| Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2007 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | ARD[a] –Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) | |||
| Country |  Germany | |||
| Selection process | Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland? | |||
| Selection date | 8 March 2007 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Frauen regier'n die Welt" | |||
| Artist | Roger Cicero | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 19th, 49 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Germany was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Frauen regier'n die Welt", written by Matthias Haß and Frank Ramond, and performed byRoger Cicero. The German participating broadcaster on behalf ofARD,Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national finalDer deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland? in order to select their entry for the contest. The national final took place on 8 March 2007 and featured three competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero was selected as the German entry for Eurovision after gaining 70% of the votes.
As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 16, Germany placed nineteenth out of the 24 participating countries with 49 points.
Prior to the 2007 contest,ARD had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing Germany fifty times since its debut in1956.[1] It has won the contest on one occasion:in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed byNicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having appeared in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for1996 when it was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In2006, "No No Never" performed byTexas Lightning placed fourteenth out of twenty-four competing songs scoring 36 points.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ARD organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 1996, ARD had delegated the participation in the contest to its memberNorddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). NDR confirmed that it would participate in the 2007 contest on 7 December 2006.[2] Since 1996, NDR has set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced that it would organise a multi-artist national final to select its 2007 entry.[2]
Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland? (English: The German Preliminary Decision 2007 – Who sings for Germany?) was the competition organised by NDR to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition took place on 8 March 2007 at theDeutsches Schauspielhaus inHamburg, hosted byThomas Hermanns. Three acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote.[3] The show was broadcast onDas Erste as well as online via the broadcaster's Eurovision Song Contest websiteeurovision.de.[4] The national final was watched by 4.6 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 14.3%.[5]
Three acts were selected by a panel consisting of ARD heads of entertainment, which included head of the talk and entertainment department for NDR and head of German delegation for Eurovision Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus.[6]Monrose andRoger Cicero were announced as the first two competing artists on 20 December 2006, andHeinz Rudolf Kunze was announced as the third act on 23 January 2007.[7][8]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Heinz Rudolf Kunze | "Die Welt ist Pop" | Heinz Rudolf Kunze |
| Monrose | "Even Heaven Cries" |
|
| Roger Cicero | "Frauen regier'n die Welt" |
|
The televised final took place on 8 March 2007. The winner, "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed byRoger Cicero, was selected solely through public televoting, including options for landline and SMS voting.[9] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, each of the participating artists performed a former Eurovision Song Contest song, while former Eurovision entrantsBucks Fizz,Gitte Hænning,Johnny Logan,Katrina Leskanich,Siw Malmkvist,Texas Lightning, andWenche Myhre performed their respective entries.[4] Approximately 900,000 votes were cast in the final.
| Artist | Draw | Song(Original artists) | Draw | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heinz Rudolf Kunze | 1 | "Merci, Chérie"(Udo Jürgens) | 4 | "Die Welt ist Pop" | 10% | 3 |
| Monrose | 2 | "Wunder gibt es immer wieder"(Katja Ebstein) | 5 | "Even Heaven Cries" | 20% | 2 |
| Roger Cicero | 3 | "Zwei kleine Italiener"(Conny Froboess) | 6 | "Frauen regier'n die Welt" | 70% | 1 |
The lyrics of the winning song were criticised by Germany's feminist magazineEMMA. They voted Roger Cicero "Pasha of the Month" (a title for men who display chauvinist attitudes) because of the song's lyrics. They were of the opinion that the lineund schon öffnen sich Tasche und Herz und dann kaufst du 'n Ring und 'n Nerz (translation: "and soon your wallet and heart open and then you buy a ring and mink coat") was antiquated.[10]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the2006 contest are required to qualify for the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final on 12 May 2007. In addition to their participation in the final, Germany is also required to broadcast and vote in the semi-final on 10 May 2007.
In Germany, the two shows were broadcast onDas Erste which featured commentary byPeter Urban.[11] The final was also broadcast onhr3 which featured commentary byTim Frühling and onNDR 2 which featured commentary by Thomas Mohr.[12][13] The final was watched by 7.41 million viewers in Germany, which meant a market share of 30.1 per cent.[14][15] NDR appointedThomas Hermanns as its spokesperson to announced the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote during the final.
Roger Cicero took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[16] During the running order draw for the semi-final and final on 12 March 2007, Germany was placed to perform in position 16 in the final, following the entry fromRussia and before the entry fromSerbia.[17] The German performance featured Roger Cicero performing on stage in a white suit with two brass players, a drummer, a pianist and a cellist. The LED screens displayed Cicero's name in big letters that changed colours from orange to green at the end the song.[18][19] The five musicians that joined Roger Cicero on stage were Dirk Lentschat (trumpet), Stephan Abel (saxophone), Matthias Meusel (drums), Lutz Krajenski (piano) and Hervé Jeanne (cello).[20] Germany placed nineteenth in the final, scoring 49 points.[21]
After Cicero's disappointing finish at the Eurovision, German newspaperDer Spiegel commented on the song's genre: "Swing is actually a pop music antiquity that you have to be historically receptive to."[22] TheCD single of "Frauen regier'n die Welt" charted in Germany, peaking at number 7 in theofficial German charts;[23] it also charted in other German-language markets, peaking at number 51 in Austria'sÖ3 Top 40 and number 64 in Switzerland'sHitparade.[24][25]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points both in the semi-final and the grand final of the contest toTurkey.
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points |  Estonia |
| 2 points |  Iceland |
| 1 point |
|
|
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