Stefan Raab | |
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Born | Stefan Konrad Raab 20 October 1966 |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1990–2015, 2024–present (entertainer) 2018–present (as producer) |
Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, television producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night comedy talk show TV total on ProSieben. He also created a number of other television shows on the channel, such as Schlag den Raab and Bundesvision Song Contest .
Raab began his TV career hosting the comedy show Vivasion in 1993. He became well known in 1994 after composing a hit single spoofing national football coach Berti Vogts. In the early 2010s, Raab was considered the "most powerful man in German entertainment television". [1]
Raab is also known for his recurring role as producer, writer and performer of German entries to the Eurovision Song Contest since 1998. He was the initiator of the national pre-selection show Unser Star für Oslo ("Our Star for Oslo"), in which Germany's winning entry at the 2010 contest in Oslo was determined.
In 2015, Raab ended his on-screen career while staying active as a television producer. He made his public return in 2024.
Raab grew up in Cologne with his sister and their parents, who owned a butcher's shop. He attended Jesuit boarding school Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn. Before entering the entertainment business, he completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in his parents' shop and studied law before dropping out of university after five semesters. [2]
Raab lives in a suburb of Cologne and has two daughters (born 2004 and 2006) with his girlfriend Nike. [3] Other than this, very little is known about Raab, who deliberately hides his private life from the media.
Raab became popular in Germany as the host of the comedy show Vivasion for German music television channel VIVA from 1993 to 1998. [4]
In 1999, he created TV total which began airing in April 2001 on ProSieben, four times a week. While TV total started as a comedy format mainly showing and satirizing funny and embarrassing sequences from other television programs, it soon came to be more of a late night show featuring musical performances—in some ways similar to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or Late Night with Conan O'Brien . [4] [5]
After a boxing match against Regina Halmich in 2001 and a speed skating race against Claudia Pechstein in 2002, he also created several other celebrity sports events that are produced regularly, including TV total Turmspringen (high diving) and TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge (stock car racing). He also brought fun and variety to the show by invented new sports: In November 2003, he initiated the first "official" World Wok racing Championship in Winterberg, Germany. Modified Chinese woks are used to make timed runs down an Olympic bobsled track. The championship took place annually until March 2011, in Innsbruck. [5] The first Autoball EM — Autoball being a version of football played in cars and using an exercise ball to score goals — took place in 2007. [6]
In 2006, Raab invented the game show Schlag den Raab (German for "Beat the Raab", remade for British television as Beat the Star and as Beat Your Host in several other European countries), in which he competed against a contestant in various disciplines. Some episodes of the show lasted more than five hours with excellent ratings.
Raab also organized PokerStars.de Nacht, a poker event featuring some celebrity names in German entertainment. [5]
In September 2012, he announced that he would be hosting a new talk show on ProSieben which would include political guests. It began airing on 11 November 2012. [7] It stood in direct competition with the self-titled talk show hosted by Günther Jauch.
In September 2013, Raab was one of four hosts (one from each big television network) at the federal election debate between chancellor Angela Merkel and her challenger Peer Steinbrück.
In mid-2015, Raab announced his retirement from television and stated that he would remain hosting until the end of the year. [8] The last episode of his show TV total aired on 16 December and the last episode of Schlag den Raab aired on 19 December 2015.
He made his return in 2024 with a new show titled Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million on RTL+, which has been described as a combination of TV total and Schlag den Raab. [9]
As a musician, Raab is an autodidact, playing various instruments, such as piano, drums, guitar, ukulele, and some wind instruments. [4] He began working as a freelance producer and composer of jingles and radio commercials in 1990 at his own studio in Cologne. [2]
From 1994 onwards, he produced a number of popular songs, including "Böörti Böörti Vogts" (a song about Berti Vogts), "Hier kommt die Maus" ("Here comes the mouse", a tribute to the children's television series Die Sendung mit der Maus ), "Maschen-Draht-Zaun", "Wir kiffen", "Gebt das Hanf frei!" ("Legalise Dope!", featuring Shaggy and samples from German politician Hans-Christian Ströbele), "Hol' mir ma' 'ne Flasche Bier" ("Get me a bottle o' beer", containing samples from then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder), and "Space Taxi" from the soundtrack of the film Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 . [6]
Based on the concept of the Eurovision Song Contest, Raab created and hosted the Bundesvision Song Contest (Bundesrepublik Deutschland = Federal Republic of Germany), which first aired on ProSieben in 2005. The contest features representatives from each of the 16 states of Germany and stipulates that their song has to be at least partly in German. It took place yearly until Raab's preliminary retirement in 2015.
Raab wrote the song for the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, Guildo Horn's "Guildo hat euch lieb!". After placing first in the pre-selection competition Countdown Grand Prix 1998, it finished the main contest in seventh place. [5] [10] Raab participated himself as the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the nonsense song "Wadde hadde dudde da?". He placed first in the pre-selection competition Countdown Grand Prix Eurovision 2000 and finished the contest in fifth place. [10] For the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, Raab created and hosted a talent show called SSDSGPS ("Stefan sucht den Super-Grand-Prix-Star", "Stefan seeks the super Grand-Prix star", satirising the title of the German Idol series Deutschland sucht den Superstar , DSDS). [11] The competition was won by Max Mutzke, who finished the main contest in eighth place. [10]
In 2009, Raab was approached by the public broadcaster NDR, a member of the ARD broadcasting consortium, to jointly organise a national pre-selection in order to determine the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. It was revealed that Raab initially refused the request, but that his television network ProSieben accepted the offer to work with ARD/NDR. [12] As a result of the cooperation, the talent show contest Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo) took place from 2 February 2010 onwards, stretching across 8 shows. Raab took a lead role in the programmes as head of the jury. In the national final on 12 March 2010, Lena Meyer-Landrut emerged as winner. [13] On 29 May 2010, Meyer-Landrut won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Satellite", claiming the first German Eurovision victory in 28 years. [14]
The cooperation between NDR and ProSieben was continued for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Meyer-Landrut was confirmed as the artist of the German entry after her successful win in the previous contest. The pre-selection competition Unser Song für Deutschland was held to determine the song of the German entry, with Meyer-Landrut performing twelve songs to be voted on by the public. Raab was involved in the selection of the competing entries, some of which he also wrote and composed, and was a juror on the final of the competition. "Taken by a Stranger", which was produced by Raab, emerged as the winning song. In May 2011, Raab acted as co-host of the main contest alongside Anke Engelke and Judith Rakers, with Meyer-Landrut finishing in tenth place.
The week following the 2011 final, Raab announced he would end his Eurovision involvement as a pre-selection host, chairman of the jury, composer and musical producer. [15] However, he still returned in 2012 as creator and producer of the pre-selection competition Unser Star für Baku. Raab participated as a regular jury member and was succeeded as jury president by Thomas D. [16] The competition was won by Roman Lob with "Standing Still", which finished the main contest in eighth place. Raab was no longer involved from the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 onwards, as the cooperation between NDR and ProSieben was dissolved.
After Raab came out of his retirement as entertainer and television host in 2024, he reportedly offered to produce a pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 to be hosted jointly by public and private broadcasters. [17] In October 2024, Raab was confirmed to return as creator, producer and jury member of the pre-selection competition Chefsache ESC 2025: Wer singt für Deutschland?. The television shows will air on Das Erste as well as private channel RTL, where Raab had signed an exclusive contract. During a press conference, Raab stated he would be open to produce or write a song in the competition, but said his decision would depend on the participating artists and their music genre. [18]
Year | Place of event | Artist | Song | Involvement as | Position | Points |
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1998 | Birmingham, England | Guildo Horn | "Guildo hat euch lieb!" | Composer | 7 | 86 |
2000 | Stockholm, Sweden | Stefan Raab | "Wadde hadde dudde da?" | Performer, composer | 5 | 96 |
2004 | Istanbul, Turkey | Max Mutzke | Can't Wait Until Tonight | Discoverer, composer, mentor | 8 | 93 |
2010 | Oslo, Norway | Lena Meyer-Landrut | "Satellite" | Creator and jury president of Unser Star für Oslo , mentor | 1 | 246 |
2011 | Düsseldorf, Germany | "Taken by a Stranger" | Creator and jury president of Unser Song für Deutschland , music producer, mentor, host | 10 | 107 | |
2012 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Roman Lob | "Standing Still" | Creator and jury member of Unser Star für Baku | 8 | 110 |
2025 | Basel, Switzerland | TBD | Creator and jury member of Chefsache ESC 2025 | TBD |
For his television show Vivasion, Raab received the Goldener Löwe (Golden Lion), the predecessor to Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award), in 1996. For TV total he received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 1999 as well as the comedy award Rose d'or in 2001.
For his talent show SSDSGPS he was awarded the Adolf-Grimme-Preis in 2005 in for the "discovery and support of young music talents". On 29 May 2005, Raab received the Deutsch-Türkischer Freundschaftspreis (German-Turkish Friendship Award) for his TV total specials from Istanbul in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. He won the Bravo Otto in the category "Comedystar" from 2000 to 2003. In 2000 and 2005, Raab was awarded the ECHO (German music award) as "Best National Producer". In 2005, he also received the ECHO award as "media partner of the year").
On 29 September 2007, Raab received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for "Best Entertainment Show" for the fifth episode of Schlag den Raab . On 6 February 2008, the show was awarded the Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera). Furthermore, Raab received the media award Bambi on 27 November 2008. [19] In 2009, Raab won the Herbert Award 2009 for Best Television Sports show for TV total Turmspringen. [20]
Madame Tussauds in Berlin has displayed a wax figure of Raab since April 2009. [21]
As the initiator and president of the jury of the show Unser Star für Oslo , Raab was awarded the Bavarian TV Award in 2010.
On 12 November 2011, Raab came second in synchronised diving, teaming with Elton in Munich, at the TV Total Turmspringen 2011 event. This was his first ever podium along with Elton at this event.
Raab has been the subject of lawsuits throughout his career, some of which have gained public attention. The two most referenced cases are:
Maximilian Nepomuk Mutzke is a German singer, songwriter and television personality. He gained public interest in early 2004 when he won SSDSGPS, a talent contest hosted in Stefan Raab's late-night show TV total. Mutzke subsequently qualified for and won the national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, Germany 12 Points!, and thus represented Germany with his debut single "Can't Wait Until Tonight" that year, eventually finishing eighth in a field of 24 participants. Meanwhile, "Can't Wait Until Tonight" debuted atop the German singles chart and became a top five hit in Austria and Switzerland. His eponymous debut album, a mixture of soul and pop songs in German and English language, was released in January 2005 and also reached number one in Germany, where it was certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI).
Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 67 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participant broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
TV total is a German late-night television comedy talk show which originally aired from 8 March 1999 to 16 December 2015 on ProSieben, hosted, created and produced by entertainer Stefan Raab. Following a six-year hiatus, it was revived on 10 November 2021 with Sebastian Pufpaff as host.
Brainpool TV GmbH is a German television production company located in Cologne.
Alexander Duszat, known professionally as Elton, is a German television presenter and comedian who gained recognition as Stefan Raab's sidekick in the long-running late-night comedy show TV total.
Steven Gätjen is a German-American event and TV host based in Germany.
Beat the Star is a British game show airing on television network ITV. It is the British version of the Schlag den Raab franchise, based on the German game show Schlag den Raab. A candidate who can beat a celebrity in a number of disciplines wins the jackpot, starting at £50,000.
Germany participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Satellite" written by Julie Frost and John Gordon. The song was performed by Lena. The German entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway was selected through the national final Unser Star für Oslo, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and private broadcaster ProSieben. The national final featured 20 competing artists and consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final held in February and March 2010. Contestants were selected to advance in the competition via public televote. Two contestants qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. "Satellite" performed by Lena was selected as the German entry for Oslo after placing among the top two during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining the most votes in the second round.
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song "Satellite". Both "Satellite" and her debut album My Cassette Player (2010) debuted at number one in Germany and became platinum sellers. With her three entries from the German national final Unser Star für Oslo, Meyer-Landrut set an all-time chart record in her home country by debuting with three songs in the top five of the German Singles Chart. She represented Germany for the second consecutive time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf with the song "Taken by a Stranger", finishing in tenth place.
"Satellite" is a song by German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut. It was written by American songwriter Julie Frost and Danish songwriter John Gordon and recorded by Meyer-Landrut for Unser Star für Oslo, the German pre-selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. An uptempo bubbly three-chord song, the lyrics of "Satellite" deal with unconditional love. One out of three songs which Meyer-Landrut presented during the pre-selection final, her version of the song was chosen via televoting on 12 March 2010.
My Cassette Player is the debut studio album of German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut. It was released by Universal Music Germany on 7 May 2010 in German-speaking Europe. After winning Unser Song für Oslo, the German final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Meyer-Landrut began work on her debut album, with entertainer Stefan Raab producing and co-writing most of the material. Several song which she had recorded during the national finals, including winning entry "Satellite," were also included.
"Love Me" is a song by German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut, co-written by her and entertainer Stefan Raab. It was one of three songs performed by Meyer-Landrut in the final of Unser Star für Oslo, the national pre-selection programme for Germany's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. However, the audience chose "Satellite" to be her designated song for the contest in Oslo. "Love Me" was made available for digital download on 13 March 2010 and is also featured on Meyer-Landrut's maxi single "Satellite". The song subsequently charted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, reaching peak positions of No. 4, #28 and No. 39 respectively.
Jennifer Braun is a German singer. She was runner-up at the talent show Unser Star für Oslo, Germany's national pre-selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Her first music single was "I Care for You".
'"Bee" is a song recorded by German singers Lena Meyer-Landrut and Jennifer Braun, composed by American-Israeli songwriter Rosi Golan, American singer-songwriter Mayaeni Strauss and Norwegian songwriter Per Kristian Ottestad. Both Braun and Meyer-Landrut released their versions of the song, but Meyer-Landrut's version outperformed Braun's, reaching number three in the German singles chart while Braun's version peaked at No. 21.
Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Taken by a Stranger", written by Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier, and Monica Birkenes, and performed by Lena. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Unser Song für Deutschland in order to select their entry for the contest, after having previously selected the performer internally. In addition, NDR was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Düsseldorf Arena in Düsseldorf, after winning the previous edition with the song "Satellite" also performed by Lena.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Jamie Cullum and Wayne Hector. The song was performed by Roman Lob. The German entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Unser Star für Baku, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and private broadcaster ProSieben. The national final featured 20 competing artists and consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final held in January and February 2012 2012. Contestants were selected to advance in the competition via public televote. Two contestants qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. "Standing Still" performed by Roman Lob was selected as the German entry for Baku after gaining 50.7% of the votes in the second round.
Sabine Heinrich is a German radio and television presenter.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Glorious" written by Yann Peifer, Manuel Reuter, Andres Ballinas and Tony Cornelissen. The song was performed by Cascada. The German entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Unser Song für Malmö, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 14 February 2013 and featured twelve competing acts with the winner by the votes of a five-member jury panel, a radio vote and a public televote. "Glorious" performed by Cascada was selected as the German entry for Malmö after gaining the most points following the combination of votes.
Matthias Augustinus Wilhelm Georg Opdenhövel is a German television presenter.
Schlag den Henssler was a short-lived live game show, televised by German TV network ProSieben on Saturday evenings from September 2017 to September 2018. The show ran for two seasons and produced a total of eight episodes, which followed a contestant competing with German TV chef and personality Steffen Henssler in a number of competitions for a jackpot starting at €250,000.