# Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025

Germany will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "Baller", written by Alexander Hauer, Attila Bornemisza and Tünde Bornemisza, and performed by the Bornemiszas as Abor & Tynna. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final format Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? in collaboration with private broadcaster RTL to select its entry.

## Background

Prior to the 2025 contest, ARD has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Germany 67 times since its debut at the inaugural contest in 1956, making Germany, to this point, the country with the most entries in the contest: they have taken part in every edition except in 1996 when they were eliminated in a pre-qualification round. They have won the contest on two occasions: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole, and in 2010 with the song "Satellite" performed by Lena. In 2024, "Always on the Run" performed by Isaak placed 12th out of 26 competing songs in the final with 117 points.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ARD organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. ARD confirmed its participation in the 2025 contest on 27 May 2024. Since 1996, ARD has delegated the participation in the contest to its member Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). Since 2022, NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete in the contest. On 29 October 2024, the broadcaster announced that it would organise a multi-artist national final in collaboration with private broadcaster RTL and Stefan Raab. Raab, a three-time German Eurovision participant (as singer and/or songwriter) and co-presenter of the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, had previously worked with NDR on its national finals between 2010 and 2012.

## Before Eurovision
### Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland?

Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? ("Top priority ESC 2025 – Who sings for Germany?") was the competition that selected the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The competition took place between 14 February 2025 and 1 March 2025 at the EMG Studio 8 in Hürth, hosted by Barbara Schöneberger, and consisted of two heats, a semi-final and a final. The heats and semi-final were broadcast on RTL and online via RTL+, while the final was broadcast on Das Erste and One as well as online via the ARD Mediathek [de] platform and ARD's Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.de.

#### Competing artists

Interested artists and composers were able to submit their entries for the competition between 6 and 28 November 2024. Artists without their own songs were also able to apply and had to submit an introduction video along with a performance clip of a cover song. By the end of the process, it was announced that 3,281 applications were received, of which 1,198 included an own song. The 24 competing acts were selected by a panel consisting of representatives of Raab Entertainment, ARD and RTL, and announced on 4 February 2025.
Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? participating artists :
* Abor & Tynna
* Adina
* Benjamin Braatz
* Cage
* Chase
* Cloudy June
* Cosby [de]
* Enny-Mae [de] x Paradigm
* Equa Tu
* Fannie
* Feuerschwanz
* From Fall to Spring
* Jaln
* Janine
* Jonathan Henrich
* Julika
* Leonora
* Lyza
* Moss Kena [de]
* Ni-ka
* Noah Levi
* Parallel
* The Great Leslie
* Vincent Varus

#### Heats

Two heats took place on 14 and 15 February 2025. In each heat each, twelve artists performed a cover song or their own song (though not their candidate Eurovision song should they progress to the semi-final), and an expert jury selected seven acts to proceed to the semi-final. The jury panel for both shows consisted of producer Stefan Raab, singer and actress Yvonne Catterfeld, and presenter Elton, while 2004 German entrant Max Mutzke and singer-songwriter Johannes Oerding featured as guest jurors in the first and second heat, respectively.
Heat 1 – 14 February 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Julika | "Run" | Advanced |
| 2 | Benjamin Braatz | "Breakfast" | Advanced |
| 3 | Fannie | "Easy" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Chase | "Million Years Ago" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Enny-Mae x Paradigm | "Arcade" | Eliminated |
| 6 | Jonathan Henrich | "Golden Hour" | Advanced |
| 7 | Feuerschwanz | "Dragostea din tei" | Advanced |
| 8 | Cage | "Wrong Places" | Advanced |
| 9 | Equa Tu | "Gaga" | Eliminated |
| 10 | Janine | "Can't Help Falling in Love" | Eliminated |
| 11 | Cosby | "Loved for Who I Am" | Advanced |
| 12 | Abor & Tynna | "Skyfall" | Advanced |
Heat 2 – 15 February 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Adina | "In the Air Tonight" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Jaln | "Lose Control" | Advanced |
| 3 | Leonora | "Good Day" | Advanced |
| 4 | Ni-ka | "The Way You Make Me Feel" | Eliminated |
| 5 | From Fall to Spring | "Control" | Advanced |
| 6 | Noah Levi | "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Cloudy June | "Sad Girl Era" | Advanced |
| 8 | Parallel | "Noi" | Eliminated |
| 9 | Moss Kena | "Die with a Smile" | Advanced |
| 10 | Vincent Varus | "Coffee" | Eliminated |
| 11 | The Great Leslie | "Fix You" | Advanced |
| 12 | Lyza | "Voilà" | Advanced |

#### Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 22 February 2025. Each of the remaining fourteen artists performed their candidate Eurovision song and an expert jury selected nine acts to proceed to the final. The jury panel consisted of Raab, Catterfeld and Elton, as well as singer-songwriter Max Giesinger.
Semi-final – 22 February 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Result |
| 1 | Feuerschwanz | "Knightclub" | Ben MetznerDag-Alexis KopplinHans PlatzPeter Henrici | Advanced |
| 2 | Benjamin Braatz | "Like You Love Me" | Benjamin Braatz | Advanced |
| 3 | Cloudy June | "If Jesus Saw What We Did Last Night" | Amanda CyClaudi Terry VerdeciaMaarten Paul | Eliminated |
| 4 | Cosby | "I'm Still Here" | Kilian ReischlMarie KobylkaRobin Karow | Advanced |
| 5 | Jaln | "Weg von dir" | Marc RohlesWorthington Jalen Davis | Eliminated |
| 6 | From Fall to Spring | "Take the Pain Away" | Benedikt VeithLeón ArendLukas WilhelmPhilip WilhelmSebastian MonzelSimon Triem | Eliminated |
| 7 | Jonathan Henrich | "Golden Child" | Jonathan Henrich | Eliminated |
| 8 | Abor & Tynna | "Baller" | Alexander HauerAttila BornemiszaTünde Bornemisza | Advanced |
| 9 | Leonora | "This Bliss" | Leonora Margarethe HuthJan KlinkenbergAnikó Kanthak | Advanced |
| 10 | Julika | "Empress" | Julika Lüer | Advanced |
| 11 | Lyza | "Lovers on Mars" | Anderz WrethovJulie Aagaard [sv]Thomas Stengaard [sv]Vasilisa Subotic | Advanced |
| 12 | Moss Kena | "Nothing Can Stop Love" | HitimpulseMartin GallopMatthew Thomas Paul HolmesPhilip Anthony LeighThomas McKenna | Advanced |
| 13 | The Great Leslie | "These Days" | Alfie PawseyFreddie MilesOliver TreversRyan Lavender | Advanced |
| 14 | Cage | "Golden Hour" | Karolin GärtnerOrkun Akcil | Eliminated |

#### Final

The final took place on 1 March 2025. The winner was selected through two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, each of the remaining nine artists performed their candidate Eurovision song and a cover song, and an expert jury will selected five acts to proceed to the second round. In the second round, the winner was selected solely through public voting with options for landline, SMS and online voting. The jury panel that voted in the first round consisted of Raab, Catterfeld, 2014 Austrian entrant and winner Conchita Wurst, and singer-songwriter Nico Santos.
Final – 1 March 2025 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Cover | Result |
| 1 | The Great Leslie | "These Days" | "Waterloo" | Advanced |
| 2 | Benjamin Braatz | "Like You Love Me" | "Angels" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Leonora | "This Bliss" | "Houdini" | Advanced |
| 4 | Feuerschwanz | "Knightclub" | "I See Fire" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Moss Kena | "Nothing Can Stop Love" | "Levitating" | Advanced |
| 6 | Abor & Tynna | "Baller" | "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" | Advanced |
| 7 | Cosby | "I'm Still Here" | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Lyza | "Lovers on Mars" | "Creep" | Advanced |
| 9 | Julika | "Empress" | "Euphoria" | Eliminated |
Superfinal – 1 March 2025 :
| Artist | Song | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Public vote | Place |
| Artist | Song | Phone | SMS | Online | Total | Place |
| Abor & Tynna | "Baller" | 142,656 | 82,688 | 6,302 | 231,646 | 1 |
| Leonora | "This Bliss" | 31,130 | 14,230 | 715 | 46,075 | 4 |
| Lyza | "Lovers on Mars" | 150,758 | 52,848 | 2,486 | 206,092 | 2 |
| Moss Kena | "Nothing Can Stop Love" | 110,071 | 37,821 | 1,847 | 149,739 | 3 |
| The Great Leslie | "These Days" | 18,962 | 10,058 | 816 | 29,836 | 5 |

#### Ratings

Viewing figures by show :
| Show | Air date | Viewers (millions) | Share (%) |
| Heat 1 | 14 February 2025 | 2.14 | 9.2% |
| Heat 2 | 15 February 2025 | 1.79 | 7.7% |
| Semi-final | 22 February 2025 | 1.81 | 8.5% |
| Final | 1 March 2025 | 3.69 | 16.8% |