German Eurovision Champion to Compete against Herself
Germans fell in love with Lena in 2010 when she emerged victorious from the extravaganza of pop mediocrity which is the Eurovision Song Contest. This spring, they are sure to get their fill. Lena will defend her title – but three primetime TV events are scheduled to decide what song she will sing.
Many thought it was but a passing eruption of celebratory hubris. When Germanys Lena ended the countrys three-decade Eurovision Song Contest drought last May, her handler – German television staple Stefan Raab – immediately announced that the 19-year-old would be back in 2011 to defend her title.
It seemed unlikely at the time. For one, just what passes for a Eurovision winner varies radically from year to year. Whereas audiences chose an absurdly dark metal act called Lordi from Finland in 2006, the naively youthful Alexander Rybak took the prize in 2009 with his poppy violin and peppy dancers. Its hard to imagine audiences going for the sickly-sweet strains of Lenas oddly accented English two years in a row. Apart from anything else, television stations make a mint on the talent shows that clog up springtime airwaves as countries search for their next Eurovision representatives.
All Lena All the Time
On Thursday, however, the German public broadcaster NDR and the private station ProSieben presented their plan for the “search” for Germanys next Eurovision contestant. And Raabs vision, it would appear, has become a reality. Lena Meyer-Landrut will indeed be representing Germany – the only thing left to decide is what song she will be singing.
To that end, Lena will sing six songs to her television audience on Jan. 31 and six more on Feb. 7. After each show, viewers will vote, and three songs will be eliminated. The grand finale is set for Feb. 18, when Eurovision fanatics from around Germany will decide from the remaining six which song Lena is to sing at the Eurovision finals in Düsseldorf on May 14.
Lena versus Lena, in other words. All Lena all the time. Just as Stefan Raab – and Germany – wanted it. Lets just hope she gets to sing in German this time.
Lena Meyer-Landrut will be representing Germany once again at the Eurovision Song Contest
spiegel.de, 16.12.10
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