The sixth season of ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...

'' was aired on German channel RTL from January to May 2009. The season's winner,

Daniel Schuhmacher Daniel Schuhmacher (born 19 April 1987) is a German singer and songwriter. In 2009, he rose to fame after winning the sixth season of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German edition of ''Pop Idol''. His debut album ''The Album'' was rele ...

, was awarded a contract with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. The judges in this season were

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen, 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German a ...

Nina Eichinger Nina Eichinger (born 16 September 1981) is a German television presenter and actress. Eichinger was born in Munich, the daughter of film producer and director Bernd Eichinger. She was an MTV VJ and has been a jury member for '' Deutschland s ...

, and

Volker Neumüller Volker Neumüller (born 18 October 1969) is a German music manager and was known for being a judge on ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar''. Career Born in Cuxhaven, Neumüller has been involved in the music industry since 1987. In 1991, he bec ...

. It was hosted by

Marco Schreyl Marco Schreyl (born 1 January 1974) is a German television and radio host. Television career In 1997, Schreyl began his television host career at MDR television. On 2 October 2000, he went to ZDF and was the presenter of the television maga ...

. The viewers chose the contestant's fates as they were able to call for their favorite contestant. As with season 5, the "Top 10" was created by the Top 5 contestants with the most telephone and

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

voting and the other five were selected by the jury.

Finalists

(Ages stated at time of contest)

Voting controversy

Annemarie Eilfeld Annemarie Eilfeld (born 2 May 1990), also known as Annemie, is a German singer and songwriter, best known as a former contestant of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Season 6), Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German version of the ''Pop ...

demanded a redo after she was eliminated in the Top 3 show. RTL admitted that a speaker in the "reminder" trailers following the show had told viewers to vote 03 for Eilfeld and 02 for

. She called this problem a "scandal". The mistake was not considered big enough for RTL to bother with. After the initial show, Eilfeld had 19.3% of the vote and ended up with 19.8% with the second place contestant receiving a much higher total. Angry DSDS fans complained and demanded either a repeat of the Top 3 show or a three-way final between Eilfeld, Schuhmacher and Sarah Kreuz. Eilfeld's father was outraged over the error and reportedly considering taking legal action against RTL.

Top 15 – "Jetzt oder nie" (Top 15 - Now or Never)

:Original airdate: 28 February 2009 ''Advancing to Top 10 (Public votes): Vanessa N, Daniel, Sarah, Dominik, Holger'' ''Advancing to Top 10 (Jury selection): Marc, Annemarie, Cornelia, Vanessa C, Benny'' Although Florian and Tobias were eliminated, they both ranked within the top 10 in the phone voting with Florian placing 9th and Tobias placing 7th, ahead of Marc, Benny, Vanessa C., and Cornelia.

Finals

Top 10 - "Greatest Hits"

:Original airdate: 7 March 2009 ''Bottom 4: Marc Jentzen, Benny Kieckhäben, Michelle Bowers, Annemarie Eilfeld '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Benny Kieckhäben '' ''Eliminated: Michelle Bowers''

Top 9 - "Geschlechtertausch" (Gender Switch)

:Original airdate: 14 March 2009 ''Bottom 4: Marc Jentzen, Cornelia Patzlsperger, Benny Kieckhäben, Annemarie Eilfeld '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Benny Kieckhäben '' ''Eliminated: Cornelia Patzlsperger ''

Top 8 - "Party Hits"

:Original airdate: 21 March 2009 ''Bottom 4: Benny Kieckhäben, Marc Jentzen, Vanessa Neigert, Annemarie Eilfeld '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Annemarie Eilfeld '' ''Eliminated: Marc Jentzen ''

Top 7 - "Sexy Hits"

:Original airdate: 4 April 2009 ''Bottom 4: Benny Kieckhäben, Holger Göpfert, Vanessa Neigert, Annemarie Eilfeld'' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Dominik Büchele (Nina), Annemarie Eilfeld (Volker & Dieter) '' ''Eliminated: Holger Göpfert ''

Top 6 - "Aktuelle Hits & I Love You" (Current Hits & I Love You)

:Original airdate: 11 April 2009 ''Bottom 4: Annemarie Eilfeld, Benny Kieckhäben, Daniel Schuhmacher, Vanessa Neigert '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Benny Kieckhäben (Volker), Benny Kieckhäben or Vanessa Neigert (Nina), Didn't say (Dieter) '' ''Eliminated: Vanessa Neigert ''

Top 5 - "Sonne und Regen" (Sun and Rain)

:Original airdate: 18 April 2009 ''Bottom 3: Annemarie Eilfeld, Benny Kieckhäben, Sarah Kreuz '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Annemarie Eilfeld (Nina), Dominik Büchele (Volker), Benny Kieckhäben (Dieter) '' ''Eliminated: Benny Kieckhäben ''

Top 4 - "Filmmusik & Unplugged" (Movie songs & Unplugged)

:Original airdate: 25 April 2009 ''Bottom 3: Annemarie Eilfeld, Dominik Büchele, Sarah Kreuz '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Dominik Büchele (Nina & Volker), Sarah Kreuz (Dieter) '' ''Eliminated: Dominik Büchele ''

Top 3 - "Uptempo, Ballade & Nr. 1 Hit" (Uptempo, Power ballad & No. 1 Hits)

:Original airdate: 2 May 2009 ''Bottom 2: Annemarie Eilfeld, Sarah Kreuz '' ''Jury Elimination Forecast: Didn't say '' ''Eliminated: Annemarie Eilfeld ''

Top 2 - Finale - "Herzenssong", "Staffelhighlight", "Siegertitel" (Singer's choice, Highlight Song, Winner's Single)

:Original airdate: 9 May 2009 ''Judges' forecasts of who would win: Daniel or Sarah (Nina, Volker & Dieter)'' '' Winner: Daniel Schuhmacher'' '' Runner - Up: Sarah Kreuz ''

Top 10 contestants

Michelle Bowers

Michelle Bowers (born 6 August 1992 in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

) was the youngest participant in the Top 10. She was originally eliminated in the "Top 15" show when both the viewers and jury did not put her into the next round. However one day before the first theme show, contestant Vanessa Civiello quit the competition bringing Bowers back into the Top 10. Although with only one night of rehearsal, the judges praised her comeback and believed it would allow her to go further in the competition. However, she was eliminated.

Dominik Büchele

Dominik Büchele (born 23 February 1991 in

Herbolzheim Herbolzheim () is a town in the district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated near the river Elz, 26 km north of Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Aleman ...

) has been voted off the competition after theme show 7, finishing in the Top 4. He was known for his comparison and looks of

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

. He was a fan favorite among the girls. *Audition: "Same Mistake" - James Blunt *Recall 1: " I'm Yours" -

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

*Recall 2: " You Give Me Something" - James Morrison *Recall 3: "

Goodbye My Lover "Goodbye My Lover" is a song by the English singer-songwriter James Blunt, written by Blunt and British songwriter Sacha Skarbek, for Blunt's debut album, '' Back to Bedlam'' (2004). The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth ...

" -

Vanessa Civiello

Vanessa Civiello (born 7 May 1991 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

) was a jury selection for Top 10 after participating in the Top 15 liveshow. One day before the first theme show, Civiello voluntarily withdrew. Michelle Bowers was recalled to replace Civiello.

Annemarie Eilfeld

Holger Göpfert

Holger Göpfert (born 13 May 1981 in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

) worked as an administration employee in Würzburg and is a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. He auditioned in season 3 but did not make it through to the recall. At 13, Holger began to teach himself

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and to sing pass after songs. He also taught himself to play piano and guitar. He is a huge fan of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in which he had sung songs in the show by these artists. His favorite song is "Oh Darling!" by the Beatles, in which he sang on the "Top 15" show and was selected further by call in votes. He was a fan favorite due to his excellent performing and entertainment rather than his voice. Although considered a joke contestant, he was well known for being a favorite and possible winner of the competition until his elimination. *Audition: "Oh Darling" - The Beatles *Recall 1: "The Great Pretender" - Freddie Mercury *Recall 2: "

Love Ain't Here Anymore "Love Ain't Here Anymore" is a song by English boy band Take That. Released on 27 June 1994, it was the sixth and final single taken from the band's second studio album, '' Everything Changes'' (1993). It peaked at number three in the UK Singles ...

" -

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

& "Still Got the Blues"- Gary Moore *Recall 3: "

Lady Madonna "Lady Madonna" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In March 1968, it was released as a mono single, backed with " The Inner Light". The song was recorded on 3 a ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Marc Jentzen

Marc Jentzen (born 21 August 1987 in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

) taught at

Star Camp Star Camp is a German performing arts camp that was created in 2009. The camp kicked off in Büren, Westphalia, Büren, Nuremberg and Werbellinsee. During the Easter holidays of 2010, Star Camp headed towards Helmarshausen in Bad Karlshafen, H ...

after his elimination.

Benny Kieckhäben

Benny Kieckhäben (born 11 February 1990) is known for his unexpected audition due to way he looked. He was put through by all three judges after singing " If I Ever Fall in Love". Since, he has become somewhat of a favorite in the competition, although has been in the bottom every week, due to his good-sounding voice and his use of props (such as a cage in his performance of "

Don't Cha "Don't Cha" is a song written by Busta Rhymes and CeeLo Green, and produced by the latter. The chorus is an interpolation of the song "Swass", which was written and performed by Sir Mix-a-Lot. The song was originally recorded and published by Tor ...

"). He is openly gay. Throughout the competition, he was known to sing songs by female artists. *Audition: " If I Ever Fall in Love" -

Shai Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of destiny, fate in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating one gender over another, Shai was sometimes consider ...

*Recall 1: "

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Tell ...

" -

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a su ...

*Recall 2: N/A *Recall 3: " End of the Road" -

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

Sarah Kreuz

Sarah Kreuz (born 27 July 1989 in Bergheim) lives in Poppenhausen near

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

. She has consistent high placings in the show and has been a contest winner.

Vanessa Neigert

Vanessa Neigert (born 11 July 1992 in Tevillo, Italy)

Cornelia Patzlsperger

Cornelia Patzlsperger (born 16 July 1979 in

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tö ...

)

Daniel Schuhmacher

Daniel Schuhmacher (born 19 April 1987 in

Pfullendorf Pfullendorf is a small town of about 13,000 inhabitants located north of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire for nearly 600 years. The town is in the district of Sigmaringen south of ...

) is the season 6 winner of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar''.

Elimination chart

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deutschland sucht den Superstar (season 6) Season 06 2009 German television seasons 2009 in German music