Deutschland sucht den 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 Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between the years of 2001 and 2003. Debuting to mediocre ratings in November 2002 on the RTL network, the show has since become one of the most successful shows on German television.
The fourth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was aired on German channel RTL from February to May 2007. Mark Medlock, the season's winner, was awarded a contract with Sony BMG. The judges in this season were Dieter Bohlen, Heinz Henn, Anja Lukaseder. It was hosted by Marco Schreyl and Tooske Ragas. The viewers chose the contestant's fates as they were able to call for their favorite contestant. The voting results were published on 7 May. The winner got a 10-year contract and €100,000. Twenty percent went to the winner's manager who was chosen by the creators.
The third season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar premiered on 16 November 2005 and continued until 18 March 2006. It was won by Tobias Regner. The season was co-hosted by Tooske Ragas and Marco Schreyl.
The fifth season of Akademi Fantasia premiered on 17 March 2007 and ran until 19 May 2007. The season was joined by new judges, Fauziah Latiff, Hattan and Fauziah Ahmad Daud, who replaced Adlin Aman Ramlie, while Aznil Nawawi returned as host for his fifth season. On 19 May 2007, Norsyarmilla Jirin from Penang was crowned the winner of the fifth season of Akademi Fantasia, making her the first female winner, defeating runner-up Ebi Kornelis @ Firdaus Yaimal. This season also featured Aizat Amdan, who would subsequently become the overall winner of 2009 and 2012 Anugerah Juara Lagu.
The fourth season of Akademi Fantasia premiered on the Astro Ria television channel on 3 June 2006. The season introduced Adlin Aman Ramlie as a replacement for Kudsia Kahar, while Aznil Nawawi returned as host once again. On 5 August 2006, a native of Marang, Terengganu, Mohammad Faizal Ramly won the season, defeating runner-up Lotter P. Edwin Edin. Faizal remained the last male winner until the seventh season.
Rania Zeriri is a Dutch singer.
Monika Ivkic, also known as Monice, is a Bosnian-born Austrian pop singer best known for achieving fourth place in the fifth season of the German casting show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS). She released her first album I'm Gonna Make It in 2009. After the end of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, she had a specially published book released that was sold in Germany and Austria.
The sixth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was aired on German channel RTL from January to May 2009. The season's winner, Daniel Schuhmacher, was awarded a contract with Sony BMG. The judges in this season were Dieter Bohlen, Nina Eichinger, and Volker Neumüller. It was hosted by Marco Schreyl. 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 voting and the other five were selected by the jury.
The seventh season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was aired on German channel RTL from 6 January to 17 April 2010. The season marked a new national record with more than 35,000 participants. The season's winner was Mehrzad Marashi.
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. 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.
The ninth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 7 January to 27 April 2012. Luca Hänni won the series. Jury members Fernanda Brandão and Patrick Nuo left DSDS and were replaced by Bruce Darnell and Cascada's Natalie Horler. As the winner, Luca Hänni received a recording contract with Universal Music Group and €500,000. Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 30 and living in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The auditions stage had 34 audition events in 33 cities across Germany, Austria or Switzerland. 35,401 participants auditioned for season 9. Marco Schreyl will not be returning to host season 10.
DSDS Kids was the only season of the kids version of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Broadcaster RTL announced on 13 March 2012 that there will be a kids edition of DSDS for children between the ages of 4 and 14. Parents had up until 31 March 2012 to register their children. The first show was scheduled to start on 5 May 2012 at 20:15. Dieter Bohlen, Michelle Hunziker and Dana Schweiger were named to the jury and Daniel Aßmann served as the host.
The tenth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 5 January to 11 May 2013. The winner received a recording contract with Universal Music Group and €500,000. There were new features in season 10. Participants had to be between 16 and 30 years old and could audition in 30 cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Bill and Tom Kaulitz from Tokio Hotel and Mateo from Culcha Candela became judges. Bruce Darnell and Natalie Horler both left after the completion of season 9. There was a trip to Curaçao during the recall. This is the first season in which three women reached the final four and the second season with a female final 2. After nine years, the show produced a female winner, since Elli Erl in season 2. Beatrice Egli won the show as the second female winner.
The eleventh season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 8 January to 3 May 2014. The winner received a recording contract with Universal Music Group and €500,000. Participants had to be between 16 and 30 years old and could audition in 30 cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Kenneth "Kay One" Glöckler, Mieze Katz and Marianne Rosenberg served as the judges.
The twelfth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 17 January to 16 May 2015. It was won by Severino Seeger.
During the live-shows of season 13, it was announced that the castings for season 14 will start in August 2016. In late 2016, broadcaster RTL gave closer details to the changes of season 14. The pre-recorded concerts in clubs in Germany were replaced by the "Mottoshows" which were used from season 1 to 10.
For season 15 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Dieter Bohlen announced a new jury consisting of Carolin Niemczyk, Ella Endlich and Mousse T. The winner was the 16-year-old Marie Wegener. She is the youngest winner ever and only the fourth woman to win the show and the first to win against a male in the top two. Michel Truog was the runner-up and Michael Rauscher reached the third place.
The seventeenth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar began on 4 January 2020 on RTL. As in the previous year, the jury consisted of Dieter Bohlen, Oana Nechiti, Xavier Naidoo and Pietro Lombardi; before the live shows began, Xavier Naidoo was excluded from the jury, his place took Florian Silbereisen. Alexander Klaws was the new host. The season ended on 4 April 2020 with Ramon Roselly as the winner, after having received 80.82% percent from the public.
The eighteenth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar began on 5 January 2021 on RTL. the jury consisted of Dieter Bohlen only for auditions and "Recalls" Mike Singer, Maite Kelly and Michael Wendler; Wendler was excluded after the first audition because of his statements about the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany. Before the live shows began, Dieter Bohlen was excluded from the jury, his place took Thomas Gottschalk. Oliver Geissen returned as the host. For the first time all top 4 consists of male competitors. Jan Marten-Block was announced as the winner of the season.
The nineteenth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar began on 22 January 2022 on RTL. The jury consisted of Florian Silbereisen, Ilse DeLange and Toby Gad. The contract with Dieter Bohlen as a juror was not extended by RTL and after 18 seasons Bohlen was not in the jury. Marco Schreyl became the new host.