the many talents to emerge from The Voice in recent years, he’s the one who’s set my radar alight. Here’s hoping he gets a shot in Rotterdam. (William)
Nico Santos
Nico Santos is one of Germany’s most promising male acts. He’s scaled the charts with songs like “Rooftop” and his latest collaboration with Eurovision winner Lena on “Better”. They’re proof that he’s not only a great songwriter, but also a very talented singer. But he’s also got that added ooomph that turns a singer into a star. The Voice of Germany coach also works within the German rap business, and understands what goes on in front of and behind the camera. (Florian)
Felix Brummer
Germany hasn’t sent a song in German in 13 years. Now, off the back of some pretty chequered results, it’s time that NDR go German, current and experienced. And, in a nod to all of Germany, why not call on an East German artist…something we didn’t do in the last decade. Enter Felix Brummer (aka Kummer). The lead singer of the highly successful band Kraftklub released his debut solo album in 2019 — and to widespread acclaim. Just like the three Kraftklub LP’s before, his album KIOX topped the album charts and has spawned multiple singles since then. One of them is “Bei Dir” in which he raps about how love can change one for the better. Rap and Hip-Hop are the fastest-growing genres in Germany. Felix Brummer would be a family-friendly representative of this trend. (Calvin)
Lotte
The young singer-songwriter had her breakthrough with the clap-happy “Auf beiden Beinen” in 2017. Ever since then she’s been moving from insider tip to regular guest on the charts. Her recent collaboration with German alumni Max Giesinger (“Auf das, was da noch kommt”) took German airwaves by storm. Her remarkable voice and refreshing sounds bring texture to the German music scene — ingredients she could build on at Eurovision. (Florian)
Namika
One of Germany’s hardest hitters on the pop scene, Namika brings a likeable sass that could slay the Eurovision stage, as well as give the German language a welcome return at the song contest. She’s released a variety of uptempo songs, which give her a wide spectrum of possibilities for Eurovision — each one better than the next. (Pablo)
dArtagnan
Germany has always been very close to sending great rock acts, but always stops just short of committing. With their folksy twists and big stadium-ready sounds, the guys at dArtagnan could certainly succeed if they ever want to try. Combining some great rock with some medieval theatrical flair, this would be one rousing act at Eurovision. (Pablo)
The Seeed
If you wanna hear the sound of Berlin, just listen to Seeed. This band has been absolutely killing it since they released their first track “Dickes B” back in 2001. The ten members of Seeed embody diversity, uniting people and connecting different cultures. And they are doing it in a very authentic way. Lead singer Dellé has a German mother, while his father is from Ghana. There are also members from Jamaica, France and Guinea as well. Seeed combine dancehall, reggae and hip-hop and fans love them, especially for their live shows which usually sell out within minutes. Seeed have sold around 2 million records. They don’t think that they’re above entering a song contest: they already took part in the German version of Eurovision — Stefan Raab’s Bundesvision Song Contest, where they won with one of their biggest hits “Ding”. (Rick)
Balbina
Born in the Polish capital Warsaw, singer Balbina moved to Germany with her family when she was just three years old. She’s worked with stars like Herbert Grönemeyer and Die Atzen and recently covered a Rammstein song. Balbina is not the biggest name in the German music scene, but she has what it takes to stand out. Her style is very artistic and creative. She could also deliver a mind-blowing performance as the visual aspect is always important to her. Balbina‘s songs are in German — they’re poetic and melodic at the same time, so even people who don’t know the language might well fall in love with her. (Rick)
Alligatoah
The German artist Alligatoah probably doesn’t spring to mind when drafting a list of potential Eurovision artists. But he’s definitely underrated and could do very well in the competition. Alligatoah is a 31-year-old German singer, rapper, DJ and producer. Even though he raps in all of his songs, his beautiful voice means he’s more than able to tackle the choruses. Alligatoah writes his songs almost exclusively in the German language. His 2013 album “Triebwerke” topped the German charts for 45 weeks. In 2015, his album “Musik ist keine Lösung” reached third place for 53 weeks.
There’s never been a comparable artist in Eurovision. He isn’t just a normal rapper – he fills his text with social critique and irony — you can see that in many of his music videos, which he produces himself. The many layers of his text make it nice to listen to his music more than once: you will always find a deep quote that you missed the first time listening. Alligatoah also collaborated with the German group Santiano, who competed in the German national final back in 2014. (Julian)
Do any of these artists ring your bell? Who is your dream act to be internally selected for Germany?
I hope NDR will choose Nico Santos or Benedikt Köstler! Those artists have a special and powerful voices live and plus Nico is s songwriter as well!
Finger-crossed!
Hope Claudia Emmanuela Santoso!
Faun would also be nice. They just released a new Album in November. Some of the new songs, like “Rosenrot” or “Sieben Raben”, could do well (with a good staging).
I think the issue with the proposed German-singing artists is that they are so deep into the singer-songwriter genre that the lyrics are vital to their success within Germany. Namika’s “Lieblingsmensch” for example (“Favourite Human”) only works if you understand the lyrics and get that it’s a fresh take compared to standard love songs. Such an approach is bound to backfire on the Eurovision stage (think of Joci Pápai’s “Az én apám”). Meanwhile, the background music in such songs is usually very laid-back and unremarkable. If you want to succeed with a song in your native language, the music needs… Read more »
Gregor Hägele with a proper song would be amazing. He has so good voice and charisma.
All of the above are terrible. Honestly. All of them.
Lotte and Namika could be dangerous 🙂 could be a good year for Germany.
I like a lot Namika and Balbina (it´s great to read her name, she´s far away from Mainstream Music in Gerrmany !)
Sorry, NIko Santos ist not my cup of tea.
NAMIKA <3 <3 Love all of her songs 😀
https://wiwibloggs.com/2019/09/17/germany-unser-lied-fur-rotterdam-will-take-place-in-2020/242283/
You literally posted in September that there would be ULFR! I’m totally confused here!
I sat this on every German post, I’d love Tom Beck in Eurovision, but well, he’s also an actor and has a new baby, so he might nt have time now. Rammstein, would be my other big option, as I love metal and we haven’t had that much around on the last years.
We all fear the NDR will go the wrong path again. For years they are wasting our GEZ money. At least they could give us what Tibor suggested, somthing like Sanremo, a music festival for more than 80 Mill. people, what a chance they are not taking . I don’t support our songs any more. You can be sure they have asked a typical Eurovision composer team for a song and chose some voice of Germany model and there you have your next German act, or something in that line. We can be sure to get nothing exciting, nothing original… Read more »
I guess Germany is overthinking what might work. UK the same.
VoXXclub can be the new KEiiNO. Winners of televote.
I honestly expected Aly Ryan here xD
Tim Bendzko would be the best choice, check on his new song “Hoch”
Has Germany ever sent an East German to the contest?
one of the singer of the trio 1994 Germany: Mekado – Wir geben ne Party, one of them is born in East Germany former DDR
Felix Räuber (former singer of Polarkreis 18) would be the perfect choice for Germany. As a solo artist, he released some great songs, “Wall” and “Burning Sky” being two of them.
Good list. I would love to see someone like Balbina (three songs in and I’m already a fan of her music) or Lily Among Clouds representing Germany. The Seeed sounds cool too. And even if I’m not a hip hop fan, it could be interesting to see someone like Kummer in Eurovision.
For me Joel Brandenstein.
I love Better! Nico and Lena really killed that track. Imagining a track like that coming from Germany would be awesome! Even if Nico doesn’t represent Germany ever, maybe he could write a track? He seems to have a lot of talent.
If germany goes internal i would love adel tawil or CRO. Altough very unlikely.
Also tokio hotel would be kinda cool
I like the idea of Tokio Hotel, but even just Bill Kaulitz doing a solo entry would be cool.
I’m still hoping for Oonagh. ??
Benedikt Köstle, Lotte, Nico Santos or dartagnan for me but i don’t think any of them will be in the national selection or internal ….
LINA PLEASE!! You should listen to her songs ”Hype” and ”Rebellen” and i would love to see her representing Germany at Eurovision 2020! and she does songs in German too! and they are great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8DxRcsLx1U – HYPE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dggy8IeQYaE – REBELLEN
Wow William! Great article! Thanks for your work.
Definitely this time a song in German, please.
Alligatoah – yeah! dArtagnan, The Seeed, Balbina, Namika…
I Want Vanessa Mai, Helene Fischer, Modern Talking, Julia Lindholm, Aly Ryan or Rammstein for Germany.
It’s soo annoying that the German Delegation is giving us no f***ing Information at all..
I’d love to hear an entry in German, though it’s very unlikely to happen.
Oh, I feel the same for some time. To say that Estonia had more entries in German in their Eesti Laul in the last three years than Germany did in their selections should be kinda disappointing. And yes, it was *only* Kaia Tamm. Says it all. Germany for some reason avoids their native language in ESC. Same goes for Switzerland and Austria, but it’s even more striking with Germany because they are one of the ”Big Five”. I would REALLY like to hear the language again after 8 years.
That was one of the reasons why I liked voXXclub from a couple of years ago (singing in Bavarian); they also had a unique performance style that would have been interesting for Eurovision.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the German entry taking France’s approach, mixing German verses with some English in the choruses. It’s been hit and miss for France with this type of song structure, but I think it could be beneficial for Germany’s entries.
Namika would do very well in Rotterdam. Fun fact Teske de Schepper a dutch singer and YouTuber covered Namika’s song Lieblingsmench translated to (Lievelings)
Some of these are decent (eg Seeed, Lotte, KUMMER), but PLEASE don’t advocate for Alligatoah, he’s the worst. He’s in a band called Trailerpark and they have the most homophobic, misogynist and racist songs ever. One of their songs is literally called “Rape Train” and they frequently use slurs etc
biggest lie I’ve ever heard! stop spreading fake news!
Oh, I have one for you : Germany should send RAMMSTEIN …. Till sings in german and their pyro-show will make it hot and cozy in the venue (okay….okay, dare to dream). Well, that will never happen …..so I would go with Seeed.
We just have to select Lilly Among clouds and we call #Berlin2021
Aly Ryan? ?
Laing
Laing’s music sucks (my opinion) – okay, they can sing but the songs …….meh.
Wechselt die Beleuchtung would’ve been top ten (at least) if it got sent in 2015.
BALBINA <3 <3
MARK FORSTER!!!!! German pop and he is SOOOO successfull in Germany! Always dream that he represents us – could even win ?
+100000 and he would prob get 12pts from Poland as well sooo yea ?
Most generic and boring German pop singer at the moment bäh
Nico Santos announced already that he won’t be involved regarding a participation this year, but I’d really like him to try in another year.
Also I’m all in for Balbina and Kummer, they’re really amazing. LEA, Laing or Moritz Garth would also be great choices imo.