Germany: ‘Pushed forward’, ‘Mama told me’ and ‘A million and one’ Qualify

Germany – Tonight the second semi-final of the German song selection “Unser Song Für Deutschland” was held. Lena sang another 6 songs. 3 of them qualified for the final to be held on February 18. This year’s Eurovision host and Comedian Anke Engelke as well as soul singer Joy Denalane joined Stefan Raab in the jury, which assessed the songs but did not have a stake in the final result. Last week “Taken by a Stranger”, “Maybe” and “What Happened to me Today” had already qualified for the final. All 12 songs can be found on Lena’s new album “Good news” which will be released in Germany tomorrow. You will be able to watch the performances here soon.

These are the qualifying songs:

• Pushed Forward
• Mama Told Me
• A Million And One

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This is how our readers voted during the show:

1. Pushed forward 49%

2. Mama told me 32%

3. A Million in One 11%

4. At all 4%

5. Teenage girls/ A good day 3%

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Vote for your favourite in the German final here:

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Here was our assessment of tonight’s songs:

Song 1: A million and one

by Errol Rennalls, Stavros Ioannou

The composers come from Hanover (just as Lena). Starts slow and she is more speaking than singing… Goes very high vocally , not the best for Lena’s voice in my opinion. Not really catchy and goes nowhere. Pretty sure this won’t qualify. Anke Engelke thinks the song is like a labyrinth at the beginning and you need 1:30 minutes to get it, but then you feel at home. The song is her favourite right now

Song 2: Teenage girls

by Viktoria Hansen

Lyrics: “We smoke funny things, catch a bottle of wine, skip school” ah that explains a lot … Slow and cozy. Lena is dressed casual in jeans, high heels. Sounds like the background music for a waterpipe bar or Starbucks. Not really for Eurovision me thinks, the song has no highs or lows. Anke thinks the lyrics are dumb and she calls the songwriters “chicken” but nevertheless she bobbed up and down. Finally a judge who is honest. Joy also thinks the song is too slow…

Song 3: Push forward

by Daniel Schaub, Per Lämmers

These are the composers of the song “Maybe” which qualified for the final last week. Again a very slow song. The song was originally an up-tempo song, but Lena and the composers decided to make it into a ballad and all three think it was the right decision. Very slow start of the show… Lena in a black dress, very classy… This song also does not really go anywhere but Lena seems very emotional and to really feel the song. Unfortunately not really catchy again no highs or lows… Joy says she was quite touched and loves the composition. She is not sure whether the song is suited for Eurovision but she says it’s a song you don’t write every day. Anke is not sure whether the song will stand out enough among other (louder) entries. She loves the text.

Song 4: At all
by Aloe Blacc

Singer of “I need a dollar” he had one of the biggest hits in 2010. He met Lena on the set of tvtotal and they decided to do a collaboration. oh my the composer just sang a part of his song.. Great voice. Maybe he should sing it? The text might suit Lena’s situation very well “Who do you think I am at all? People say that I have changed, but I know that I’m still the same”  Nice song, very nice lyrics, will stay in your head… “I’m not who you think I am at all” Stefan likes the range of instruments and the 70s-touch. According to the host it’s the first time Aloe Blacc has written a song for another artist. Joy doesn’t see the song for the ESC. Anke agrees with Joy: The bridge is better than the chorous and thus does not have the special X-Factor for Eurovision.

Song 5: A Good Day
by Audra Mae

Audra Mae is the great-niece of Judy Garland… Well let’s see what that will do. This song is a bit faster than the previous 4 and sounds like a typical Lena song. According to the composer the song is about the good in life. “Diamonds turn into dust and silver eventually rusts”. I like the speed changes in the song. Nothing special I think. No song has gotten a reaction like “Taken by a stranger” last week. Joy liked the song and that Lena looked excellent. Anke says the song is too retro and implicitly criticizes Lena by saying that the song has a lot of key changes that you really need to hit the notes.

Song 6: Mama told me
by Lena Meyer-Landrut and Stefan Raab

So the third Raab song in the competition, and it sounds like one. Maybe this song would be better in an acoustic version. Big band sounds and I like it a lot! Lena has a dance routine for this one. I like the chorus, but for some reason I know this song from somewhere…. ah yeah sound like a song from Max Mutzkes album… (don’t need to tell you who wrote that song) Raab is the new Siegel. This song gets the biggest reaction in the audience as far as I can tell. Joy loved it and found Lena quite sexy and “woman-like”. Anke says this was the good mood song of the night that everyone waited for. Nevertheless, she thinks that this kind of song is 10 years too early for Lena.