Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat", composed by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, and performed by the group Sürpriz. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Countdown Grand Prix 1999 in order to select their entry for the contest. The national final took place on 12 March 1999 and featured eleven competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Hör den Kindern einfach zu" performed by Corinna May was originally selected as the German entry after gaining 32.6% of the votes, however the song was disqualified for having been released in 1997 by another act and replaced with runner-up "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" performed by Sürpriz.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1999 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | ARD[a] – Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) | |||
| Country |  Germany | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Countdown Grand Prix 1999 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 12 March 1999 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Sürpriz | |||
| Selected song | "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 3rd, 140 points | |||
| Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Germany competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 29 May 1999. Performing during the show in position 21, Germany placed third out of the 23 participating countries with 140 points.
Background
editPrior to the 1999 Contest, ARD had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Germany forty-two times since its debut in 1956.[1] It has won the contest on one occasion: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole. 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 for 1996 when it was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In 1998, the German entry "Guildo hat euch lieb!" performed by Guildo Horn placed seventh out of twenty-five competing songs scoring 86 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 member Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. The broadcaster organised a multi-artist national final in cooperation to select its entry for the 1999 contest.[2]
Before Eurovision
editCountdown Grand Prix 1999
edit
Countdown Grand Prix 1999 was the competition organised by NDR to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. The competition took place on 12 March 1999 at the Stadthalle in Bremen, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt and Sandra Studer (who reprsented Switzerland in 1991) and broadcast on Das Erste as well as in Switzerland on SF 2.[3][4] Eleven acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote. The national final was watched by 5.63 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 18.7%.[5]
Competing entries
edit11 acts were selected by a panel consisting of representatives of the German Phono Academy from proposals received from record companies, while an additional act, Michael von der Heide, was provided by the Swiss-German broadcaster SF DRS.[6][7] Among the competing artists was Wind which represented Germany in 1985, in 1987, and in 1992.[8] One of the participating acts, "Verdammt, ich lieb dich - immer noch" written by Bernd Dietrich and Matthias Reim and to have been performed by Matthias Reim, was withdrawn prior to the competition.[9]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Carol Bee | "Lover Boy" | Candy DeRouge, Carol Bee |
| Cathrin | "Together We're Strong" | Hermann Weindorf, Peter Bischof-Fallenstein |
| Corinna May | "Hör den Kindern einfach zu" | Frank Zumbroich |
| Elvin | "Heaven" | Andreas Linse, Eric Brodka |
| Jeanette Biedermann | "Das tut unheimlich weh" | Andreas Bärtels, Rick Rossi, Kristina Bach |
| Megasüß | "Ich habe meine Tage" | Windsor Robinson, Jürgen Magdziak, Claus Funke |
| Michael von der Heide | "Bye Bye Bar" | Thomas Fessler, Jeannot Steck, Micha Lewinsky |
| Naima | "Itsy Bitsy Spider" | Oliver Göddecke, Alexander Seidl, Robert Parr |
| Patrick Lindner | "Ein bißchen Sonne, ein bißchen Regen" | Alfons Weindorf, Bernd Meinunger |
| Sürpriz | "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" | Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger |
| Wind | "Lost in Love" | Norbert Beyerl, Werner Schüler |
Final
editThe televised final took place on 12 March 1999. The winner, "Hör den Kindern einfach zu" performed by Corinna May, was selected solely through public televoting held in Germany and Switzerland. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval acts featured the Israeli singer Noa, the Israeli saxophonist Giora Feidman and the German music producer Thomas M. Stein.[10] 681,000 votes were cast in the final.[5]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeanette Biedermann | "Das tut unheimlich weh" | 12.2% | 4 |
| 2 | Carol Bee | "Lover Boy" | Unknown | 7 |
| 3 | Patrick Lindner | "Ein bißchen Sonne, ein bißchen Regen" | Unknown | 6 |
| 4 | Megasüß | "Ich habe meine Tage" | Unknown | 8 |
| 5 | Sürpriz | "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" | 16.2% | 2 |
| 6 | Elvin | "Heaven" | Unknown | 9 |
| 7 | Corinna May | "Hör den Kindern einfach zu" | 32.6% | 1 |
| 8 | Naima | "Itsy Bitsy Spider" | Unknown | 11 |
| 9 | Michael von der Heide | "Bye Bye Bar" | Unknown | 5 |
| 10 | Wind | "Lost in Love" | Unknown | 10 |
| 11 | Cathrin | "Together We're Strong" | 15.9% | 3 |
Disqualification and replacement
editOn 16 March 1999, it was announced that Corinna May had been disqualified as her song was released on CD in 1997 by the German band Number Nine under the title "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?", contrary to the Eurovision Song Contest rules. Runner-up of the national final, "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" performed by Sürpriz, therefore replaced May as the German entry for the 1999 contest.[11] Despite claims that "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" had similarities with the song "Wohin geht die Reise hin?", released in 1984 by the German group Harmony Four, the entry was allowed to participate in the contest following a review by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA).[9]
At Eurovision
edit
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 took place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on 29 May 1999. According to the Eurovision rules, the 23-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the previous year's winning country and host nation, the seventeen countries which had obtained the highest average points total over the preceding five contests, and any eligible countries which did not compete in the 1998 contest. Germany was one of the seventeen countries with the most average points and thus was permitted to participate. On 17 November 1998, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Germany was set to perform in position 21, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[12][13] Germany finished in third place with 140 points.[14]
In Germany, the show was broadcast on Das Erste which featured commentary by Peter Urban.[15][16] The show was watched by 4.79 million viewers in Germany.[17] NDR appointed Renan Demirkan as its spokesperson to announce the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote.
Voting
editBelow is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Turkey in the contest.
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Notes
edit- ^ Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
References
edit- ^ "Germany Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "Grand Prix Countdown: Guildo Horn-". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). 12 March 1999. p. 24. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Germany: Countdown Grand Prix 1999". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ KG, imfernsehen GmbH & Co (2 March 2001), Deutscher Vorentscheid zum Eurovision Song Contest: Sendetermine SRF zwei (in German), retrieved 19 December 2023
- ^ a b Cosack, Bettina (20 February 2000). "Stefan Raab hat den "Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision" gewonnen - nicht alle freuen sich mit ihm: Sterne wirken nur im Dunkeln". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Klapheck, Eva-Maria. Die Sprachenwahl beim Eurovision Song Contest und ihre Auswirkungen und Konsequenzen: Untersuchung zum Zeitraum 1999-2004 (in German). diplom.de. ISBN 978-3-8324-8179-7.
- ^ "Eurosong Special" (PDF). OGAE Austria (in German). 19 September 1998.
- ^ "GERMAN NATIONAL FINAL 1999". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Deutschland". www.ecgermany.de (in German). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Germany 1999". mylittleworld.nfshost.com. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "German entrant dropped in Eurovision row". BBC News. 16 March 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Rules of the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, 1999" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "44th Eurovision Song Contest" (in French and English). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 March 2001. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Final of Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Radio TV Samstag" [Radio TV Saturday]. Freiburger Nachrichten (in German). 29 May 1999. p. 14. Retrieved 26 June 2022 – via e-newspaperarchives.ch.
- ^ "Moderator Peter Urban kommentiert seit 20 Jahren den ESC" [Presenter Peter Urban has been commenting on the Eurovision Song Contest for 20 years]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 3 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Beste ESC-Quoten 1980 - Fast 18 Millionen Zuschauer" (in German). Digital Fernsehen. 14 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.