Just concentrate completely on the music and block out everything else. Isaak Guderian did that in the week before the preliminary decision. “I was 100 percent with myself,” said the 28-year-old from East Westphalia after his victory on Saturday night. Isaak received the ticket to Malmö in the program “Eurovision Song Contest – The German Final 2024”, which was broadcast on Erste. His song “Always On The Run” – sung with a voluminous, grating voice that he says was inspired by street music – impressed both the audience and an international jury.
Fans are surprised – and thrilled
On the sidelines of the show, ESC fans expressed surprise but still joy about Isaak as a German hope. Isaak convinced 22-year-old Joshua with his relaxed manner; he didn’t seem “at all fake”. And it’s true: When moderator Barbara Schöneberger asked the excited artists about their state of mind shortly before the points were announced, Isaak said bluntly: “I don’t give a shit.”
As with the international ESC, there was a two-part vote in the preliminary decision. 50 percent of the votes came from public voting, the other 50 percent came from an international jury from eight countries. Isaak took first place in the audience voting. Isaak was also the highest rated by the international jury with a total of 74 points.
The best-known musician from the circle of applicants was Max Mutzke. He received 55 points from the international jury and was also in second place in the audience voting. The composer and music producer Ryk had previously been considered the secret favorite, while the pop singer Marie Reim had received support from the pop industry. Also taking part were the electronic duo Galant, the young Leona, the barefoot Dutchwoman Bodine Monet and the indie musician NinetyNine.
Isaac, the humble
Father of two Isaak cannot explain his success. His guess: “Maybe it was the calm that I kept.” The man from Espelkamp in North Rhine-Westphalia made his first appearance in 2011 as part of the show X-Factor. During the corona pandemic he won the digital talent show “Show your Talent”. The fact that Germany had not emerged particularly successfully from the Eurovision Song Contests in the recent past was not lost on him: “If it’s last place, then so be it! I’m aiming for first,” he said motivatedly. “We’ll see if that works out.”
Will the German failures end on May 11th?
Last year, the Swede Loreen won the ESC in Liverpool with her Europop hit “Tattoo”, she received 583 points in the international voting. Germany, on the other hand, ended up in last place – the band Lord of the Lost only collected 18 points with “Blood and Glitter”. The band appeared on the show on Saturday night; its members assured that they would take part in the ESC again. Over the course of the show there were repeated loving digs at Germany’s poor results at the international ESC.
The last German victory was a long time ago. In 2010, Lena Meyer-Landrut took first place with the English-language pop song “Satellite”. Since then, there has only been one bright spot in 2018 – Michael Schulte took fourth place with “You Let Me Walk Alone”. Otherwise, Germany was always far behind.
Although Germany has repeatedly performed poorly recently – “Germany, zero points” has almost become a household phrase – Germany’s place at the ESC is secure. This is because Germany is one of the “Big Five”, i.e. one of the ESC’s largest donors. Other “Big Five” countries include Great Britain, Spain, France and Italy. The host country of the respective year – i.e. the winning country of the previous year – is always allowed to compete. So this year: Sweden.
