Germany has a new casting show, produced by Stefan Raab. How often has the jury in "FameMaker" misheard? So the prelude went.
ProSieben is the broadcaster in Germany that brought casting formats onto TV for the first time. "Popstars" has been running since 2000, and the No Angels were born. And 20 years later? With "FameMaker" the broadcaster and its production icon Stefan Raab (53) are trying something new. The concept: The jury sees the singing candidates under a soundproof glass dome and has to decide whether they want to hear the singing or not. Whoever decides on a candidate gets him into his team and has to prepare a performance for the final. So the focus is initially on the visual performance, what the voice of the respective candidate sounds like remains a surprise. So was the premiere of the new show.
You can't see voices
Tom Neuwirth (31), known throughout Europe since his victory as Conchita Wurst at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, hosted the evening, Carolin Kebekus (40), Luke Mockridge (31) and Teddy Teclebrhan (37) formed the jury. Stefan Raab was, according to the first one, "in the direction and eats chips". After a few preliminary skirmishes, the show started with Chris from Düsseldorf, who performed Lady Gaga's "Born this way". Mockridge, jumping up and down euphorically on his chair, brought the 31-year-old straight into the team.
Afterwards a tall blonde in black patent leather boots made her appearance, but Mockridge correctly stated: "Honestly, if she could still sing, then we would have known about it a long time ago." The 24-year-old pole dancer Alexandra was not chosen by any of the jurors, which turned out to be the right choice considering her singing qualities. Teclebrhan would have been well advised with the following candidate, but he pulled the lever for 38-year-old Valerie – and heard a vocally idiosyncratic version of Marianne Rosenberg's "He belongs to me".
Radiance through the dome
In the case of a blonde with a guitar, the jury pulled the lever together like crazy, but Kebekus was the fastest. 19-year-old Moritz from Augsburg ended up in their team. She succeeded in doing the same with the 25-year-old Cage from Cologne, Mockridge pulled an offended pout because she "looks so cool, I would have liked to have been a part of it".
Then the jurors were annoyed together about not having lifted the dome of candidate Lia: The professional singer replied to Mockridge's question "Where have you been all of our lives" with a dry "I have decided on a casting show, this one . " The jury clapped their hands over their heads and agreed to promote the singer through their respective social media channels.
The 26-year-old Sebastian from Berlin, who "has always loved to sing and dance", convinced Mockridge with platform shoes, spandex and mustache. When the dome was lifted and "the visual impression was enhanced by singing", as Mockridge subsequently discovered, Kebekus and Teclebrhan were annoyed by their timidity. Or in Teclebrhan's case, good-naturedness. Because before he had obeyed his heart at the Swabian Gerry and succumbed to the charm of the 60-year-old's daughter, who was cheering in the auditorium. At least Teclebrhan, who himself was on the road with a Swabian comedy program in Germany, kept his optimism: "We're doing something awesome together."
In the end, the audience decides
In total, nine candidates landed on the jurors' teams in the first show, which had a few laughs thanks to courageous candidates and an entertaining jury. Two of them at Kebekus, three at Teclebrhan and four at Mockridge. Each team has space for twelve candidates each, four of whom make it to the final at the end before the spectators choose a winner at home. The jury members are not allowed to select all of their candidates themselves, but only two – the other two are each chosen by a jury colleague. The next edition of "FameMaker" will be broadcast on Saturday, September 19th at 8:15 pm, the finale will take place on October 1st.