Germany in Lena fever after Eurovision win

Germany is still celebrating its win last weekend in the Eurovision Song Contest, when Lena sang her way to victory with "Satellite" and there's even talk of her representing the country again next year when it hosts the competition.

Anyone who followed the Eurovision Song Contest held in the Norwegian capital Oslo last weekend surely knows by now that the winner was the German entry "Satellite" sung by Lena.



As she gets used to the "Lena epidemic" as the early evening magazine Explosiv on RTL television describes the reaction within Germany, her mentor, television presenter Stefan Raab, is already suggesting that she should be the country's representative at next year's musical jamboree.

"There's only one possibility, morally, musically and ethically," said Raab, himself a former Eurovision contestant, at a press conference in Lena's home city of Hanover earlier this week.

"And that of course is that this year's winner defends her title in her own country next year, "he added before turning to the winner and asking what she thought of the idea.

"Absolutely," she responded.

Whatever plans Lena and Raab might have for next year, right now the 19-year-old "Arbiturientin" (or high school graduate) as she's frequently referred to in the domestic media, and daughter of a former West German ambassador to the Soviet Union daughter, Andreas Meyer-Landrut, seems to be "enjoying the moment".

If Explosiv is to be believed the "Lena epidemic" is soon likely to spread to the rest of Europe.

With the title under her belt and her single already hitting number one in several countries, there has been praise for her performance from around the continent with some saying her win brought Eurovision into the 21st century.

The national French daily Aujourd'hui en France - Le Parisien described her as "the pretty brunette with long wavy hair in a little black dress, a tattoo on the inside of her left arm and a small black cross around her neck" who "enchanted audiences and professionals around the continent."

The Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung said of the Lena "she neither performed the best song nor had the best song or perfect English, but the mix of charm, beauty and joy of singing convinced audiences and juries across Europe."

The Irish Times also commented on Lena's simple and refreshing performance.

"The presentation of her song was pared-back: she performed on a bare stage with four backing singers," wrote the paper's Karen Fricker.

"Her onstage manner was informal, at times gangly and awkward, and the lyrics of her song express a young person’s real-life experience of love rather than expected platitudes about beauty and world peace."

Even the BBC, far from sulking or smarting from the UK's plum last finish, had words of praise for the winning entry, saying that "Satellite" had "reclaimed the contest's musical credibility" and was "the first contemporary pop hit Eurovision has produced in decades."

"Lena had no complicated choreography, no inexplicable backing dancers and she wore a simple black dress - the sort of thing you could pick up tomorrow in any high street store," wrote Mark Savage, the BBC News entertainment reporter.

"Her refreshingly direct performance reflected a vivacious, playful personality."