This year Germany extended it’s disappointing bottom five placement streak for a third year – with Malik Harris’ “Rockstars” earning only 6 points in the grand final. According to Head of Delegation Alexandra Wolfslast, however, 2023 will be different.
Speaking after the contest, Wolfslast stated that “the selection process for the 2023 contest will look different to the one used this year.” What the broadcaster will do differently next year is anyone’s guess, but would not be the first, nor last, time that their selection method has changed. One thing we know for sure is that NDR will continue to maintain oversight of Germany’s Eurovision participation.
NDR has utilized both internal selections and national finals to select their Eurovision artist, along with combinations of the two like they did for 2020 and 2021. In 2022 they returned to the national final selection process with Germany 12 Points, using both a radio and televote process to decide the winner. That winner would of course turn out to be Malik Harris.
Despite the last-place result, Harris is proud of the performance and package he presented to Europe. In an interview with ESC-Kompakt after the live show, he said:
“Obviously I’m a little disappointed. But what made me very, very happy in the end was to see Ukraine win. For me, that’s what defines Eurovision in the end. That’s community, that’s peace, that’s bringing the whole of Europe together, celebrating music together – and that’s what we definitely did tonight.”
In the same interview, Wolfslast stated she feels similarly to Harris, and that she is nothing but proud of him:
“All I can say is I think Malik put on a great performance. Of course we would have hoped for a better result. But I’m really proud that I was able to walk this path with him, and I think it’s the same for our whole path, it’s the same for NDR.”
Her final comments to ESC-Kompakt have ruffled some feathers out of context, as she stated that: “I’m already proud that I know him, and the placement doesn’t matter at all.”
Some fans have taken this to mean that NRD and Wolfslast don’t care about their poor results in Eurovision, but that’s not exactly correct. When put together with her earlier statement, Wolfslast means that Harris did a fantastic job and made the delegation and all of Germany proud.
What do #YOU think Germany should do differently next year? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
