“Germany seeks the superstar”
These are Ilse DeLange and Toby Gad – the new ones on the jury
Ìlse DeLange and Toby Gad decide on Germany’s newest superstar.
© TVNOW / Paul Bellaart / TVNOW / Toby Gad
The new “DSDS” jury consists of Florian Silbereisen, Ilse DeLange and Toby Gad. Who are they – and what do they want?
New start for “Germany is looking for the superstar”: veteran Dieter Bohlen (67) leaves the jury, but Florian Silbereisen (39) comes to his chair. The other two jury members are also new, but they shouldn’t be known to every “DSDS” fan: Ilse DeLange (44) and Toby Gad (53).
Good mood from the specialist: Ilse DeLange
RTL describes the Dutch pop & country singer Ilse DeLange as a great talent with a loving manner. She is a big star in her home country – her debut album “World of Hurt” reached first place in the charts in 1998. She has now released ten studio albums, six of which topped the charts in the Netherlands.
In 2014 DeLange competed with the singer Waylon for the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest and came second after Conchita Wurst (32). She already has jury experience: She acted as a coach in “The Voice of Holland” for two seasons. German TV fans might know her from the 7th season “Sing my song – the exchange concert”, from the last season “Let’s Dance” or from the Free European Song Contest in 2020, where she again took second place.
From the “DSDS” candidates, the lively 44-year-old, who was teased through many talent shows as a teenager, would like them to remain true to themselves. But they should also be able to deal with negative assessments as she clarifies in an interview with RTL: “You think ‘She just laughs’, but I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t also made difficult decisions in my career.”
Toby Gad: A professional who knows the world stars
And who is Toby Gad? The music producer and songwriter started music at the age of four and has already written around 2000 songs and worked with numerous international stars in his “adult career”. Among other things, he wrote Fergie (46) her hit “Girls Don’t Cry”, but has also worked with Beyoncé (39), Demi Lovato (28), Shakira (44) and Donna Summer (63). Just like with John Legend (42), whom he counts as one of his good friends, or Madonna (62), who invited him to all of her birthday parties after their collaboration, as he told RTL.
After working with Simon Cowell (61) on “The X-Factor”, he wished he could be part of a jury. That is why the native of Munich and American by choice immediately agreed when the request from “DSDS” came. He is also really looking forward to coming back to Germany, said Gad.
Gad also values truthfulness in Germany’s future superstar. “It is important to me that an artist is authentic, that there is great entertainment value, that you can feel something,” the broadcaster quotes the musician. But he will not continue Bohlen’s often rough manner in the casting show. “I don’t want to be angry unless someone is really terrible, then you have to say that. But you can do that nicely.”