Germany: Unser Song 2017 finalists announced

Casting round complete

Following a rigorous casting period, the five finalists for Unser Song 2017 have been selected.
Nearly 2500 people applied to the first round of the open casting show in hopes of competing for the chance to represent Germany in Kiev. These hopefuls were then narrowed down to 33 after a number of casting shows in November.
One of the singers who auditioned for Unser Song is Nathan Trent, who was later selected to participate in Eurovision 2017 for Austria. Naturally, he was then disqualified from this selection.

Finalists

• Axel Feige
• Felicia Lu Kürbiß
• Helene Nissen
• Levina
• Sadi

Perhaps the German broadcaster is hoping for another Lena effect by selecting largely unknown (and young) singers to compete in the final.
Axel Feige is a member of two bands: Absolem Max and Diazpora, while Helene writes her own songs. Both Felicia Lu and Sadi run Youtube channels where they upload videos of themselves singing, and Levina has studied music in London.

Unser Song 2017

The last two years, Germany’s selection process has been tainted by drama both on and off stage. It is not unthinkable that the German broadcaster wanted to avoid any mishaps this year. They decided to revert back to a very successful format that spawned a winner and an additional top 10 result in their respective years.
Andreas Kümmert infamously declined his victory in “Unser Song für Österreich” back in 2015. The opportunity to represent the country in Vienna then went to Ann-Sophie. Sending a song that failed to win the national final proved to be a mistake. On the final night, Ann-Sophie and her song “Black Smoke” ended in last place with 0 points.
Meanwhile, last year the broadcaster had selected their artist internally. Eventually theoutcry because of Xavier Naidoo’s political views and problematic remarks forced them to drop him. Instead they put together a last minute national final. Once again the eventual winner, Jamie-Lee Kriewitz, ended in last place in the grand final.
Whether Unser Song will have its fair share of drama this year too remains to be seen on February 9 when the televised final is scheduled to take place. While the public will hold all the power with 100% televote, there will also be a jury panel. This jury panel, which 2010’s contest winner Lena is a part of, will comment on the performances but have no actual voting power.