Unser Song für Dänemark – Germany’s national final for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest – was almost like a mini Eurovision in itself and was by far one of the most impressive selections seen in recent years. With a hype surrounding the final three months ago to rival Melodifestivalen and a star-studded selection of German musicians it was unknown wildcards Elaiza who eventually represented their nation in Copenhagen. But what has changed for the participants since their Eurovision attempts in March?
Das Gezeichnete Ich was eliminated in the first round of voting and so we never got to hear his second entry “Echo”, but since the final he has officially released it as a single with a very stylistic animated video. Oceana released a new single in June called “Everybody” which you can watch here. The Baseballs successfully embarked on their German tour they had planned before Eurovision and have announced two Polish shows in November.
As for Madeline Juno? She was one of the favourites going into USFD but didn’t make it past the first hurdle. Despite this, she remains successful and even had a part in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest as one of the German jurors. Her debut album “The Unknown” was released in March and she has begun touring with her back-up band.
MarieMarie, a surprise second round finalist will sporadically tour Germany in the latter half of 2014 and is no doubt enjoying the extra exposure granted to her by the Eurovision selection process. Santiano continue to be hugely successful in Germany and continue to pack out venues including the o2 in Hamburg, as well as working with rising star Oonagh.
The runners-up were of course Unheilig, one of Germany’s most successful acts. They continue to embark on a successful greatest hits tour around Germany and its festivals, where they perform their back catalogue alongside their two Eurovision attempts.
And as for the winners Elaiza? They of course went to Copenhagen to represent their country in May, finishing 18th with 39 points. Despite the result, Eurovision has been a great leg-up for their career as they will travel with their headline Gallery Tour between October and December 2014. Tour dates can be seen in the image below.
It appears then that things are looking good for all of the participants in this year’s German final. The lack of established artists progressing into the latter stages had many fans worried about the potential of future German national finals for drawing in big names but as can be seen from the successes of the participants it seems the national final has produced more than one winner. Does this bode well for 2015? The German approach to Eurovision certainly has been rejuvinated since their win in 2010 and there seems to be enough evidence to suggest a continued improvement for next year. Fingers crossed for some big names!
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