Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Frauen regier'n die Welt" written by Matthias Haß and Frank Ramond. The song was performed by Roger Cicero. The German entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland, was selected through the national final Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland?, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 8 March 2007 and featured three competing acts with the winner being selected through public televoting. "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero was selected as the German entry for Helsinki after gaining 70% of the votes.

As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 16, Germany placed nineteenth out of the 24 participating countries with 49 points.

Background
Prior to the 2007 Contest, Germany had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in. Germany has won the contest on one occasion: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for the 1996 contest when the nation was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In 2006, the German entry "No No Never" performed by Texas Lightning placed fourteenth out of twenty-four competing songs scoring 36 points.

The German national broadcaster, ARD, broadcasts the event within Germany and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the regional broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). NDR confirmed that Germany would participate in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest on 7 December 2006. Since 1996, NDR has set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced that they would organise a multi-artist national final to select the 2007 German entry.

Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland?
Der deutsche Vorentscheid 2007 – Wer singt für Deutschland? (English: The German Preliminary Decision 2007 – Who sings for Germany?) was the competition that selected Germany's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition took place on 8 March 2007 at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, hosted by Thomas Hermanns. Three acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote. The show was broadcast on Das Erste as well as online via the broadcaster's Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.de. The national final was watched by 4.6 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 14.3%.

Competing entries
Three acts were selected by a panel consisting of ARD heads of entertainment, which included head of the talk and entertainment department for NDR and head of German delegation for Eurovision Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus. Monrose and Roger Cicero were announced as the first two competing artists on 20 December 2006, and Heinz Rudolf Kunze was announced as the third act on 23 January 2007.

Final
The televised final took place on 8 March 2007. The winner, "Frauen regier'n die Welt" performed by Roger Cicero, was selected solely through public televoting, including options for landline and SMS voting. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, each of the participating artists performed a former Eurovision Song Contest song, while former Eurovision entrants Bucks Fizz, Gitte Hænning, Johnny Logan, Katrina Leskanich, Siw Malmkvist, Texas Lightning and Wenche Myhre performed their respective entries. Approximately 900,000 votes were cast in the final.

Controversy
The lyrics of the winning song were criticised by Germany's feminist magazine EMMA. They voted Roger Cicero "Pasha of the Month" (a title for men who display chauvinist attitudes) because of the song's lyrics. They were of the opinion that the line und schon öffnen sich Tasche und Herz und dann kaufst du 'n Ring und 'n Nerz (translation: "and soon your wallet and heart open and then you buy a ring and mink coat") was antiquated.

At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest are required to qualify for the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final on 12 May 2007. In addition to their participation in the final, Germany is also required to broadcast and vote in the semi-final on 10 May 2007.

In Germany, the two shows were broadcast on Das Erste which featured commentary by Peter Urban. The final was also broadcast on hr3 which featured commentary by Tim Frühling and on NDR 2 which featured commentary by Thomas Mohr. The final was watched by 7.41 million viewers in Germany, which meant a market share of 30.1 per cent. The German spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote during the final, was Thomas Hermanns.

Final
Roger Cicero took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. During the running order draw for the semi-final and final on 12 March 2007, Germany was placed to perform in position 16 in the final, following the entry from Russia and before the entry from Serbia. The German performance featured Roger Cicero performing on stage in a white suit with two brass players, a drummer, a pianist and a cellist. The LED screens displayed Cicero's name in big letters that changed colours from orange to green at the end the song. The five musicians that joined Roger Cicero on stage were Dirk Lentschat (trumpet), Stephan Abel (saxophone), Matthias Meusel (drums), Lutz Krajenski (piano) and Hervé Jeanne (cello). Germany placed nineteenth in the final, scoring 49 points.

After Cicero's disappointing finish at the Eurovision, German newspaper Der Spiegel commented on the song's genre: "Swing is actually a pop music antiquity that you have to be historically receptive to." The CD single of "Frauen regier'n die Welt" charted in Germany, peaking at number 7 in the official German charts; it also charted in other German-language markets, peaking at number 51 in Austria's Ö3 Top 40 and number 64 in Switzerland's Hitparade.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points both in the semi-final and the grand final of the contest to Turkey.