STEFAN RAAB

Born: October 20th, 1966, Cologne (West Germany)

Nationality: German

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

After an unfinished bar study at university, Stefan Raab started working as a freelance composer of radio commercials in 1990. In the 1990s, he became a television personality, hosting the show Vivasion on nationwide music channel VIVA. Simultaneously, he began composing and producing songs, mainly novelty records. Since 1999, he has been the presenter of TV Total, a late night show which has been broadcast by ProSieben four times a week since 2001. In 2005, intending to create a better version of the Eurovision Song Contest, Raab initiated the Bundesvision Contest, with songs from all sixteen states of Germany.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Stefan Raab is the only Eurovision conductor in the history of the contest not to have conducted one single note: being the composer of the 1998 German entry, Guildo Horn’s comedy effort ‘Guildo hat Euch lieb!’, he insisted on taking the conductor’s bow, although all music came from a pre-recorded track. Guildo Horn finished eighth. Two years later, Raab participated again, this time as the singer of his own creation ‘Wadde hadde dudde da?’, which came fifth. 

In 2004, he composed the best of his three Eurovision songs, the laid-back ‘Can’t Wait Until Tonight’; performed by Max Mutzke, this German entry finished eight. In 2010, Raab was the jury president of the pre-selection process, dubbed Unser Star für Oslo; the eventual winner, Lena Meyer-Landrut, went on to win the contest proper with ‘Satellite’. The following year, Lena Meyer-Landrut again represented Germany, this time with a song produced by Raab, 'Taken By A Stranger'.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1998 Birmingham

Country – United Germany

Song title – “Guildo hat Euch lieb”

Rendition – Guildo Horn & Die Orthopädischen Strümpfe (= Michael Kernbach / Rainer Kind / August Schrader / Albert Niesen / Michael Schneider)

Lyrics – Stefan Raab

Composition – Stefan Raab

Studio arrangement – Stefan Raab / Michael Holm

Live orchestration – none

"Conductor" – Stefan Raab

Score – 7th place (86 votes)

2000 Stockholm

Country – United Germany

Song title – “Wadde hadde dudde da?”

Rendition – Stefan Raab

Lyrics – Stefan Raab

Composition – Stefan Raab

Studio arrangement – Stefan Raab

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

Score – 5th place (96 votes)

2004 Istanbul

Country – United Germany

Song title – “Can’t Wait Until Tonight”

Rendition – Max Mutzke

Lyrics – Stefan Raab

Composition – Stefan Raab

Studio arrangement – Max Mutzke / Stefan Raab / The Heavytones (= Rüdiger Baldauf / Wolfgang Norman Dalheimer / Alfonso Garrido / Herbert Jösch / Niels Klein / Dominik Krämer / Philip Niessen / César Pérez)

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

Score – 8th place (93 votes)

2011 Düsseldorf

Country – United Germany

Song title – “Taken By A Stranger”

Rendition – Lena Meyer-Landrut

Lyrics – Gus Seyffert / Nicole Morier / Monica Birkenes

Composition – Gus Seyffert / Nicole Morier / Monica Birkenes

Studio arrangement – Stefan Raab / Reinhard Schraub

Live orchestration – none

Conductor – none

Score – 10th place (107 votes)