Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 explained

Year:2012
Country:Germany
Preselection:Unser Star für Baku
Preselection Date:Heats:
12 January 2012
19 January 2012
26 January 2012
2 February 2012
6 February 2012
Quarter-final:
9 February 2012
Semi-final:
13 February 2012
Final:
16 February 2012
Entrant:Roman Lob
Song:Standing Still
Final Result:8th, 110 points

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Jamie Cullum and Wayne Hector. The song was performed by Roman Lob. The German entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Unser Star für Baku, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and private broadcaster ProSieben. The national final featured 20 competing artists and consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final held in January and February 2012 2012. Contestants were selected to advance in the competition via public televote. Two contestants qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. "Standing Still" performed by Roman Lob was selected as the German entry for Baku after gaining 50.7% of the votes in the second round.

As a member of the "Big Five", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 20, Germany placed eighth out of the 26 participating countries with 110 points.

Background

See main article: Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2012 contest, Germany had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-five times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in .[1] Germany has won the contest on two occasions: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole and in 2010 with the song "Satellite" performed by Lena. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for the 1996 contest when the nation was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round.

The German national broadcaster, ARD, broadcasts the event within Germany and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the regional broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). Between 1996 and 2008 as well as in 2010, NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. NDR internally selected both the artist and song for the contest in 2009, while in 2011, the broadcaster internally selected the artist and organised a national final to select the song. On 21 June 2011, NDR announced that they would continue their collaboration with private broadcaster ProSieben to organise a national final in the format of a talent show contest to select the German entry.[2]

Before Eurovision

Unser Star für Baku

Unser Star für Baku (English: Our Star for Baku) was the competition that selected Germany's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.[3] The competition consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final that took place between 12 January 2012 and 16 February 2012 at the Köln-Mülheim Studios in Cologne, hosted by Sandra Rieß and Steven Gätjen. Like in the previous two years, the competition was co-produced by the production company Brainpool, which also co-produced the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf.[4] The shows were broadcast alternatively on ProSieben and Das Erste; the heats and semi-final were broadcast on ProSieben, while the quarter-final and final were broadcast on Das Erste as well as online via NDR's official website ndr.de.[5] [6]

Format

The competition consisted of eight shows: five heats between 12 January 2012 and 6 February 2012, a quarter-final on 9 February 2012, a semi-final on 13 February 2012 and a final on 16 February 2012. In each of the first two heats, 10 of the 20 contestants performed and five were eliminated from the competition. An additional two contestants were eliminated in each of the third and fourth heat, while one was eliminated in each of the fifth heat and quarter-final, respectively, and two were eliminated in the semi-final. The remaining two contestants proceeded to the final where they each performed their three songs bidding for Eurovision and the German entry was selected. The results of all eight shows were determined by public televoting, including options for landline and SMS voting.[7]

Three music experts also provided feedback in regards to the contestants during each show. The experts were:[8] [9]

Competing entries

Interested performers aged over 18 were able to apply for the competition by submitting an online application and presenting themselves at casting shows held in the following cities and locations:[10] [11]

By the end of the process, 20 contestants were selected by Thomas D. together with an expert panel consisting of representatives of ARD, ProSieben and Brainpool.[12] [13] The four candidate Eurovision songs were announced during the final.[14]

Competing songs
Song Songwriter(s)
"Alone" Gary Go, Emanuel Kiriakou
"Conflicted" Martin Mulholland
"Quietly" Alex Geringas, Liz Vidal, Guy Roche
"Standing Still" Steve Robson, Jamie Cullum, Wayne Hector

Elimination chart

Color key:
  - Contestant received the fewest public votes and was eliminated
  - Contestant received the most public votes
ContestantShow 1Show 2Show 3Show 4Show 5Show 6
(Quarter-final)
Show 7
(Semi-final)
Show 8
(Final)
Roman Lob2nd
14.9%
1st
11.4%
1st1st1st1st1st 1st
50.7%
Ornella de Santis5th
12.3%
3rd
10.1%
3rd5th3rd3rd2nd2nd
49.3%
Yana Gercke2nd
13.0%
4th
10.1%
2nd3rd2nd2nd3rdEliminated
(Show 7)
Shelly Phillips1st
15.5%
6th
9.8%
4th2nd4th4thEliminated
(Show 7)
Katja Petri5th
14.7%
8th
9.6%
6th4th5thEliminated
(Show 6)
Céline Huber3rd
14.7%
2nd
10.3%
5th6thEliminated
(Show 5)
Umut Anil4th
12.5%
7th
9.8%
7thEliminated
(Show 4)
Sebastian Dey3rd
12.7%
5th
9.9%
8thEliminated
(Show 4)
Leonie Burgmer4th
14.7%
9th
9.6%
Eliminated
(Show 3)
Rachel Scharnberg1st
13.3%
10th
9.4%
Eliminated
(Show 3)
Vera Reissmüller6th
12.3%
Eliminated
(Show 2)
Andrew Fischer7th
9.4%
Eliminated
(Show 2)
Tina Sander8th
7.1%
Eliminated
(Show 2)
Jörg Müller-Lornsen9th
4.0%
Eliminated
(Show 2)
Polly Zeiler10th
3.4%
Eliminated
(Show 2)
Kai Nötting6th
14.5%
Eliminated
(Show 1)
Jil Rock7th
5.9%
Eliminated
(Show 1)
Yasmin Gueroui8th
2.4%
Eliminated
(Show 1)
Salih Özcan9th
1.7%
Eliminated
(Show 1)
Jan Verweij10th
1.0%
Eliminated
(Show 1)

Heats

The five televised heats took place between 2 February and 2 March 2010. Five contestants were eliminated in each of the first two heats, while two contestants were eliminated in each of the third and fourth heats, and one contestant was eliminated in the fifth heat; the remaining five contestants proceeded to the quarter-final.[15]

Heat 112 January 2012[16]
Draw Artist Song Televote PlaceResult
1 Katja Petri "Marry You" 14.7% 5Advanced
2 Jan Verweij "Closer to the Edge" 1.0% 10Eliminated
3 Leonie Burgmer "Stronger Than Me" 14.7% 4Advanced
4 Yasmin Gueroui "Not Fair" 2.4% 8Eliminated
5 Kai Nötting "More" 14.5% 6Eliminated
6 Shelly Phillips "Valerie" 15.5% 1Advanced
7 Salih Özcan "Señorita" 1.7% 9Eliminated
8 Céline Huber "Beautiful Disaster" 14.7% 3Advanced
9 Jil Rock "Moves like Jagger" 5.9% 7Eliminated
10 "After Tonight" 14.9% 2Advanced
Heat 219 January 2012[17]
Draw Artist Song Televote PlaceResult
1 Andrew Fischer "Tears in Heaven" 9.4% 7Eliminated
2 Polly Zeiler "Grenade" 3.4% 10Eliminated
3 Sebastian Dey "This Love" 12.7% 3Advanced
4 Jörg Müller-Lornsen "Maybe Tomorrow" 4.0% 9Eliminated
5 Ornella de Santis "Slow Motion" 12.3% 5Advanced
6 Rachel Scharnberg "My Baby Left Me" 13.3% 1Advanced
7 Tina Sander "Geronimo" 7.1% 8Eliminated
8 Umut Anil "Straight Up" 12.5% 4Advanced
9 Yana Gercke "Price Tag" 13.0% 2Advanced
10 Vera Reissmüller "Fooled Me Again, Honest Eyes" 12.3% 6Eliminated
Heat 326 January 2012[18]
Draw Artist Song Televote PlaceResult
1 Rachel Scharnberg "Like a Star" 9.4% 10Eliminated
2 Leonie Burgmer "I Love Your Smile" 9.6% 9Eliminated
3 Sebastian Dey "Amnesie" 9.9% 5Advanced
4 Katja Petri "Lego House" 9.6% 8Advanced
5 Umut Anil "Weitergehen" 9.8% 7Advanced
6 Céline Huber "How Come You Don't Call Me" 10.3% 2Advanced
7 Ornella de Santis "I Want You Back" 10.1% 3Advanced
8 Shelly Phillips "Forget You" 9.8% 6Advanced
9 Yana Gercke "Roxanne" 10.1% 4Advanced
10 "Easy" 11.4% 1Advanced
Heat 42 February 2012[19] [20]
Draw Artist Song PlaceResult
1 Sebastian Dey "Hey, Hey, Hey" 8Eliminated
2 Katja Petri "The '59 Sound" 6Advanced
3 Céline Huber "Right to Be Wrong" 5Advanced
4 Umut Anil "Someone like You" 7Eliminated
5 Shelly Phillips "Waterfalls" 4Advanced
6 Ornella de Santis "Try" 3Advanced
7 Yana Gercke "Titanium" 2Advanced
8 "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" 1Advanced
Heat 56 February 2012[21] [22]
Draw Artist Song PlaceResult
1 Katja Petri "Certain Someone" 4Advanced
2 Ornella de Santis "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" 5Advanced
3 Céline Huber "Russian Roulette" 6Eliminated
4 Shelly Phillips "I Try" 2Advanced
5 Yana Gercke "We Found Love" 3Advanced
6 "Drive" 1Advanced

Quarter-final

The televised quarter-final took place on 9 February 2012 where an additional contestant was eliminated and the remaining four contestants proceeded to the semi-final.[23] [24]

Quarter-final9 February 2012
Artist Draw First song Draw Second song PlaceResult
Katja Petri1"All You Wanted" 6"Stay" 5Eliminated
Ornella de Santis2"I'll Be There" 7"Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" 3Advanced
Shelly Phillips3"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" 8"Have It All" 4Advanced
Yana Gercke4"Who Knew" 92Advanced
Roman Lob5"You Give Me Something" 10"Day by Day" 1Advanced

Semi-final

The televised semi-final took place on 13 February 2012 where an additional two contestants were eliminated and the remaining two contestants proceeded to the final.[25] [26]

Semi-final13 February 2012
Artist Draw First song Place Draw Second song PlaceResult
Shelly Phillips1"Das Astronautenlied" 4Eliminated
Ornella de Santis2"Eu vou ser mais eu" 35"If I Ain't Got You" 2Advanced
Yana Gercke3"Rolling in the Deep" 26"Skyscraper" 3Eliminated
Roman Lob4"Bad Day" 17"Use Somebody" 1Advanced
Final

The televised final took place on 16 February 2012 where each of the two finalists performed three candidate Eurovision songs, including an individual song. The winner was selected through two rounds of public televoting. In the first round of voting, one song per finalist was selected to proceed to the second round. In the second round, the winner, "Standing Still" performed by Roman Lob, was selected.[27] [28] [29] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Frida Gold performed their song "Wovon sollen wir träumen?".[30]

First Round16 February 2012
Draw Artist Song Televote Result
1 "Conflicted" 6.5% Eliminated
2 Ornella de Santis "Quietly" 70.0% Advanced
3 Roman Lob "Alone" 16.7% Eliminated
4 Ornella de Santis "Alone" 17.6% Eliminated
5 Roman Lob "Standing Still" 76.8% Advanced
6 Ornella de Santis "Standing Still" 12.4% Eliminated
Second Round16 February 2012
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Ornella de Santis "Quietly" 49.3% 2
2 "Standing Still" 50.7% 1

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final on 26 May 2012. In addition to their participation in the final, Germany is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This would have been regularly decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2012, however, prior to the draw, ARD requested of the European Broadcasting Union that Germany be allowed to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 24 May 2012, which was approved by the contest's Reference Group.[31]

In Germany, the two semi-finals and the final were broadcast on Das Erste with commentary by Peter Urban.[32] ARD also broadcast all three shows via radio on NDR 2 with commentary by Thomas Mohr, and on hr3 with commentary by Tim Frühling.[33] [34] The final was watched by 8.34 million viewers in Germany, which meant a market share of 36.7 per cent.[35] [36] The German spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the German votes during the final, was Anke Engelke who previously co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.

Final

Roman Lob took part in technical rehearsals on 19 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 25 and 26 May. This included the jury final on 13 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[37] The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by through another draw on 20 March 2012, and as one of the five wildcard countries, Germany chose to perform in position 20, following the entry from Spain and before the entry from Malta.[38]

The German performance featured Roman Lob performing on stage in a white cap and a dark open shirt with a white t-shirt inside with two guitarists, a drummer and a pianist. The stage colours were dark with white spotlights and the LED screens displayed a dark background that transitioned from single moving red dots to white lights towards the end of the song which created a starry sky effect.[39] [40] The four musicians that joined Roman Lob on stage were Alexander Linster, Marc Awounou, Thomas Fietz and Tobias Schmitz.[41] Germany placed eighth in the final, scoring 110 points.[42]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Germany had placed sixth with the public televote and tenth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Germany scored 125 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 98 points.[43]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Sweden in the semi-final and the final of the contest.

Detailed voting results from Germany

Source:[46]

Semi-final 2

Jury points awarded in second semi-final:

width=20%12 points
width=20%10 points
width=20%8 points
width=20%7 points
width=20%6 points
width=20%5 points
width=20%4 points
width=20%3 points
width=20%2 points
width=20%1 point

Final

Jury points awarded in the final:

width=20%12 points
width=20%10 points
width=20%8 points
width=20%7 points
width=20%6 points
width=20%5 points
width=20%4 points
width=20%3 points
width=20%2 points
width=20%1 point

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Germany Country Profile. 21 September 2014. EBU.
  2. Web site: Simon Storvik-Green . Germany starts the search for its star for Baku . 27 July 2011 . European Broadcasting Union.
  3. Web site: Kirsch . Jürgen . 15 June 2011 . Auch 2012: ARD und Raab suchen "ESC"-Kandidat . 15 June 2011 . quotenmeter.de.
  4. Web site: Niemeier . Timo . 2011-05-23 . Stefan Raab beim "ESC": Eine Erfolgsgeschichte geht zu Ende . 2011-06-15 . Quotenmeter.de.
  5. Web site: Ab jetzt zählt jede Sekunde! "Unser Star für Baku" zeigt als erste Show ein permanentes Live-Ranking der Kandidaten . 2023-07-08 . ndr.de . de.
  6. Web site: Klier . Marcos . Live: National final in Germany . 16 February 2012 . ESCToday.com.
  7. Web site: 2012-01-09 . "Unser Star für Baku": Stefan Raab, Thomas D und Alina Süggeler . 2023-07-08 . bild.de . de.
  8. Web site: 2011-06-15 . "Unser Star für Baku": Thomas D neuer Jury-Präsident . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110616185927/http://www.eurovision.de/news/national/vorentscheid313.html . 2011-06-16 . 2011-06-15 . Eurovision.de.
  9. Web site: Schering . Sidney . 2012-01-09 . So läuft "Unser Star für Baku" ab . 2012-01-09 . Quotenmeter.de.
  10. Web site: Hondal . Victor . 16 September 2011 . Germany: Talent search starts September 29th . https://web.archive.org/web/20111118204428/http://esctoday.com/news/read/17656 . 18 November 2011 . 19 December 2020 . Esctoday.
  11. Web site: Hondal . Victor . 2 November 2011 . Germany: Last auditions to take place over November . https://web.archive.org/web/20111206130218/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/17781 . 6 December 2011 . 19 December 2020 . Esctoday.
  12. Web site: Busa . Alexandru . 22 June 2011 . Germany starts the search for 2012 representative . 19 December 2020 . Esctoday.
  13. Web site: Mit NDR 2 "Unser Star für Baku" werden: Casting in Hannover für den "Eurovision Song Contest" . 2023-07-08 . ndr.de . de.
  14. Web site: The winner takes it all . 2023-07-08 . eurovision.de . de.
  15. Web site: Germany: Unser Star für Baku . 2023-07-08 . Eurovisionworld . en-gb.
  16. Web site: Germany: First five "Unser Star Für Baku" participants eliminated. Luke G. 12 January 2012. ESCDaily.com. 26 January 2012. 20 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210220140928/https://www.escdaily.com/germany-first-five-unser-star-fur-baku-participants-eliminated/. dead.
  17. Web site: Germany: Next five "Unser Star Für Baku" participants eliminated. Luke G. 19 January 2012 . ESCDaily.com. 26 January 2012.
  18. Web site: Germany: Next two "Unser Star Für Baku" participants eliminated. Toronidis. Theofilos. 26 January 2012. ESCDaily.com. 26 January 2012. 31 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210731031433/https://www.escdaily.com/germany-next-two-unser-star-fur-baku-participants-eliminated/. dead.
  19. Web site: Teuber. Verena. 4th heat of Unser Star für Baku – two more acts eliminated. 2 February 2012 . Eurovisionary.com. 7 February 2012.
  20. Web site: Nuhiu. Rinor. Germany: Next two "Unser Stars" eliminated. 2 February 2012. ESCDaily.com. 7 February 2012. 9 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201209162529/https://www.escdaily.com/germany-next-two-unser-stars-eliminated/. dead.
  21. Web site: Teuber. Verena. Unser Star für Baku – line up for the quarter-final completed. 6 February 2012 . Eurovisionary.com. 7 February 2012.
  22. Web site: Toronidis. Theofilos. Germany: Results of Heat five!. 6 February 2012. ESCDaily.com. 7 February 2012. 26 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126130944/https://www.escdaily.com/germany-results-of-heat-five/. dead.
  23. Web site: Teuber . Verena . 9 February 2012 . Quarterfinal of Unser Star für Baku: one more artist eliminated – four candidates left . 11 February 2012 . Eurovisionary.com.
  24. Web site: Toronidis . Theofilos . 9 February 2012 . Germany: Results of Heat six! . 11 February 2012 . ESCDaily.com . 14 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414123636/https://www.escdaily.com/germany-results-of-heat-six/ . dead .
  25. Web site: Teuber . Verena . 13 February 2012 . Semifinal of Unser Star für Baku: Roman Lob and Ornella de Santis voted to the final . 16 February 2012 . Eurovisionary.com.
  26. Web site: Klier . Marcos . Live: Semi final in Germany . 16 February 2012 . ESCToday.com.
  27. Web site: Teuber . Verena . 16 February 2012 . Roman Lob is Germany's star for Baku . 16 February 2012 . Eurovisionary.com.
  28. Web site: 16 February 2012 . Roman Lob for Germany with "Standing Still" . 3 March 2022 . . en-gb.
  29. Web site: Klier . Marcus . 16 February 2012 . Roman Lob to Baku for Germany . https://web.archive.org/web/20120218223604/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/18350 . 18 February 2012 . 3 March 2022 . ESCToday.
  30. Web site: 2012-02-16 . Roman Lob is Germany’s star for Baku . 2023-07-08 . EuroVisionary . en-GB.
  31. Web site: Escudero . Victor . 25 January 2012 . Results of the Semi-Final allocation draw . live . https://archive.today/20130706184430/http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=45043 . 6 July 2013 . 25 January 2012 . European Broadcasting Union.
  32. Web site: 18 May 2012 . ESC 2012 Eurovision Song Contest 2012 . 18 May 2012 . . de.
  33. Web site: 24 May 2012 . NDR 2 Spezial: Der umstrittene ESC in Baku . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130513135333/http://www.ndr.de/ndr2/programm/spezialbaku101.html . 13 May 2013 . 24 May 2012 . . de.
  34. Web site: 24 May 2012 . Eurovision Song Contest 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20120527104819/http://www.hr-online.de/website/radio/hr3/index.jsp?rubrik=70296&key=standard_document_44846946 . 27 May 2012 . 1 June 2012 . hr . de.
  35. Web site: Quotenmeter . AGF . GfK . TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer . subscription . 18 August 2023 . Statista.
  36. Web site: Quotenmeter . AGF . GfK . 14 May 2023 . Durchschnittlicher Zuschauermarktanteil der Übertragungen des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 2001 bis 2023 . subscription . 9 September 2023 . Statista.
  37. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 20 May 2012 . Baku'12: Timetable For The Week . 30 August 2012 . Eurovoix.
  38. Web site: Results of the 2012 Running Order draw revealed! . 20 March 2012 . Eurovision.tv.
  39. Web site: 2012-05-19 . Roman Lob being himself for Germany . 2023-07-08 . eurovision.tv . en.
  40. Web site: 2012-05-20 . Germany's Roman number . 2023-07-08 . eurovision.tv . en.
  41. Web site: Germany . 2023-07-08 . Six on Stage.
  42. Web site: Grand Final of Baku 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210501123638/https://eurovision.tv/event/baku-2012/grand-final . 1 May 2021 . 1 May 2021 . European Broadcasting Union.
  43. Web site: Siim . Jarmo . 18 June 2012 . Eurovision 2012 split jury-televote results revealed . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120621115038/http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=eurovision_2012_split_jury-televote_results_revealed . 21 June 2012 . 1 May 2021 . European Broadcasting Union.
  44. Web site: Results of the Grand Final of Baku 2012 . European Broadcasting Union . 2 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210502104453/https://eurovision.tv/event/baku-2012/grand-final/results/germany . 2 May 2021 . live.
  45. Web site: Results of the Second Semi-final of Baku 2012 . European Broadcasting Union . 2 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210502104452/https://eurovision.tv/event/baku-2012/second-semi-final/results/germany . 2 May 2021 . live.
  46. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 2012-06-05 . Germany: 2012 Jury Voting Revealed . 2024-03-25 . Eurovoix . en-GB.