Re: GERMANY 2013
To clear things up:
Their success is measured in terms of people around the age 14-49. People with the age of 50 and above don't pay off as the TV stations get NOTHING out of advertising for this age-group.
The ARD group belongs to the Öffentlich-rechtliche and therefore must not receive any advertising revenues.
Funny thing is that these radio programmers and person responsibles (Raab, Schreiber, etc.) are all 40+ and 50+ themselves. Apparently they know best what's good for the youth though. Maybe it is midlife-crisis related or smth.
Of course these people are around the age of 50 or do you suggest putting a 20 year old in the top management of a German TV station? It should be clear that these guys have enough young people who work for them and who are aware of the new trends. Look at the team of 1Live:
Team - 1LIVE
I don't see anyone who looks 40+, so they will most likely know what the majority of young Germans wants. It might not be the music you like to listen to, but they must do something right as they are one of the most successful radio stations for the young audience. I doubt that this would be the case if they started playing Helene Fischer and other Schlager stars ...
They are the ones that decree the 'trends' (given a certain leeway) so they will probably remember their own choices. If they do not promote schlager music to young people or drag an entire genre in the mud it is hardly the fault of Germany's youth. Elder people naturally are more mature and tend to be less suspectible to what the media try to chat them up. Which does not mean that young people wouldn't enjoy that music.
Apart from that, I am not at all against giving local pop music a fair chance. Only I consider it highly awkward to expel the most popular genre from an event that is actually supposed to represent a part of a country's local music scene (the fact that some other broadcasters do not act any better is no excuse).
What musical genre is typifying the German taste in music as a whole then?
And it is ironic that the supporters of Raab/Brainpool suddenly care so much about the representativeness of the entry after sending British/Scandinavian/American rejects three years (all under Raab) in a row. Also Helene Fischer is doing Schlager music, not Volksmusik.
She won the Volksmusik (Krone der Volksmusik) award 4 times.
There is a recent tendency in Germany to pool Volksmusik, Volkstümliche Musik and Schlager. It it is an expedient concept for TV shows and radio programmes since these genres appeal to similar target groups and obviously that is also the reason why she got that award. Speaking in a musical sense, however, whilst a few of her songs might be considered as a part of that genre on balance I disagree about labeling her a singer of Volksmusik.
Please advise how Volksmusik/Schlager is the most populare genre currently? Financially? Id like to see those numbers. If you check the German charts you barely see that genre there.
The reason why a lot of people call her music dated is because that exact music is a copycat of songs from the 80s (and earlier) so it's nothing new or groundbreaking.
Check the album charts! You know the parts of the charts were the actual $$$ is.
Helene is one of the single best selling acts in German music. She's very consistent in selling plenty enough of albums and selling out Arena tours in ways those "younger youth acts" picked by some talent(less) shows could only dare to dream about.
Not only the album charts, it also the only musical genre that is present on TV on a regular basis. Stars like Helene even get their prime time shows once or twice a year.
You are talking about 1 act, I'm talking as the genre as a whole. How many other Schlager acts can you find there? the point is because one singer out of the Schlager/Volksmusik genre is doing well doesn't really mean the entire music style is just as popular.
There are many, it just happens to be Helene is the most successful or close runner-up at least: Andrea Berg, DJ Ötzi, Amigos, Semino Rossi, Michelle, Andreas Gablier, Michael Wendler (Der Wendler), Santiano, Hansi Hinterseer, Ute Freudenberg, Jürgen Drews etc. Furthermore there is another group of even 'hip' crossover artists or artists whose musics resemble typical schlagerish melodiousness such as Unheilig, Die Ärzte or Die Atzen.
Michelle couldn't sing? She was pitch perfect...Granted, she sounds like she's high on helium but saying she couldn't sing is a bit unfair. Plus she did quite well (8th place).
Plus regardless of our opinions, it's highly unlikely that she'd do Eurovision anyway.
True. She was fabulous but I also do understand why some are not keen on her voice.
IMHO she was something like Helene's forerunner and could of become equally successful. Unfortunately she had mental-health problems and was unfairly trampled down by the gutter press for her not always smart behaviour. She is still doing okay/good in the business now but her standing is nowhere near Fräulein Fischer's.
Of course I don't mean gangsta-rap, but Casper/Cro/Peter Fox with some melodic influence would be an interesting choice in my opinion.
