Germany is one of a handful of lucky countries who automatically qualify to the Eurovision final, but like most of the Big 5 nations, Germany often struggles to move off the bottom of the table. Apart from their Eurovision win in 2010, they’ve rarely managed to crack the Top 10, so this year it’s up to Michael Schulte to turn a string of unsuccessful results into something a little more desirable – but will he be able to bring Germany a good result?
This year Germany held a national final to choose their act, and with some young talents in the mix, it was looking promising. But the downfall for Germany is often the song, not the singer, so this year, thankfully, the broadcaster let the artists work on their own songs, and were actively in the creative process. The result was a bunch of confident entries, and from that, Michael Schulte emerged as the winner with his song You Let Me Walk Alone. Is this a winning song and singer combination?
Germany, you picked well. This is an incredibly beautiful that does nothing less than touch the soul. From the opening moments and hearing Michael sing the first few lines, I’m hooked to the melody, which is so perfectly backed up with the piano in the backing music. I love the verse, I love the pre-chorus and then we hit the catchy chorus. Catchy in a memorable way, not in a bop way. I think this is such a beautiful production, as the song sounds just so wholesome, and that’s topped with the humble performance from Michael.
I think sometimes it’s easy to spot a song that was written either specifically for Eurovision, or a song that was written by someone other than the artist and then given to the artist, because they lose their personal touch. That’s what this song has, a real personal feel that helps you to connect with Michael. I think with that alone, Germany should be in for a better result than they’ve achieved in the last few years.
I think in terms of staging this will take the family and/or personal approach. It’s a song about personal relationships, and a song like this deserves a staging that is intimate and for the audience members makes them feel close and included. It doesn’t have to be a spectacular, because the song speaks for itself, and that’s the beauty of this entry.
All aboard… the Schulte train!
This isn’t my favourite entry of the year, but I do think that I’ve personally underrated it throughout the lead up to the contest, and perhaps many other fans have done the same. Listening to it again now, I do see a lot of potential in this, and would hope that Germany at least moves out of the 20’s in the final. This is a truly beautiful song that the nation should be incredibly proud of, even if it falls to the Big 5 curse….
Our rating: 8/10
If you support Germany at Eurovision, make sure to vote for Michael in our poll! Watch his official video below, and follow our Eurovision 2018 playlist on Spotify.
