German-namibian Musician Not In German Preselection For Esc

13 Feb 2025

Big disappointment before the first TV programme for the preselection of the German song for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) will be aired tomorrow evening. Namibian.org found out that the German Namibian musician Ees is not among the 24 candidates.

In his blog at the end of last year, Ees had announced that he would apply to be an ESC candidate for Germany with his then new song 'One' (see report on Namibian.org). However, according to the announcement on the German event website Eurovision.de, there were a total of 3,281 applications.

In Namibia's music scene, many had given Ees little chance from the outset. His music, a mixture of pop, hip hop and borrowings from (township) kwaito, does not necessarily bring Germany to mind.

The music video for 'One' (see YouTube) is also not really suitable as a German entry for the ESC. It consists mainly of footage of Namibians in Windhoek. Eric 'Ees' Sell grew up in Namibia but has lived in Cologne for several years.

The 24 candidates to represent Germany at the ESC will face a jury in four pre-selection events. The opening show of 'Chefsache ESC 2025 - Wer singt für Deutschland?' airs tomorrow at 8.15 pm on RTL and RTL+. The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place in Basel on 17 May 2025.

Sven-Eric Stender