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.
Production
Changes include Fernanda Brandão and Patrick Nuo leaving the DSDS jury immediately after season 8 and were replaced by Bruce Darnell and Cascada's Natalie Horler. RTL decided to have a "Top 16" instead of a "Top 15". Participants sang in duets in the Top 6.
The audition cities were Soltau, Saarbrücken, Trier, Mannheim, Karlsdorf, Munich, Landshut, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Freiburg, Zurich, Bern, Graz, Salzburg, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Rostock, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Osnabrück, Cologne, Dortmund, Koblenz, Aachen, Schüttorf, Vienna, Frankfurt, Kassel, Münster, Essen and a second time in Cologne. There were 35.401 participants that auditioned for season 9. Production for the Top 36 was in the Maldives.
The jury and host
Dieter Bohlen was born on 7 February 1954 in Oldenburg. He has been a judge on DSDS since season 1. He got his first job as a composer and producer in 1979. He is now the most successful German composer and producer. Bohlen and Thomas Anders, as members of Modern Talking, are the only German act with five titles in a row at number 1 on the German singles chart.
Season 9 is Natalie Horler's first season on the jury panel. She is the lead singer for Cascada. She was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Germany. Horler is the daughter of David Horler.
Bruce Darnell was on born on 19 July 1957 in the US state of Colorado. He grew up in New York City. In 1983, he began his career as a model in Munich. He later moved to Cologne to continue his career as a model. Since 1990, Darnell worked as a choreographer and trained models for the catwalk. He was a judge on Germany's Next Topmodel and Das Supertalent. He replaced Patrick Nuo for season 9.
Marco Schreyl has been the host of DSDS since season 3. He was born on 1 January 1974 in Erfurt, East Germany and is a graduate of the University of Jena. He has also hosted Das Supertalent.
Auditions
The auditions for season 9 started on 27 August 2011. The deadline to apply for auditions was 15 August 2011. Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 30 and living in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. 34 Audition events were held in 33 cities.
"Recall" The first recall show aired on 4 February. The 135 candidates who advanced to the Recall were split up into groups where the judges picked 60 candidates for the next round. The 60 candidates who advanced participated in groups and duets. The Top 36 went to the Maldives. Ole Jahn left voluntarily in the Top 36 due to health reasons.
Finalists
(Ages stated at time of contest)
Top 16 – "Jetzt oder nie" (Now or Never) Original airdate: 25 February 2012
Group Song: "Good Feeling" Advancing to Top 10 (Public votes): Vanessa, Jesse, Thomas, Fabienne, Joey, Kristof, Luca, Daniele, Silvia and Hamed. Eliminated in the Top 16 Show: Angel, Jana, Marcello, Ursula, Christian and Dennis.
Theme shows
Top 10 - "Hammer Hits" Original airdate: 3 March 2012
Group Song:"Troublemaker" Jury Elimination Forecast: Silvia Amaru Bottom 3: Kristof Hering, Thomas Pegram, Silvia Amaru Eliminated: Thomas Pegram
Top 9 - "Party Hits" Original airdate: 10 March 2012
Group Song:"Party Rock Anthem" Jury Elimination Forecast: Silvia Amaru or Joey Heindle Bottom 3: Silvia Amaru, Kristof Hering & Jesse Ritch Eliminated: Silvia Amaru
Top 8 - "Herzensongs für dich" (Songs from the heart for you) Original airdate: 17 March 2012
Group Song: "I Came for You" Jury Elimination Forecast: Joey Heindle Bottom 3: Kristof Hering, Hamed Anousheh & Vanessa Krasniqi Eliminated: Vanessa Krasniqi
Top 7 - "Ab in den Süden" (Let's go to the South) Original airdate: 24 March 2012
Group Song:"I Was Made for Lovin' You" Jury Elimination Forecast:Joey Heindle & Kristof Hering Bottom 3: Hamed Anousheh, Kristof Hering & Jesse Ritch Eliminated: Hamed Anousheh
Top 6 - "Solo & Duets" Original airdate: 31 March 2012