Germany: Unser Lied für Lissabon contestants revealed

The six contestants for the German national selection "Unser Lied für Lissabon" have been revealed by broadcaster NDR. The selection is based on the voting results of the 100 members European Panel and the 20-members International Jury, out of 4,000 possible participants to choose from.

"Unser Lied für Lissabon" will be held on 22 February 2018 at 20:15 CET, live from Berlin. Hosts are Linda Zervakis and Elton.

Unser Lied für Lissabon – Contestants

• Xavier Darcy – 22 year old singer songwriter
• Ryk – 28 year old composer, singer and producer. Previously known as FOXOS
• Ivy Qainoo – 25 years old, Winner of the first series of the Voice of Germany in 2012
• Michael Schulte – 27 years old, YouTuber
• Natia Todua – 21 years old, Winner of the Voice of Germany in 2017
• VvoXXclub – Munich based "new folk music" group

Up to 15 songwriters and producers will compose the contestants songs together with the contestants, in a three-day songwriting camp.

Germany in Eurovision Song Contest

Germany is a grand old country in the Eurovision Song Contest. They have participated 61 times since the beginning of ESC in 1956. The only year Germany didn't participate was in 1996. Prior to the competition in 1996, 30 countries had signed up for participation, so EBU had to make a selection. Judges from the countries made a secret voting, where the 22 best qualified. During this voting, the judges only listen to but didn't watch the contestants. This turned out to be highly unpopular, and it was also the only time this method was used. The result of the voting was that Germany was ruled out. This was the first and only time Germany didn't participate in Eurovision Song Contest.

Best result is two victories in 1982 (Nicole - "Ein Bißchen Frieden") and 2010 (Lena - "Satellite"), and the worst is seven last places. They are also a member of "Club Nul Points", with nul points in 1964, 1965 and 2015.