Leon had taken part in the 1996 German Eurovision selection with the song "Planet of Blue", which had gained a comprehensive victory in a public televote. It was a very contemporary, techno-influenced song which had been expected to do well in the contest. The 1996 Eurovision Song Contest was to take place in Oslo on 18 May. Hosts Norway were given an automatic place in the contest, but as 29 other countries were chasing the 22 remaining places, it was decided to hold an audio-only pre-qualifier on 29 March where a jury from each country would listen to all the songs and vote in the normal ESC manner, with the bottom seven songs being eliminated. To universal surprise, "Planet of Blue" finished 24th in the voting, and failed to qualify for the contest.