Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" written by Alex Christensen and Steffen Häfelinger. The song was performed by Alex Swings Oscar Sings!, consisting of producer Alex Christensen and singer Oscar Loya. The German entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was internally selected by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The announcement of "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" as the German entry occurred on 9 February 2009 and the presentation of the song occurred during the Echo Music Prize awards show on 21 February 2009.
As a member of the "Big Four", Germany automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 17, Germany placed twentieth out of the 25 participating countries with 35 points.
Background
Prior to the 2009 contest, Germany had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-two times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in . Germany has won the contest on one occasion: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for the 1996 contest when the nation was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In 2008, the German entry "Disappear" performed by No Angels placed twenty-third out of twenty-five competing songs scoring 14 points.
The German national broadcaster, ARD, broadcasts the event within Germany and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the regional broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). NDR confirmed that Germany would participate in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 9 June 2008. Since 1996, NDR had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Germany. Following the resignation of Thomas Hermanns as the national final host, there were rumours that the 2009 national final would feature changes. Instead, ARD's entertainment coordinator Thomas Schreiber announced on 16 December 2008 that they would be "taking a break from the usual procedure" and organise an internal selection to select the German entry.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
NDR announced on 16 December 2008 that the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 would be selected internally. A submission period was opened on the same day where artists and songwriters that had achieved previous chart success were able to submit their entries until 22 January 2009. Artists were required to have experience in live performance, and German composers and lyricists were required to hold GEMA membership since 1 December 2007 in order to be able to apply. International songwriters were also able to submit songs, but they were also required to hold membership of a music society in their home countries since 1 December 2007. Approximately 100 entries were received by NDR at the closing of the deadline.
On 9 February 2009. "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" performed by Alex Christensen and American singer Oscar Loya, under the stage name Alex Swings Oscar Sings!, was announced by NDR as the German entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was written by Alex Christensen together with Steffen Häfelinger, and was selected from 12 shortlisted proposals by a seven-member panel consisting of Heinz Canibol (105music managing director), Guildo Horn (singer, 1998 German Eurovision entrant), Sylvia Kollek (music consultant), Ralf Quibeldey (head of the talk and entertainment department for NDR), Peter Urban (musician and radio host, 12-times German commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest), Thomas Schreiber (ARD entertainment coordinator) and Manfred Witt (head of German delegation for Eurovision). "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" was presented to the public during the Echo Music Prize awards show on 21 February 2009, hosted by Barbara Schöneberger and Oliver Pocher and broadcast on Das Erste.
Promotion
Alex Swings Oscar Sings! made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" as the German Eurovision entry. On 18 April, Alex Swings Oscar Sings! performed during the Eurovision Promo Concert, which was held at the Amsterdam Marcanti venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal. On 5 May, the duo performed in Spain during the La 1 programme Los mejores años de nuestra vida. The duo also appeared and performed during the Oprah Winfrey Show on 14 May.