I Can't Live Without Music

Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "I Can't Live Without Music", composed by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, and performed by Corinna May. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, (NDR), organised the national final ''Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2002'' in order to select their entry for the contest. The national final took place on 22 February 2002 and featured fifteen competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public televoting. "I Can't Live Without Music" performed by Corinna May won after placing first in the top three during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 41.1% of the votes in the second round.

As a member of the " Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 18, Germany placed twenty-first out of the 24 participating countries with 17 points.

Background

Prior to the 2002 Contest, ARD had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Germany forty-five times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in . It has won the contest on one occasion: with the song "" performed by Nicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having appeared in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for when it was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In , the German entry "" performed by Michelle placed eighth out of twenty-three competing songs scoring 66 points.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ARD organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 1996, ARD had delegated the participation in the contest to its member (NDR). NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. The broadcaster organised a multi-artist national final in cooperation to select its entry for the 2002 contest.

Before Eurovision

''Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2002''

''Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2002'' was the competition organised by NDR to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. It took place on 22 February 2002 at the Ostseehalle in Kiel, hosted by Axel Bulthaupt and broadcast on Das Erste. Fifteen acts competed during the show with the winner being selected through a public televote. The national final was watched by 9.75 million viewers in Germany with a market share of 38.2%.

Competing entries

14 acts were selected by a panel consisting of representatives of NDR from proposals received by the broadcaster from record companies and announced on 8 January 2002. Among the competing artists were Joy Fleming (who represented ), Ireen Sheer (who represented , , and ), and Nino de Angelo (who represented ). Corinna May was due to represent before being disqualified when it was discovered that her song had already been released by another singer. An additional act, Isabel Soares, was announced on 4 February 2002 after being selected through a casting round organised by German newspaper ''Bild'' among 5,000 applicants.

Final

The televised final took place on 22 February 2002. The winner was selected through two rounds of public televoting. In the first round of voting, the top three entries were selected to proceed to the second round. The top three entries were. In the second round, the winner, "I Can't Live Without Music" performed by Corinna May, was selected. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval acts featured Guildo Horn (who represented ), the German music duo Modern Talking, the Australian music ensemble The Ten Tenors, and the German group Schiller performing their song "" together with German singer Isgaard.

At Eurovision

As a member of the " Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 on 25 May 2002. During the allocation draw on 9 November 2001, Germany was drawn to perform in position 18, following the entry from and before the entry from . At the conclusion of the final, Germany placed twenty-first in the final, scoring 17 points.

In Germany, the show was broadcast on Das Erste which featured commentary by Peter Urban. The show was watched by 10.02 million viewers in Germany, which meant a market share of 38.4 per cent. NDR appointed Axel Bulthaupt as its spokesperson to announce the top 12-point score awarded by the German televote.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Germany and awarded by Germany in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the contest.

Notes

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2002

2002
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002
Eurovision
Eurovision