The eighth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 8 January to 7 May 2011. The winner got a recording contract with Universal Music Group. For the first time there was a prize money of 500,000 Euros. Nina Eichinger and Volker Neumüller were removed from the panel and were replaced by Fernanda Brandão and Patrick Nuo. Marco Schreyl returned as the host. DSDS has extended participation privileges to Austria and Switzerland. Pietro Lombardi won the competition.
Sixty people were injured on 27 March in a stampede when a large crowd showed up for an autograph session with this season's participants at CentrO in Oberhausen. More than two dozen people were hospitalized. The victims of the injuries were between 12 and 17 years old and injuries include broken bones, shock, and loss of consciousness. Emergency treatment tents to handle the crowd. The organizers were only expecting 5,000 fans to show up, but an estimated 19,000 people attended. There were no charges laid after the investigation was completed in July.
Controversies The Hamburger Morgenpost questioned whether RTL misquoted DSDS Top 10 candidate Anna-Carina Woitschack. In an interview, Anna-Carina was quoted as saying "It was cut together all wrong. I never said that I hate Sarah - but on the contrary, I do not hate Sarah Engels. That is what I said. But it was cut this way by RTL, because it looks good for the show."
RTL received a statement from the Office of Public Safety stating that Sebastian Wurth was not allowed to participate after 10 pm. RTL was also fined €15,000 for the incident.
The Hamburger Morgenpost questioned whether the live shows were actually live broadcast. In the third "Mottoshow", Marco Angelini slipped up in his performance and forgot to sing at the correct time.
Pietro Lombardi's brother posted nude picture of Sarah Engels after she used Pietro's cell phone to talk to girls. The hardcore fans of Pietro Lombardi told his brother Marco about this and he was not happy about this. So, he decided to take "revenge". Pietro's brother also wrote "Everyone knows how cheap Sarah Engels is. She is sneaky. A liar."
DSDS host Marco Schreyl mixed up the phone numbers for candidates Zazou Mall and Marco Angelini. A camera shot of Marco Angelini showed him enraged towards the lens. A reporter for the Hamburger Morgenpost, who was present, reported there were chaotic scenes shortly before the end of the recording. Dieter Bohlen mentioned the mistake and Marco Schreyl replied that "It could be made easier for the host". RTL decided that no candidate would be eliminated and the final show has been pushed back a week and is now scheduled to air on 7 May.
On the sixth Mottoshow, Sarah Engels had two wardrobe incidents, when dancing to "Walking on Sunshine", where she began dancing too close to one of the cameras, causing two upskirts. This was eventually shown to the studio audience during the recap of her performance and was noted by the judges.
Auditions As with season 7, an audition truck, in which the candidates can qualify for the televised auditions, stopped in various cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland between August 2010 and October 2010. Open auditions took place in September 2010 in Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin. 34,956 people auditioned throughout the 35 cities that hosted auditions. 135 candidates advanced to the Recall. Menderes Bagci, who failed in the auditions in the previous 7 seasons, advanced to the recall.
"Recall" The first "recall" show aired on 2 February. The 135 candidates who advanced to the Recall were split up into groups where the judges picked 60 candidates for the next round. The 60 candidates who advanced participated in groups and duets. Nico Raecke, who originally was one of the participants advancing to the Top 35, was thrown out of Deutschland sucht den Superstar because of his arrest for robbery and assault. Menderes Bagci was one of the candidates eliminated on 5 February Recall show. The Top 35 went to the Maldives.
Finalists (Ages stated at time of contest)
Contestant Age Hometown Voted off Liveshow theme Pietro Lombardi 18 Karlsruhe Winner Grand Finale Sarah Engels 18 Hürth 26 February 20117 May 2011 MegahitsGrand Finale Ardian Bujupi 19 Heidelberg 30 April 2011 Semifinal Marco Angelini 26 Graf, Austria 23 April 2011 Pop, Rock and Discofever Sebastian Wurth 16 Wipperfürth 16 April 2011 Hits of the 80's, 90's, and Today Zazou Mall 26 Zurich, Switzerland 9 April 2011 America vs Europe Norman Langen 25 Übach-Palenberg 19 March 2011 Party Hits Anna-Carina Woitschack 18 Kamern 12 March 2011 Spring Feelings Nina Richel 17 HildesheimDisqualified Marvin Cybulski 30 Hannover 5 March 2011 Apres-Ski Hits
"Die Top 15 – Jetzt oder nie" (The Top 15 – Now or Never) Original airdate: 19 February 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsZazou Mall One Love (Estelle & David Guetta) 6,1% (8/15)Sebastian Wurth Home (Michael Bublé) 12,3% (3/15)Nina Richel There You'll Be (Faith Hill) 3,2 (10/15)Norman Langen Ich Bau Dir Ein Schloss (Jürgen Drews) 8,5% (5/15)Awa Corrah Only Girl (In The World) (Rihanna) 1,8% (15/15)Ardian Bujupi Sway (Michael Bublé) 9,7% (4/15)Nicole Kandziora Firework (Katy Perry) 2,1% (14/15)Mike Müller Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely (Backstreet Boys) 2,8% (11/15)Anna-Carina Woitschack If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys) 8,4% (6/15)Christopher Schwab Hey There Delilah (The Plain White T's) 2,6% (12/15)Marco Angelini Stark (Ich + Ich) 7,1% (7/15)Felix Hahnsch The Man Who Can't Be Moved (The Script) 2,6% (13/15)Pietro Lombardi Billionaire (Bruno Mars & Travie McCoy) 12,7% (2/15)Marvin Cybulski Midnight Lady (Chris Norman) 14,0% (1/15)Sarah Engels One Moment in Time (Whitney Houston) 6,1% (9/15)
Advancing to Top 10 (Public votes): Norman, Marvin, Marco, Sebastian, Pietro, Ardian, Anna-Carina
Advancing to Top 10 (Jury selection): Sarah, Zazou, Nina
"Mottoshows" (theme shows) Top 10 - "Megahits" Original airdate: 26 February 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsMarco Angelini Dance with Somebody (Mando Diao) 8,0% (7/10)Zazou Mall Don't Stop the Music (Rihanna) 11,0% (4/10)Nina Richel Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson) 7,4% (8/10)Ardian Bujupi In My Head (Jason Derülo) 9,3% (5/10)Norman Langen Wahnsinn (Wolfgang Petry) 7,1% (9/10)Sarah Engels When You Believe (Mariah Carey ft. Whitney Houston) 6,8% (10/10)Sebastian Wurth You Raise Me Up (Westlife) 15,9% (1/10)Pietro Lombardi With You (Chris Brown) 14,3% (2/10)Anna-Carina Woitschack I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston) 9,0 (6/10)Marvin Cybulski We've Got Tonight (Kenny Rogers) 11,1% (3/10)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Nina Richel or Zazou Mall (Dieter & Fernanda), Nina Richel (Patrick) Bottom 3: Nina Richel, Norman Langen & Sarah Engels Eliminated: Sarah Engels
Top 9 - "Apres-Ski Hits" Original airdate: 5 March 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsNorman Langen Ein Stern (...der deinen Namen trägt) (DJ Ötzi & Nik P.) 10,3% (6/9)Zazou Mall Born This Way (Lady Gaga) 10,8% (4/9)Nina Richel Everytime We Touch (Cascada) 13,1% (2/9)Marco Angelini Fliegerlied (Zillertaler Dirndljäger) 10,3% (5/9)Sebastian Wurth Ich war noch niemals in New York (Sportfreunde Stiller) 11,8% (3/9)Anna-Carina Woitschack I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) 10,05 (7/9)Marvin Cybulski 1000 und 1 Nacht (Zoom!) (Klaus Lage) 7,4% (9/9)Ardian Bujupi Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) (Enrique Iglesias) 8,6% (8/9)Pietro Lombardi Freaky Like Me (Madcon) 17,2% (1/9)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Nina Richel (Dieter & Patrick), Norman Langen or Nina Richel (Fernanda) Bottom 3: Anna-Carina Woitschack, Ardian Bujupi & Marvin Cybulski Eliminated: Marvin Cybulski
Top 8 - "Frühlings Gefühle" (Spring Feelings) Original airdate: 12 March 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsZazou Mall Umbrella (Rihanna) 8,9% (6/8)Ardian Bujupi Grenade (Bruno Mars) 10,7% (4/8)Marco Angelini Shame (Robbie Williams ft. Gary Barlow) 10,4% (5/8)Norman Langen Verlieben, Verloren, Vergessen, Verzeihen (Wolfgang Petry) 8,0% (7/8)Sebastian Wurth You Don't Know (Milow) 12,6% (3/8)Anna-Carina Woitschack Für Dich (Yvonne Catterfeld) 6,8% (8/8)Pietro Lombardi Down (Jay Sean) 16,6% (2/8)Sarah Engels I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston) 26,0% (1/8)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Ardian Bujupi or Zazou Mall (Dieter), Ardian Bujupi (Fernanda), Can't Decide (Patrick) Bottom 3: Zazou Mall, Norman Langen & Anna-Carina Woitschack Eliminated: Anna-Carina Woitschack
Top 7 - "Party Kracher" (Party Hits) Original airdate: 19 March 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsMarco Angelini Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams) 10,4% (6/7)Norman Langen Hey! Baby (DJ Ötzi) 9,2% (7/7)Ardian Bujupi Beautiful Monster (Ne-Yo) 12,7% (4/7)Zazou Mall Hot n Cold (Katy Perry) 16,3% (3/7)Sebastian Wurth Monsta (Culcha Candela) 12,1% (5/7)Pietro Lombardi Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) (Hermes House Band) 22,0% (1/7)Sarah Engels Release Me (Agnes) 17,3% (2/7)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Zazou Mall or Norman Langen (Dieter, Fernanda & Patrick) Bottom 3: Sebastian Wurth, Marco Angelini & Norman Langen Eliminated: Norman Langen
Top 6 - "English & German Hits" Original airdate: 2 April 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsSebastian WurthDu trägst keine Liebe in Dir (Echt) 13,8%Wonderful Life (Hurts)Marco AngeliniVom selben Stern (Ich & Ich) 9,2%Wonderwall (Oasis)Zazou Mall Stadt (Cassandra Steen feat. Adel Tawil) 12,9% Fight for This Love (Cheryl Cole)Ardian Bujupi Dieser Weg (Xavier Naidoo) 15,1% Feel (Robbie Williams)Sarah Engels Symphonie (Silbermond) 20,6% Run (Leona Lewis)Pietro LombardiMein Stern (Ayman) 28,4%Every Breath You Take (Sting)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Zazou Mall, Marco Angelini No elimination after wrong televoting numbers were announced for Zazou and Marco.
Top 6 - "America vs Europe" Original airdate: 9 April 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsSebastian WurthYou and Me (In My Pocket) (Milow) 14,0% (4/6)Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)Ardian BujupiGlow (Madcon) 16,0% (3/6)I Need A Dollar (Aloe Blacc)Zazou MallA Night like This (Caro Emerald) 13,6% (6/6)Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) (Shakira)Marco AngeliniDer Kommissar (Falco) 13,7% (5/6)Use Somebody (Kings Of Leon)Sarah EngelsWalking on Sunshine (Katrina And The Waves) 17,8% (2/6)Hurt (Christina Aguilera)Pietro LombardiDon't Worry, Be Happy (Hermes House Band) 24,9% (1/6)Mad World (Tears for Fears)
Jury Elimination Forecast: Marco Angelini or Zazou Mall Bottom 2: Marco Angelini & Zazou Mall Eliminated: Zazou Mall
Top 5 - "Hits of the 80's, 90's, and Today" Original airdate: 16 April 2011
Contestants Song (Artist) Percentage of callsSebastian WurthAyo Technology (Milow) 15,3% (5/5)I Promised Myself (Nick Kamen)Mandy (Westlife)Ardian Bujupi We've Got It Goin' On (Backstreet Boys) 16,1% (4/5)More (Usher)(I Just) Died in Your Arms (Cutting Crew)Marco AngeliniHollywood Hills (Sunrise Avenue) 18,6% (3/5)Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz)Major Tom (Coming Home) (Peter Schilling) Sarah EngelsThe Best (Tina Turner) 26,5% (1/5)What a Feeling (Irene Cara)Footprints in the Sand (Leona Lewis)Pietro LombardiI Just Called to Say I Love You (Stevie Wonder) 23,5% (2/5)To Make You Feel My Love (Kris Allen)Sweat (A La La La La Long) (Inner Circle)
Jury Elimination Forecast: — Bottom 2: Ardian Bujupi & Sebastian Wurth Eliminated: Sebastian Wurth
Top 4 - "Pop, Rock and Discofever" Original airdate: 23 April 2011