After I finished the other blog post tonight, we flipped on the TV and happened on the contest to pick Germany’s entry in this year’s Eurovision.  We were in time for the semi-final round, where 4 acts had 2 songs a piece in the running, for a total of 8 songs in the mix.  Here’s my rough notes on them, written before the top 2 songs were picked for the run-off to pick the winner:

1. Alexa Feser – a blonde woman (Alexa Feser), playing the piano and singing 2 rather boring songs in German.
2. Ann Sophie – a dark-haired woman singing 2 rather boring songs in English. However, her 2nd song, Black Smoke, sounded IMHO JUST like the Danish entry that won 2 years ago. Our prediction: she will go through to Eurovision 2015 at the end of the evening.
3. Laing – described as a “Girl Group”, with 4 women (3 singers and a dancer) and a guy on a drum. Interesting staging for their 2nd song, but the song was kind of boring.
4. Andreas Kümmert – a guy singing by himself, accompanied by a band (but he is the act, not the band, apparently). He is in a scruffy zippered hoody, and has a scraggly beard, but he is at least different, although his song isn’t all that exciting. However, would be fun to have him go through for something different. [They just said he’s actually performing with the flu and fever – yikes!]

And they announce the results:  run-off is between our two picks:

• Ann Sophie & Black Smoke (it’s the 2nd song in this clip in YouTube)
  
• Andreas Kümmert & Heart of Stone

And Germany’s entry to Eurovision 2015 is …. Andreas Kümmert & Heart of Stone.  Wow, how fun! I’m glad Chris and I were wrong in our prediction about Black Smoke.

But wait …

Andreas just declined the title and gave it to Ann Sophie. The crowd is booing… and the hostess tells Andreas to go home and think it over … but then suddenly Andreas is off the stage, and the hostess says OK, it’s done and … Ann Sophie & Black Smoke is the winner.

Bizarre – but you heard it here first.

You’re welcome.