#GERMANY: Live Blog of Unser Lied für Liverpool from 22.20 CET

Tonight Germany becomes the latest of the automatic finalists to select its song for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool in May. Eight songs will compete for the honour, and broadcaster ARD will use a jury and public vote combination to select a winner. Could the victor from tonight mount a serious challenge to the big prize on 13 May.

We at Eurovision Ireland will blog the action as it happens. All you need to do is hit Refresh to see our latest thoughts. All times are in GMT (CET-1)

You can watch the action HERE.

23.28 – Thank you for staying with us, and good night.

23.26 – I hope you enjoyed the show, and it shows the jury and televote don’t always agree!

23.23 – Lord of the Lost have won!!!

23.23 – Anica Russo gets 8 points, going to 65. And finally, Will Church gets 21 points, going to 111!

23.22 – Trong gets 19 points, going to 71. René Miller gets 8 points, going to 62

23.21 – Lonely Spring gets 30, going to 70. Lord of the lost gets 146, going to 189! They now lead.

23.20 – Ikke Hüftgold gets 101 points, going to 111. Patty Gurdy gets 34 points, going to 56.

23.19 – Malik Harris has some results! What’s in the envelope?

23.17 – The acts are going back to their seats. We might have some results soon.

23.15 – We have a medley of ESC songs now. Mercie Chérie is first. We also get Arcade, Satellite, Heroes, Save your kisses for me, Euphoria, Dancing lasha tumbai, and Rise like a phoenix.

23.08 – The acts are all on stage. We’re getting serious now. One minute left to vote.

23.07 – A quick recap now.

23.06 – How do things look?

23.05 – The final jury is the the UK’s. It’s Surie!!! She gives 12 to Will Church!

23.04 – The penultimate jury is on Austria. It’s Cesár Sampson. He gives twelve points to Will Church.

23.03 – The next set of jury votes come from Ukraine. It’s Jamala! The maximum goes to Will Church! He’s getting a big lead now.

23.01 – Over to Lithuania now. Vydotas of The Roop is on. He gives his twelve points to Will Church!

22.59 – Spin next. Barei is giving the votes She gives the maximum to Will Church!

22.58 – Next to Finland. The twelve points go to Lord of the Lost!

22.57 – Netherlands next. The twelve points go to Trong!

22.56 – Jury results time. First Gjon’s Tears from Switzerland. His maximum go to Will Church!

22.54 – Barbara has moved to a pedestal on the stage now. Perhaps we’re getting serious.

22.52 – Malik Harris is in the studio now. We interviewed him in Turin/Torino.

22.46 – It’s cabaret time. The Bosshoss and Ilse Delange. A decidedly country affair. Hang on, where are Texas Lightning?

22.41 – And it’s recap time. I would guess that someone in the second half of songs will win tonight.

22.39 – And the phone lines are thrown open for the German public.

22.37 – Metal goth is the stylee here. A lead singer with a very deep voice, long hair and red lighting. Elements of this might be a bit incongruous with the image being cultivated. But it’s eye-catching and definitely a performance. The multi-level staging of the band is a different idea too. An interesting way to end the song presentations.

22.32 – The final song tonight comes from Lord of the Lost. It’s called Blood and glitter

22.28 – We meet a legend who gets a standing ovation. It’s only KATJA EBSTEIN!

22.26 – If you liked Guildo Horn, this could be for you. It’s brilliant within the few opening bars. Beerhall music? Maybe. It’s catchy, in-your-face and draws you in. It’s mainly in German but includes some English too. It might divide opinion, or it could win by a landslide.

22.21 – Song seven is Lied mit gutem Text by Ikke Hüftgold.

22.18 – Patty has a hurdy-gurdy! I’ve not seen one of these since an Estonian Eurolaul about 20 years ago. It’s good to see it back. She’s a very good singer as well as instrumentalist. The song has, perhaps, Celtic influences but with a nicely uptempo beat. The verses are good, but the choruses are excellent. This is the best thing so far. And it gets a massive cheer/

22.13 – Song six comes from Patty Gurdy. It’s called Melodies of hope

22.11 – Long-haired Will has a decent vocal range. And a big hat. It’s got a decent verse before a soaring chorus. There’s repetition in the chorus, as we always say, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – and it has some challenging notes, which Will makes. But it ends somewhat abruptly. Maybe his three minutes weas up.

22.06 – Song five is Hold on by Will Church

22.04 – Ooh, the ‘f’ bomb used in the first line. The band have many mannequins on stage, but they’re dressed in white blazers with black ties. It’s edgy, that’s for sure. And you’re typical student band in the Blink 182 stylee. This would get a big crowd going, maybe even pogo-ing, if Eurovision fans are into that sort of thing. It’s OK, but an unknown quantity, I think it’s fair to say.

21.59 – Song four comes from Lonely Spring. It’s called Misfit.

21.53 – Anica is sat at a piano and has a set bedecked with reeds. She could be in a swamp. The song is one of those that tells a story. Possible about herself. The song really kicks off at the first chorus, by which time she’s left the piano in her swamp. It’s powerful and a curious take on a Eurovision song. It could do something.

21.49 – Song three tonight comes from Anica Russo. It’s called Once upon a dream

21.45 – We go a bit more down beat for this one. René is on a large rock-like structure. And he’s trying to be earnest. The chorus is way bigger than the verse, which is very subdued. It’s is, of course, in English and it’s a credible accent he has. But I’m not sure. The song has potential, but seems like something I’ve heard before (I can’t put my finger on what) and is perhaps lacking a little something. He tries though.

21.41 – Onto song two. This is called Concrete heart by René Miller

21.38 – Trong is true to his Asian roots, with an outfit that has overtones from that part of the world. His song is in English and quite funky. There’s an energetic dance routine to go with his song. And fo course there’s a cvostume change. It’s a good opener, and is getting the crowd going. They love it.

21.32 – And we’re onto song one. It’s Dare to be different by Trong

21.28 – We get introduced to the panel, which includes Elsa de Lang.

21.26 – To say the modestly-sized crowd is behind all the acts is an understatement.

21.25 – Our hostess Barbara Schöneberger is very enthusiastic as she introduces the eight (not nine) acts.

21.24 – We get Te Deum in a brass style. Very nice.

21.23 – And we’re off. With a montage of Germany songs down the years.

Author: John Stanton

Source: Eurovision Ireland