Concerning the Eurovision Song Contest Germany often wasn't able to find the right balance between traditional 'Schlager' and modern pop music. The German entries for the Eurovision were hardly played on the radio and were also forgotten by the public very quickly. In the 70s and 80s Germany used to send pretty good songs to the Eurovision final - songs that were highly appreciated internationally but became, more importantly, very popular in Germany itself - and some are still evergreens: "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" by Katja Ebstein (Amsterdam 1970), "Telegram" by Silver Convention (London 1977), "Dschingis Khan" by Dschingis Khan (Jerusalem 1979) and "Aufrecht geh'n" sung by Mary Roos (Luxemburg 1984).
There are a lot of brilliant singers and artists in Germany but hardly any of them wanted to participate in the Eurovision. Most of them were afraid of shading a bad light on their reputation. However, there were exceptions like the group "Münchner Freiheit" or the singer Michelle.

Due to that fact the German broadcaster NDR has relaunched the preselection. A new image of "German music" had to be found. The competition between the other participating countries is enormously high - and so far most people abroad only know Kraftwerk and Nena as 'music from Germany'. Last year the NDR presented the crème de la crème of German showbiz like Sabrina Setlur, Wonderwall, Scooter, Westbam and others. Nobody expected someone unknown to win: Max Mutzke with "Can't wait until tonight" composed and produced by Stefan Raab. The song came 8th in Istanbul and has topped the German charts over weeks and is still played on the radios.

This year Gracia could win the German preselection with "Run & Hide". She has already participated in "Germany's Superstar". She has a strong voice and a good apperance on stage. Her song is composed by David Brandes who is also responsible for composing the Swiss entry sung by Vanilla Ninja.
Good to know that Germany has a great entry with international chances. This song can be played on any radiostation. The song is great, Gracia is singing brilliantly, but you should not forget that there are 39 countries in the battle for the crowne of Kiev!