Now Eurovision 2026 is firmly behind us and we’ve had a chance to properly digest the wild ride of Vienna, it’s now time to discuss What Went Wrong. We’ve all had a chance to mull over the results of the contest. The Eurovision 2026 final saw some very dramatic results, but 6 acts in particular had noticeably bad results.
In our second part Tom, Rory, and Samantha discuss what went wrong with Germany.
Who is Sarah Engels?
“Sarah Engels is a 33-year-old singer born in the German city of Cologne. She rose to fame in 2011 when she took part in the German version of Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar. After finishing as the runner up, she went on to release six albums, with her debut record reaching #2 on the German album charts.
Sarah represented Germany at Eurovision with “”Fire””, a song written by Sarah herself, as well as Luisa Heinemann, Dario Schümann, Raphael Lott and Valentin Boes.”
What are the issues with the selection?
Tom: I personally really enjoyed the German national final this year, which doesn’t seem like a popular opinion. I think Wavvyboi and Malou Lovis are amazing, and Sarah is also an incredible talent. But I think Sarah Engels was picked because she was the most famous person in the NF. The song was not competitive in the Eurovision context. So maybe some kind of voting reform could be useful in Germany.
Rory: To be blunt, this was a standard German national final. There was very little in here that would have worked. Even my favourites – Dreamboys the Band – were definitely going to be left behind if they went to Eurovision. I understand this was SWR’s first go of hosting Eurovision so they wanted to play it safe, but none of these songs would have produced a winner.
Samantha: Germany’s national final wasn’t anything special, but I still listen to some of the songs to this day (Dreamboys the Band and Malou Lovis). I think that ultimately Sarah was the best pick for Eurovision, but I definitely think that she won due to her popularity rather than the song in itself.
Was the song and act good enough to be in Eurovision?
Tom: Sarah Engels is an amazing talent. Her music outside of ESC is great. This was such a nothing song – lyrically. I cannot forgive the lyrics of this at all. And I don’t think the juries, or the public did either. But on the surface level, was this good enough. Yeah. Sure.
Rory: Sarah Engels deserved to go to Eurovision, and she has proven she handles herself well in the heat of a competition. She was feeling herself on stage and that was a joy to see! The song, however, definitely less so. This was the song I had a running joke with my boyfriend the entire Eurovision season. It was so generic that it could have come from anywhere and it would have produced the same result. No risk, no reward.
Samantha: Without a doubt Sarah is talented and was deserving of being at the contest. “Fire” was just too generic, and whilst a girly bop can always find its audience (I am in that audience), this just got tiresome from when we first heard it as a part of Das Deutsche to the Eurovision final. The entry felt too familiar; mainstream charts are saturated with similar pop songs, and most Eurovision viewers come to Eurovision to find something more distinctive and memorable. There were a lot more original and adventurous performances this year, and as a result, Germany fell short … again.
Did the staging compliment the song and stand out?
Tom: The staging was actually one of the better things about this for me. It worked for sure. I liked the graphics a lot and Sarah is definitely a brilliant performer. The song let this down more than staging or artist.
Rory: To go from nothing in the national final to a full on prop-heavy dancebreak-laden performance definitely put this song in a better stead. But there is the old adage of sometimes less is more, and Germany did not have to throw the entire kitchen sink at the staging. But I understand the appeal of a grand show, so if they wanted to splash the cash, then fair enough.
Samantha: It was your typical polished pop performance, but it failed to leave a lasting impression. You can’t deny that vocally Sarah gave it her all and it was packed with energy, but the staging failed to live up to the high expectations she had set beforehand in my opinion.
Would this song have qualified from this year’s semifinals?
Tom: I highly doubt it. Especially not with the juries back in the semifinals.
Rory: The way that Eurovision has gone in the past ten years, songs like this are becoming well and truly obsolete. Not to mention, in terms for the girlybop-ness, Cyprus had a much better package with a similar genre of song – and executed it better to. This would really languished had it have to compete in the semi-finals; hence why we need more risk-taking!
Samantha: I doubt this would have made it through from the semi-finals. It didn’t leave a lasting impression, and whilst it was fun for the three minutes, that was all.
What are our outlooks for future contests?
Tom: Please don’t ditch the NF Germany I beg. And let’s be riskier. Germany is an auto-qualifier. There is no excuse for sending just a nothing-y safe track, let’s be risky! I know it didn’t pay off in 2023, but give us some more German spunk! I’d love to see Ikkimel or Ski Aggu appear at some point in future for Germany.
Rory: We know that SWR has learned from the 2026 Contest and is now trying to pick something that is more representative of the German music scene. That’s all well and good, but it needs to be something that is strong, stands out but is not totally esoteric that it alienates every listener. Let there be a bit of grit, not everything has to be so polished! And bring something back in German again.
Samantha: I personally don’t mind Germany’s national final, but it could be better. I would like to see maybe a bit more diversity in the lineup. The public needs to vote based on the whole package rather than the popularity of the act.
Watch the accompanying discussion video here:
Germany’s Eurovision Journey
Germany has been part of Eurovision since the beginning, debuting in 1956. Their debut entries were Walter Andreas Schwarz’s “Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück” and Freddy Quinn’s “So geht das jede Nacht”. Germany has appeared at every Eurovision except for 1996, which means they have been at more Contests than any other country. They have a long history of success in Eurovision, finishing in the top 3 an impressive 13 times. Germany has won the contest twice: Nicole won in 1982 with her song “Ein bißchen Frieden”, taking home 161 points. Their second win came in 2010, when Lena scored 246 points with her song “Satellite”.
Germany’s most recent Eurovision entry was Sarah Engels with “Fire”. As Germany is part of the Big 5, they automatically qualified for the Grand Final. In the Final, the song received 12 points and finished in 23rd place, all of which came from the jury.
What do think about our thoughts? Do you think Sarah Engels could have done better? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2027!
Source: That Eurovision Site
Image Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Rory Gannon