Lena and ESC Representatives Praise Audience Choice

Presse / 2011 / "An excellent choice!": Lena and ESC representatives praise audience choice

'Taken by a stranger' is the title of the song which Lena will perform on May 14th at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf. The winning song won over the audience on Friday (February 18th) in the final of the show 'Our Song for Germany' which was aired live on Das Erste. The winning song was way out in front of the other five songs that made it into the final. The synth- driven electro-pop song was written by Nicole Morier, Gus Seyffert and Monica Birkenes.

An average of 3.25 million viewers followed the whole of 'Our Song for Germany' (market share: 10.1 percent). 12.42 million tuned in for at least one minute. Among the 14 - 29 year old age group, the average market share was 12.0 percent, meaning that Das Erste achieved a viewer quote almost twice as high as their average for Friday primetime. The market share among 14 to 49 years olds was 11.5 percent (1.41 million).

Lena: "I am really pleased with the choice! The song will either be top or a flop. In Germany it is now top, hopefully soon in all of Europe."

Stefan Raab: "We stand a good chance of being up there with the winners with this song. I can imagine that a lot of people find the decision to come back with this kind of song is a very brave move."

NDR Director Lutz Marmor: "Bring on the ESC! Viewers made an excellent choice with 'Taken by a stranger'. It's a great song."

ProSiebenSat.1-TV president Andreas Bartl: "Lena and her song are once again so good that it will be difficult to beat them. ProSiebenSat.1 and I personally are crossing our fingers that her and Stefan Raab's spring dream will come true again."

Thomas Schreiber, ARD Team Leader for the Eurovision Song Contest: "Only 84 days to go until Lena defends her title at the ESC final in Düsseldorf. The German TV audience made a clear, well- informed decision about which song Lena will perform when she represents the nation for the second time. A heartfelt thank you to the whole 'Our Song for Germany' team. Where else on German TV does a show air at 8:15 p.m. that is exclusively about live music? Thank you also to the brilliant musicians from the Heavytones, to backing singers Maya and Anji, to the dancers, and to the wonderful Lena: you performed the songs to a T, played to the cameras and enchanted the audience. That's a hard act to follow. It is going to be great fun to be in Düsseldorf with you and your song. And I promise you one thing: the show is going to rock. You will feel your heart beat! p.s. I am pleased with the reception of the show. We reached a wide audience, including many younger viewers. By the way, we are not just talking about the market share of a single show here but the entire Eurovision Song Contest 2011 project. That's why May 15th is going to be a true success."

There is now nothing standing in the way of Stefan Raab being one of the presenters for the final of the ESC. If one of the songs he composed had been selected as Lena's Song for Germany, in accordance with Eurovision regulations he would not have been allowed to present the show. Sabine Heinrich and Matthias Opdenhövel guided viewers through the first two episodes and the final of 'Our Song for Germany'. President of the jury Stefan Raab was joined by Barbara Schöneberger and Adel Tawil ("Ich+Ich").

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest with Lena can be seen on May 14th live on Das Erste.

Information about the Eurovision Song Contest at www.eurovision.de, the official ARD site for the ESC, and at www.eurovision.tv, homepage of the EBU.