68th Song Contest: Lyrics for German entry must be changed
Published: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 13:01
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Germany's ESC hopeful Isaak now has to tone down his song "Always On The Run" because the lyrics contain the word "shit". This was announced by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) to dpa on Tuesday. Several media outlets had previously reported this.
"The broadcasters participating in the ESC will officially submit their presentation - song and act - to the EBU by March 11 at the latest. Until then, the selected songs can be worked on," an NDR spokesperson in Hamburg explained the legal situation. "In the case of the song 'Always On The Run' submitted for Germany, the word 'shit' is prohibited according to EBU regulations. This was known to everyone beforehand - and it was therefore clear that the song would be adapted accordingly in the event of a nomination for the ESC."
Isaak, who comes from Espelkamp in North Rhine-Westphalia, sings his pop song "Always On The Run" in a loud grating voice. The first verse of the English-language lyrics reads "No one gives a shit about what's soon to come", which translates roughly as "No one gives a shit about what lies ahead". "We've thought about it, we've censored it too. We can manage that, no problem. It's kind of like 'shhhh ...' or something", the 29-year-old is quoted as saying by schlager.de. His ESC anticipation is not dampened by this.
Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen SRF will announce who will be traveling to Malmö for Switzerland on Thursday (tomorrow). However, "Blick" claims to have already learned that it will be the dialect rapper Nemo. It is also "almost certain" that Nemo will sing in English in Malmö, wrote "Blick" at the beginning of this week.
The final of this year's ESC will take place on May 11 in Malmö, southern Sweden. The Scandinavians are hosting the world's biggest music festival because last year the Swede Loreen won in Liverpool with her Europop hit "Tattoo".
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