Continuing the journey to Malmö, it’s Germany’s time to pick their artist and song this evening, with their ‘Das Deutsche Finale’ selection show. ESC Covers’ Andy Richards takes a first listen to each of the songs, and gives his option on their chance of being picked.

1. NinetyNine – “Love On A Budget”

A nice plinky guitar riff, good vocals and a simple drum beat kick off the first song of the contest. It’s definitely something that you could imagine being belted out of the radios across Europe. The indie/pop-rock sound is very contemporary, and reminds me of a number of current artists. If this is performed well tonight, it could make a mark with the voting public, but there’s nothing particularily original or different for the juries to get their teeth into.

2. Leona – “Undream You”

I’m pretty sure that Leona lewis also goes by the singular name ‘Leona’ too, so that might need altering to save any legal issues. This is a pleasant, almost country sounding song, but also gives me ‘Vampire’ / ‘Driver’s Licence’ Olivia Rodrigo vibes. I think the younger generation of German public voters will love this one. Again, it’s very simplistic with not much to hide behind, so Leona’s live vocals will need to be spot-on this evening. This would be another good choice to send to Malmö, amongst the currently chosen upbeat and wacky songs.

3. Isaak – “Always On The Run”

Straight away, the song reminds me of Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, with that kind of gruff vocal with fantastic production. The ‘run run run’ and ‘done done done’ lyrics of the chorus are very catch and something that can be sung along to. Again, it’s very radio friendly, and I could imagine it doing pretty well on the Swedish stage! My favourite of the evening, so far.

4. Galant – “Katze”

Finally, some German language in the German selection! This is certainly much different to the previous three songs. It has that electronic and futuristic sound that the likes of Kraftwerk would have released in the 1980s. The predominantly female vocal with male backing vocals, complete with synths and industrial sounding effects sound like something straight out the future. I think with a staging that compliments the song, we could see this doing well on the scoreboard. I like it a lot.

5. Floryan – “Scars”

The songs starts with a very generic piano chord progresssion, and his vocals are quite similar to Sam Smith’s. The most noticible thing in this song seems to be the lyrics, which will tug on the heartstrings of the audience. There’s nothing standing out as particularily original in the format, and it’s a little bit dull. I think his diction needs to be worked on a little too, as in the studio version the lyrics sound verfy much like ‘skies are beautiful’, rather than ‘scars’. It’s just OK for me.

6. Bodine Monet – “Tears Like Rain”

Back to a folk/country style of music to start this song, but one that leads you into a false sense of security, as a few secconds later the beat kicks in and it’s far more poppy. The format is a little like ‘Only Teardrops’, with the song morphing into a bit of a banger. There’s a few notes towards the end that might be a bit tricky for Bodine to nail live – but this is another good contender to send to Malmö! Something almost makes it feel like it’s ‘Eurovision by numbers’, but it all works well when put together as a packge.

7. Ryk – “Oh Boy”

Simplicity seems to the theme in the German selection this year, and we continue with that here. There’s a lovely piano and soft vocal combination in the buildup of this one, and gradually more and more elements get added throughout. It never gets too crazy though, and has a fantastic chillout sound to it, channeling the likes of London Grammar. The haunting vocals and relaxed tempo of this would sound great in the early hours of the morning after a heavy session. Another one to look out for at the top section of the scoreboard!

8. Marie Reim – “Naiv”

We’re back with the German for this one! It’s got a thumping schlager sound to it, with elements of dance, and it’s very retro sounding. It’s not really my style whatsoever, but I’m sure it will have a core fan group that wil adore it. Something about it sounds a little bit dated, and reminiscent of something that would have been seen in the late 90s or early 00s Eurovision. In 2024, I really can’t imagine this doing too well, and Spain have already picked a much better contender which is in a similar realm as this.

9. Max Mutzke – “Forever Strong”

For me, this sounds fairly similar in style to Isaak’s song ealier in the contest, but this does have the added advantage of closing the show. Again, this type of song is very contemporary and popular across the whole of Europe. The song itself sounds very well produced, and the vocals on this studio version are brilliant. If Max can hold his nerve and belt out those notes tonight, he could well be packing his suitcase for Sweden in May.

Will Germany break the last place curse with any of these songs tonight? There’s an obvious choice for me that probably wouldn’t, but then again, I enjoyed Blood and Glitter from last year, and didn’t think it deserved such a terrible position on the scoreboard!

You can watch the show at 22:05CET on ARD Das Erste in Germany, and internationally as this link. A 50/50 split of public televote and international juries will determine the winner.

Image and source: eurovision.de