Germany: First seven semi-finalists selected for Chefsache ESC 2025

Germany's road to Eurovision success continues to be a troubled one. Probably due to that the broadcaster – NDR – keeps on changing its selection format hoping it will eventually do the trick and bring the country another victory at the world's biggest musical competition.

2025 is not an exception and brings yet another dynamic and another national selection competition, which could be easily compared to a talent show such as American Idol where the hopefuls audition and perform a cover song (or an original one, as long as it's not their Eurovision attempt) in front of a professional jury.

Tonight 12 artists performed, but only seven qualified for the Chefsache ESC 2025 Semi-final. Seven more will qualify tomorrow, and only one week from now we'll get to hear their potential Eurovision songs.

Once the jury veredict was in, these were the qualifying names:

Chefsache ESC 2025

With four shows scheduled, the German Eurovision broadcaster has come up with a different national selection process for Basel.

This time around there will be two Heats, a Semi-final and a Final. 24 acts will initially audition in front of a jury with a cover song or an original song (that is not their potential entry). From the two Heats, 14 will qualify for the Semi-final.

It will only be during the Semi-final that the remaining acts will perform their hopeful entry. From here, nine will make the cut and perform in the Final where one will be crowned as the winner.

All of the shows will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger. During the Heats and Semi-finals the jury will have 100% power of choice, whereas in the Final the decision will be fully made by the public.

• Heat 1: 14 February 2025
• Heat 2: 15 February 2025
• Semi-Final: 22 February 2025
• Final: 1 March 2025

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest

Germany is a grand old country in the Eurovision Song Contest. They've participated 67 times since the beginning in 1956.

The only year Germany didn't participate was in 1996. Prior to the competition in 1996, 30 countries had signed up for participation, so the EBU had to make a selection. Judges from the participating countries made a secret vote, where the top-22 songs qualified. During this vote, the judges only listened to, but didn't watch, the contestants. This turned out to be highly unpopular, and it was also the only time this method was used. The result of the vote was that Germany was ruled out. This was the first and only time Germany didn't participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Germany's best results are two victories: in 1982 (Nicole - "Ein Bißchen Frieden") and 2010 (Lena - "Satellite"). Their worst results are nine last place finishes. Germany is a member of the "Big-5," which means they don't have to go through the Semi-final round and are automatically qualified for the Grand Final. They are also a member of "Club Nul Points," with zero points in 1964, 1965 and 2015.