Television: Stefan Raab is looking for a German ESC song as a juror

Entertainer Stefan Raab is part of the jury team searching for the German candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). The German music contribution for the ESC in Basel will be determined in four live casting shows in spring 2025 – three of them on RTL and then the finale on Erste on March 1st on a Saturday evening – as the broadcasters announced.

It was not known who the other two or three jury members would be. Raab can also imagine writing a song for the artist under certain circumstances. He doesn’t even want to run as an ESC candidate. The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Basel in May 2025 because Switzerland won this year.

“Of course we want to win”

The jury selects the German entry from a total of 24 acts. Barbara Schöneberger moderates the live shows. Who will travel to the traditional music competition in the final show of the preliminary decision will be entirely in the hands of the viewers of the decision show. The goal is clear: “Of course we want to win,” said Raab when presenting the selection process.

In principle, anyone can apply. There will be no singing preliminary examination: “But it should have some form of content,” said Raab. If it’s not enough vocally, there must at least be something else. “We have no limits in either age or ability.” According to his own statements, Raab would have thrown Bob Dylan out of a casting show purely because of his singing ability. That’s why someone who isn’t a singing sensation could also have a chance. “Someone who is perhaps already a star is also welcome to apply.”

The broadcasters called for people to take part in the preliminary decision “Boss Matter ESC 2025 – Who Sings for Germany?” apply by November 28th. Individual applicants will be seen in advance on Raab’s streaming show on RTL+.

With ukulele on embassy floor

Because of the venue in Basel, the press conference took place in a room at the Swiss Embassy in Berlin – i.e. with a state character including an ambassador. Raab came with his ukulele, sang a Switzerland song and later announced to the journalists on the embassy floor: “I have come to inform you that today is your departure…”. He alluded to German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who said one of the most memorable sentences of reunification in the Prague embassy.

The broadcasters hope that with Raab as the initiator of the cooperation between public and private broadcasting, they will give the German preliminary decision “new strength”. It is not the first time that ARD has cooperated with a private broadcaster – ProSieben was on board for the casting show in 2012.

In September, Stefan Raab returned to TV screens after his retirement many years ago: The musician, producer and entertainer signed a five-year contract with his new TV partner RTL and announced several shows. At the start he boxed against Regina Halmich, based on earlier times. The whole thing was held like a kind of ritual festival: Raab descended from above, almost like a god, from a seemingly endless staircase. RTL broadcast live.

Raab was once a guarantee of success at the ESC

Raab, who stood for new, funny television for decades, presented himself as the savior of entertainment. The 58-year-old is likely to take on a similar role, that of savior, at the ESC. The combination of Raab and ESC stood for success and good entertainment for many years, and the expectations of German ESC fans are therefore high.

In a current Yougov survey, however, 21 percent of all adults in Germany believe that a German ESC contribution with Raab participation has better chances. From the point of view of 40 percent, nothing is likely to change, 15 percent even expect worse chances.

Raab’s ESC history goes back to 1998, when he composed Guildo Horn’s Eurovision song “Guildo hat euch lieb” under the pseudonym Alf Igel. At that time, the song and performance were seen as an awakening experience for the outdated hit competition, which was still pathetically called the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson. In 2000, Raab appeared with the hit “Wadde hadde dudde da?” even in the competition. Raab celebrated his greatest ESC success as the mastermind behind Lena Meyer-Landrut’s (“Satellite”) victory in 2010.

When asked why he is now returning to the ESC after his withdrawal from the TV screens and not doing something completely different instead, he said: “The only tool I use to analyze what I’m doing is the Question to myself: What would I like to see?” And: “There are only a few really big hits in the entertainment world – one of them is the Eurovision Song Contest.” It’s like asking a national soccer team whether they want to take part in the World Cup again after four years.

When Raab left, a series of bankruptcies began

The last time Raab worked behind the scenes at the ESC was in 2012. After that, a series of bankruptcies began for Germany. There were a few bright spots, but mostly embarrassing results with many last and second to last places. The question kept coming up as to how success could be achieved again.

In recent years there has also been criticism of the organization of the preliminary decision under the leadership of the NDR. During this time there were repeated calls for Raab, who, however, retired from TV in 2015. After the many failures, discussions even revolved around whether Germany should even take part in the ESC.

Despite the poor rankings, ARD continued to participate in the competition, which has existed since 1956. The ratings also speak for the broadcast of the ESC. This year, around eight million TV viewers tuned in to the show in Malmö, Sweden, on the Erste and ARD special interest channels One. This time the disgrace for Germany wasn’t so great – after all, it came in 12th place. 25 years after his own ESC appearance, is Raab now saving the day as a juror in the Music Germany preliminary decision?