"Satellite" is a song by German singer

Lena Meyer-Landrut Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut (; born 23 May 1991), also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song "Satellite (Len ...

. It was written by American songwriter

Julie Frost Julie Frost is an American songwriter, singer, guitarist and record producer. She is the recipient of Golden Globe and Eurovision Song Contest awards for songs written, as well as a Parent's Choice Award for album production and performance. She ...

and Danish songwriter John Gordon and recorded by Meyer-Landrut for '' Unser Star für Oslo'', the German pre-selection show for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...

. An uptempo bubbly

three-chord song A three-chord song is a song whose music is built around three chords that are played in a certain sequence. A common type of three-chord song is the simple twelve-bar blues used in blues and rock and roll. Typically, the three chords used are th ...

, the lyrics of "Satellite" deal with unconditional love. One out of three songs which Meyer-Landrut presented during the pre-selection final, her version of the song was chosen via

televoting Televoting (also telephone voting, phone voting, and call-in voting) is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest ...

on 12 March 2010. It was made available for digital download the following day, becoming Germany's fastest selling digital release ever. The following week, "Satellite" debuted at number one on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

and has since been certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

. On 29 May 2010, it won the

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, scoring 246 points. Following its Eurovision victory, "Satellite" went on to be a commercial success across Europe, topping the single charts in six countries and receiving a number of Gold and Platinum certifications. It was later included on Meyer-Landrut's debut album '' My Cassette Player'' (2010).

Background

"Satellite" is a pop song written by American songwriter

and Danish songwriter John Gordon. Not specifically written for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, much of it was penned in 2007 when Frost was staying in

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. To finish the song, she sent her guitar track to Denmark where her frequent collaborator Gordon produced a demo based on her ideas. A couple of years later Gordon's publisher Iceberg Publishing decided to send the song to Valicon, a large German production company, and producer André "Brix" Buchmann, who then submitted it for consideration to Universal Music Germany. The song was one of approximately 300 titles for the talent show '' Unser Star für Oslo'', a newly created national television programme to select the German entry for the

. "Satellite" – alongside "

Bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

", " Love Me" and fellow contestant

Jennifer Braun Jennifer Braun (born 28 April 1991) is a German singer. She was runner-up at the talent show ''Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Unser Star für Oslo'', Germany's national pre-selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Her f ...

's " I Care for You" – was eventually chosen as one of four songs to be performed in the final of ''Unser Star für Oslo'' on 12 March 2010. While Meyer-Landrut performed an uptempo version of the song, it was re-arranged for Braun who sung a ballad version of "Satellite". Through

, the audience chose "Satellite" to be Meyer-Landrut's designated song in case she won the show. In a second round of voting, Meyer-Landrut with "Satellite" was picked as Germany's entry for the 55th Eurovision Song Contest. Her subsequent recording of "Satellite" was produced by John Gordon, André "Brix" Buchmann, Ingo Politz and Bernd Wendtland and

remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

by Sascha "Busy" Bühren.

Composition

Frost told ''

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'' that the song is about "unconditional love." The

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

describe the thoughts of a woman in love ("I got it bad for you"), who is frustrated at being ignored ("I went everywhere for you/ I even did my hair for you/ I bought new underwear they're blue/ And I wore it just the other day.") and compares herself to a lonely traveller ("Like a satellite I'm in orbit all the way around you/ And I would fall out into the night/ Can't go a minute without your love."), but on the other hand seems to draw a kind of masochistic pleasure from her pain. Gordon called "Satellite" a "bubbly" song, "pretty easy and sweet with cheerful lyrics" and " three chords." Frost further explained: "It deals with all the crazy hidden things a girl does and feels when she is in love. A man can make her feel everything at once, joyful but also tormented and helpless."

Release

On 13 March 2010, the day after ''Unser Star für Oslo'', all six songs performed in the final were made available for digital download. The

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

of Meyer-Landrut's "Satellite," which also includes her other two songs from the final, "Bee" and "Love Me", was released three days later on 16 March 2010. All songs were released on the specially created record label USFO, a cooperation between Universal Music Germany and Raab TV/ Brainpool, the production companies of ''Unser Star für Oslo''. "Satellite" sold over 100,000 downloads in its first week, becoming Germany's fastest selling digital release ever. It debuted at number one on the

, and was eligible to be certified gold by the

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The ( English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which comprise 90% of the music i ...

(BVMI) after the first week and platinum after the fourth week of its release. The song remained at number one for five consecutive weeks in Germany. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest on 29 May 2010, "Satellite" regained its top position in Germany for one week and also peaked at number one in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

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. It also topped ''Billboard'''s

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

singles chart, being the first Eurovision song to achieve this. In November 2010,

Gfk Entertainment The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

reported that with 464,000 downloads sold, "Satellite" was the second-best selling download single in Germany since 2006, when such records began being kept – only behind

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's " Poker Face", which was downloaded more than 500,000 times.

Music video

A music video for "Satellite" was shot during the night of the final on the television stage of ''Unser Star für Oslo'' in

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and directed by Frank Paul Husmann ad Manfred Winkens. It features no story line or any change of scenery, but instead focuses entirely on Meyer-Landrut as she sings and dances on a darkened stage with some spotlights behind her. On 16 March 2010, the video premiered on public broadcaster

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...

right before Germany's most-watched evening news bulletin ''

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''. Shortly after, it was simultaneously shown on four private stations –(

Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

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, N24)´ before the start of their evening prime time programmes. By May 2021, the video reached 67 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Eurovision Song Contest

"Satellite" was Germany's entry for the

. By representing a "Big Four" country, it was automatically qualified for the final. Germany received a wild card during the running order draw, which allowed the German representatives to pick the country's position for the final. They chose position 22 out of the 25 spots. Meyer-Landrut arrived one week before the show in Oslo, Norway, where she completed five rehearsals of "Satellite". Prior to the final, the song was considered as one of the favourites.

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regarded it second favourite behind

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's " Drip Drop", while Google projected it would win based on search volume in the participating countries. According to Norway's ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'', Meyer-Landrut received the most attention of all participants. The final was held on 29 May 2010 at Oslo's

Telenor Arena Unity Arena, previously known as Telenor Arena and Fornebu Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Fornebu in Bærum, outside Oslo, Norway. It serves as a venue for a variety of events, including concerts, exhibitions, action shows, ...

. Appearing fourth from last, Meyer-Landrut wore a simple black dress and performed on a bare stage with four backing singers. Her pared-back presentation reflected a trend that has had success at recent Eurovisions, as it did not feature any form of choreography, dancers or elaborate stage show. "Satellite" received a total of 246 points, giving Germany its first victory since 1982, and the first win as a unified country. It also became the first winning song from a Big-Four country since

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Cambridge in 1981, widely known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song), Walking on Sunshine". They won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the ...

' victory for the United Kingdom in 1997. The song won over Turkey's entry "

We Could Be the Same "We Could Be the Same" () is a song by Turkish band Manga (band), maNga. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 held in Oslo, placing second. There are 3 versions available on official CD single, called as Brussels (Eurovision version), Istan ...

" with a margin of 76 points, the third-biggest in Eurovision history, after Sweden's participant Loreen managed a margin of 113 points in the 2012 contest and

Alexander Rybak Alexander Igorevich Rybak (; born 13 May 1986) or Alyaksandr Iharavich Rybak () is a Belarusian-born Norwegian musician and actor. Based in Oslo, Norway, Rybak extensively worked on television programs and on tours in Europe, particularly in S ...

's margin of 169 points in the 2009 contest. "Satellite" received the maximum 12 points nine times and received points from all but five countries.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

* Lead vocals – Lena Meyer-Landrut * Additional vocals – Kayna * Audio remastering – Sascha "Busy" Bühren * Producers – John Gordon, André "Brix" Buchmann, Ingo Politz, Bernd Wendtland for Valicon * Music – Julie Frost, John Gordon *

Lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

– Julie Frost * Label: USFO for Universal Music Deutschland

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards and nominations

Legacy

Jennifer Braun version

"Satellite" was also one of three songs performed by Braun in the final of ''Unser Star für Oslo''.Unser Star für Oslo
Jennifer Braun – "Satellite"
Unser-Star-fuer-Oslo.de. 12 March 2010. Accessed 6 May 2010. However, the audience chose

and her version of "Satellite" for the contest in

.Niggemeier, Stefan
Der merkwürdig unbefriedigende Sieg der Lena Meyer-Landrut
FAZ.net. 13 March 2010. Accessed 2 May 2010. Braun's version was also made available for digital download on 13 March 2010Amazon
Satellite
Amazon.de. Accessed 6 May 2010. and is also featured on Braun's maxi single " I Care for You". It subsequently charted in Germany, reaching a peak position of No. 32.PhonoNet GmbH
Jennifer Braun Chartverfolgung
Musicline.de. Accessed 11 May 2, 2010.

Credits and personnel

*Lead vocals – Jennifer Braun *Music – Julie Frost, John Gordon *

– Julie Frost *Label: USFO for

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Deutschland

Chart performance

Stefan Raab version

During the opening act of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf Stefan Raab performed a Rockabilly version of this song where Meyer-Landrut was briefly involved as duet partner. The studio version of the song was released as a single and charted No. 24 in Germany. The original version of the song also re-entered the

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singles charts in several countries.Eurovision takes over the charts worldwide. 16 May 2011. ESCDaily

Other versions

''Satellite'' was covered several times, including in German with the title ''Schland Oh Schland'' by the student's band Uwu Lena in 2010 and in Turkish titled ''Laviva'' for a chocolate bar commercial by the food company

Ülker Ülker is a Turkish multinational food and beverage manufacturer based in Istanbul, Turkey. Its products are exported internationally, to 110 countries. Ülker's core products are biscuits, cookies, crackers, and chocolates, although it has ex ...

in 2013.

Notes

External links

Eurovision profile and lyrics
at Eurovision.tv *

at Unser-Star-fuer-Oslo.de

at Unser-Star-fuer-Oslo.de * {{DEFAULTSORT:Satellite (Lena Meyer-Landrut Song) 2010 debut singles Lena Meyer-Landrut songs Eurovision songs of 2010 Eurovision Song Contest-winning songs Eurovision songs of Germany European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by Julie Frost English-language German songs 2010 songs Universal Music Group singles

Background

Composition

Release

Music video

Eurovision Song Contest

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards and nominations

Legacy

Jennifer Braun version

Credits and personnel

Chart performance

Stefan Raab version

Other versions

See also

Notes

External links