The second semi final of Unser Song für Deutschland has just finished. Like last week Lena performed six songs. Push forward, Mama told me and A million and one received the highest votes of the viewers and will compete in the final on February 18th.

The show was again presented by Sabine Heinrichs and Matthias Opdenhövel and broadcasted by the private channel Pro Sieben. At the beginning the two presenters explained once more the rules of the show. Lena will perform six songs tonight. Three of them will proceed to the final where they compete with the three highest voted songs from last week Maybe, Taken by a stranger and What happened to me. A short reprise of these songs is shown and Stefan Raab points out that the German public proved good taste by voting these entries to the final.

After that Lena came on stage. She told that she was happy to be able to leave the stage right after finishing a song, so she did not have to listen to the jury’s judge. She made some advertising for her new album and left the stage again to change clothes for her first performance.

It was now time to introduce the expert jury of this evening – Anke Engelke and Joy Denalane. Anke Engelke will be one of the three hosts of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, while Joy Denalane is a soul singer and was a part of the German band Freundeskreis. The jury will rate every song, but not vote for them.

The songs:

1. A million and one

The song starts smooth and sweet with a catchy rhythm. Lena wears a black dress and is accompanied by four dancers on stage. The chorus is catchy as well, but Lena’s voice sounds a bit week. Maybe the notes of the chorus are a little bit too high for her.

Jury:

Stefan Raab says that the song is again something completely different. Joy Denalane thinks that the song has something personal, while Anke Engelke criticizes a bit because she thinks that it needs some time to get into the song. After 1:30 minutes she started to love the song so that she does not need to hear the other entries.

2. Teenage girls

The intro of Teenage girls is very quiet in unplugged style. Lena is alone on stage wearing blue jeans and a blue top this time. During the chorus the song becomes more mid-tempo. It seems that a highlight is missing and the song is somehow going nowhere, although Lena’s voice sounds now better than in the first song.

Jury:

Anke does not like the lyrics at all. They are stupid in her opinion. Joy agrees about the lyrics and says that the song is too slow. She does not like the song at all! Stefan jokes that Anke might be too old to put herself in the position of a teenager. They wanted to have different styles in the show, but he can understand the criticism the two women expressed.

3. Push forward

The authors/composers of Maybe, one of the three known finalists, have written this entry. Push forward is a romantic ballad. Lena stands alone on stage, only accompanied by a piano player. She wears an elegant long black dress. In the introduction film Lena said that the song was usually more up-tempo, but they decided to change it into a ballad. This was not a bad decision at all. The tune is very melodic and the audience likes it a lot.

Jury:

Joy thinks the song is a great composition, but she is not sure whether it fits to Eurovision. Anke especially likes the lyrics, but expresses her fear that the song could go down in a huge contest. Stefan says that the song is very impressive and it suits to Lena very well. He points out that Lena has improved her voice and sings with lots of feelings.

4. At all

At all was written by Aloe Blacc who had a big hit with I need a Dollar. He met Lena in Stefan Raab’s show TV total and decided to write this song for her. The beginning of the song is again very slow, but it developes to a catchy R’n’B tune. The song seems to be though very repetitive with the bridge being the only highlight. 

Jury:

Stefan likes this song. It has a range of instruments and reminds him a bit of the 70s. Joy thinks it is a very beautiful song. She is a fan of Aloe Blacc, also because his music style is similar to hers. She doubts whether this is a song for the Eurovision Song Contest. Anke agrees with her. The bridge of the song seems to be stronger than the rest. Something is missing in the song.

5. A good day

The fifth song of the evening follows the style of the entries before. It is a catchy mid tempo tune. Lena is accompanied by two backing singers on stage. Her voice sounds weak here. She is out of tune and out of breath in several parts. Not a bad song at all, but where is the highlight tonight?

Jury:

Joy thinks it is good song and Lena looked excellent on stage. Anke says it was a bit too retro to her. It is definitely a nice song, but again something is missing. She points out that the song was very difficult to sing.

6. Mama told me

What a coincidence… Just like last week the last song was written by Lena together with Stefan Raab. It is the typical Raab style and can be compared to Love me from last year’s Unser Song für Oslo. The song is the fastest of the evening, although still not being up-tempo. It could be a song of a musical. Lena has four female dancers on stage and performs a harmonious dance choreography.

Jury:

Joy likes the song and thinks it coukd reach the final. Lena looks very sexy on stage. Anke says that this was the good humour song we waited for, but she expresses as well that Lena might be 10 years to young for such a sung. Stefan refuses to judge because it is his song.

Being asked by the hosts the jury predicts song 1 and song 6 to proceed to the final. 

After a reprise of all six entries the lines were opened. The viewers could vote via televoting and sms. Instead of an interval act Pro Sieben showed a commercial break.

The results:

After asking some radio presenters about their favourites the results were announced. Push forward, Mama told me and A million and one received the highest votes by the audience.

So the line up for the big final on February 18th is complete:

Maybe

Taken by a stranger

What happened to me

A million and one

Push forward

Mama told me

Lena’s new album Good news which is more or less a compilation of this year’s Unser Song für Deutschland will be released tomorrow, on February 8th. The album is currently number 1 in the presale charts of Amazon Germany.