Deutschland sucht den Superstar (season 9)
Deutschland sucht den Superstar was the ninth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. Luca Hänni won season 9. Jury members Fernanda Brandao 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 Brandao 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, Lower Saxony. Bohlen has been a judge on DSDS since season 1. Bohlen got his first job as a composer and producer in 1979. Bohlen is now the most successful German composer and producer. Bohlen and Thomas Anders, as members of Modern Talking, is the only German act, with five titles in a row at No. 1 on the singles chart.Season 9 is Natalie Horler's first season on the jury panel. Horler is the lead singer for Cascada. Horler was born in the United Kingdom, grew up in Germany and currently lives in Bonn. Horler is the daughter of David Horler.
Bruce Darnell was on born on 19 July 1957 in the American state of Colorado. Darnell grew up in New York City. In 1983, Darnell 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. Darnell was a judge on Germany's Next Topmodel and Das Supertalent. Darnell replaced Patrick Nuo for season 9.
Marco Schreyl has been the host of DSDS since season 3. Schreyl was born on 1 January 1974 in Erfurt, East Germany. Schreyl is a graduate of University of Jena. Schreyl 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 February 4. 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."Die Top 16 – Jetzt oder nie" (The Top 16 - Now or Never)
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Ursula James | We Found Love | 2,70% |
| Daniele Negroni | Forget You | 12,97% |
| Fabienne Rothe | Just Hold Me | 5,63% |
| Christian Schöne | I Want to Break Free | 3,60% |
| Marcello Ciurlia | Summer of '69 | 2,57% |
| Angel Burjansky | Get Here | 1,81% |
| Silvia Amaru | I Wanna Dance with Somebody | 3,65% |
| Jesse Ritch | Let Me Love You | 8,00% |
| Kristof Hering | Und es war Sommer | 4,26% |
| Dennis Richter | I Won't Let You Go | 2,16% |
| Jana Skolina | The One That Got Away | 3,21% |
| Hamed Anousheh | Hangover | 7,00% |
| Thomas Pegram | You've Got a Friend | 3,98% |
| Joey Heindle | Here Without You | 14,12% |
| Vanessa Krasniqi | I'll Be There | 6,90% |
| Luca Hänni | The A Team | 17,41% |
- Group Song: "Good Feeling"
- Advancing to Top 10 : Vanessa, Jesse, Thomas, Fabienne, Joey, Kristof, Luca, Daniele, Silvia and Hamed.
- Eliminated in the Top 16 Show: Angel, Jana, Marcello, Ursula, Christian and Dennis.
Mottoshows
"Top 10 - Hammer Hits"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Silvia Amaru | Domino | 5,84% |
| Kristof Hering | Verdammt, ich lieb' dich | 5,53% |
| Thomas Pegram | Man in the Mirror | 5,02% |
| Joey Heindle | Hey, Soul Sister | 14,84% |
| Vanessa Krasniqi | Rolling in the Deep | 11,93% |
| Jesse Ritch | So Sick | 7,10% |
| Daniele Negroni | Beautiful Girls | 14,39% |
| Fabienne Rothe | Wovon sollen wir träumen | 10,76% |
| Hamed Anousheh | You Give Me Something | 8,10% |
| Luca Hänni | Baby Can I Hold You | 17,49% |
- Group Song:"Troublemaker"
- Jury Elimination Forecast: Silvia Amaru
- Bottom 3: Kristof Hering, Thomas Pegram, Silvia Amaru
- Eliminated: Thomas Pegram
"Top 9 - Party Hits"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Kristof Hering | Ai se eu te pego! | 8,07% |
| Fabienne Rothe | Jungle Drum | 10,35% |
| Jesse Ritch | Yeah 3x | 7,66% |
| Silvia Amaru | On the Floor | 5,63% |
| Luca Hänni | Baby | 17,66% |
| Daniele Negroni | All Summer Long | 14,51% |
| Vanessa Krasniqi | Titanium | 9,48% |
| Joey Heindle | Crying at the Discoteque | 16,61% |
| Hamed Anousheh | Give Me Everything | 10,03% |
- 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)"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Daniele Negroni | Oh Johnny | 15,27% |
| Jesse Ritch | Just the Way You Are | 9,58% |
| Kristof Hering | So Bist Du | 7,46% |
| Fabienne Rothe | Mercy | 9,69% |
| Vanessa Krasniqi | Bleeding Love | 7,38% |
| Hamed Anousheh | Moves Like Jagger | 9,14% |
| Luca Hänni | Use Somebody | 14,89% |
| Joey Heindle | Der Weg | 26,59% |
- 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)"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Jesse Ritch | Danza Kuduro | 9,77% |
| Fabienne Rothe | 36 Grad | 24,33% |
| Kristof Hering | Über Den Wolken | 10,67% |
| Luca Hänni | Fields of Gold | 15,67% |
| Hamed Anousheh | Heart Skips a Beat | 8,88% |
| Joey Heindle | Love Is in the Air | 16,31% |
| Daniele Negroni | Ab In Den Süden | 14,37% |
- 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"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Fabienne Rothe | Higher | |
| Jesse Ritch | Higher | |
| Daniele Negroni | Y.M.C.A | |
| Kristof Hering | Y.M.C.A | |
| Joey Heindle | Hero | |
| Luca Hänni | Hero | |
| Jesse Ritch | DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love | 21,41% |
| Fabienne Rothe | New Soul | 16,14% |
| Daniele Negroni | Forgive Forget | 17,39% |
| Kristof Hering | Joana | 9,42% |
| Luca Hänni | You and Me | 19,47% |
| Joey Heindle | Bitte Hör Nicht Auf Zu Träumen | 16,17% |
- Group Song: "Without You"
- Jury Elimination Forecast: Jesse Ritch & Kristof Hering
- Bottom 3: Joey Heindle, Kristof Hering & Fabienne Rothe
- Eliminated: Kristof Hering
"Top 5 - Power Song vs Unplugged"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Fabienne Rothe | "Someone like You" | 17,32% |
| Fabienne Rothe | "Hello" | 17,32% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Breathing" | 21,66% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Breathe Easy" | 21,66% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Cello" | 23,59% |
| Daniele Negroni | "It's My Life" | 23,59% |
| Joey Heindle | "Grenade" | 15,57% |
| Joey Heindle | "Behind Blue Eyes" | 15,57% |
| Luca Hänni | "Hey There Delilah" | 21,86% |
| Luca Hänni | "Wonderful Life" | 21,86% |
- Group Song: "Don't Wanna Go Home"
- Jury Elimination Forecast: Fabienne Rothe & Joey Heindle
- Bottom 3: Jesse Ritch, Fabienne Rothe & Joey Heindle
- Eliminated: Joey Heindle
"Top 4 - Pop, Rock & Classic"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Fabienne Rothe | "Hot N Cold" | 20,31% |
| Fabienne Rothe | "Black Velvet" | 20,31% |
| Fabienne Rothe | "Liebe ist Alles" | 20,31% |
| Jesse Ritch | "She Doesn't Mind" | 25,70% |
| Jesse Ritch | "The Final Countdown" | 25,70% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Earth Song" | 25,70% |
| Daniele Negroni | "No Matter What" | 27,97% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Sex on Fire" | 27,97% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" | 27,97% |
| Luca Hänni | "Beautiful People" | 26,02% |
| Luca Hänni | "Chasing Cars" | 26,02% |
| Luca Hänni | "Eisener Steg" | 26,02% |
- Group Song: "Turn This Club Around"
- Jury Elimination Forecast: Fabienne Rothe
- Bottom 2: Fabienne Rothe & Jesse Ritch
- Eliminated: Fabienne Rothe
"Top 3 - Semi-Final"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Daniele Negroni | "Wherever You Will Go" | 34,62% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Drive By" | 34,62% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Beggin'" | 34,62% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Die Erste Träne" | 32,55% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Every Breath You Take" | 32,55% |
| Jesse Ritch | "Unbelievable" | 32,55% |
| Luca Hänni | "Das Beste" | 32,83% |
| Luca Hänni | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" | 32,83% |
| Luca Hänni | "Ma Chèrie" | 32,83% |
- Group Song: "Relight My Fire" & "Live My Life"
- Jury Elimination Forecast: The jury was indecisive.
- Bottom 2: Jesse Ritch & Luca Hänni
- Eliminated: Jesse Ritch
"Top 2 - Final (Contestants' Choice, Highlight Song & Winner's Single)"
| Contestants | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Daniele Negroni | "Dance with Somebody" | 47,15% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Forgive Forget" | 47,15% |
| Daniele Negroni | "Don't Think About Me" | 47,15% |
| Luca Hänni | "Allein, Allein" | 52,85% |
| Luca Hänni | "The A Team" | 52,85% |
| Luca Hänni | "Don't Think About Me" | 52,85% |
- Group Song: "Good Feeling", "There She Goes" & "Almost Lover"
- Jury's Forecast of who will win: /
- Winner: Luca Hänni
- Runner-Up: Daniele Negroni
Elimination chart
- On 24 February, Thomas Pegram became the sixteenth contestant, after Bohlen chose him. So on 25 February six, formerly five, contestants will be eliminated.
- On 25 February, the public vote for the first time since season 4, the Top 10 alone. The judges didn't have any rights to choose any contestants, like in the seasons before.
Top 10 candidates
Luca Hänni
Luca Hänni was born on the 8 October 1994 in Uetendorf, Switzerland. He is in an apprenticeship for Bricklaying. He can play the piano and the guitar. He is a fan of Justin Bieber. He admitted to being a porn fan. He's considered a sex symbol on this show. He has been compared to Alexander Klaws. Luca is considered to be Dieter Bohlen's favourite to win the competition. He is the winner for season 9. He's the first winner from Switzerland. At age 17, he became the youngest winner-to-date to win DSDS. He only stayed 2,5 minutes for the after-show party after he won season 9 of DSDS. As the winner, he received a recording contract with Universal Music Group and €500,000.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "The A Team" | 17,44% |
| Top 10 | "Baby Can I Hold You" | 17,49% |
| Top 9 | "Baby" | 17,66% |
| Top 8 | "Use Somebody" | 14,89% |
| Top 7 | "Fields of Gold" | 15,67% |
| Top 6 | "You and Me " | 19,47% |
| Top 6 | "Hero" | 19,47% |
| Top 5 | "Wonderful Life" | 21,86% |
| Top 5 | "Hey There Delilah" | 21,86% |
| Top 4 | "Beautiful People" | 26,02% |
| Top 4 | "Chasing Cars" | 26,02% |
| Top 4 | "Eisener Steg" | 26,02% |
| Top 3 | "Das Beste" | 32,83% |
| Top 3 | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" | 32,83% |
| Top 3 | "Ma Chèrie" | 32,83% |
| Top 2 | "Allein, Allein" | 52,85% |
| Top 2 | "The A Team" | 52,85% |
| Top 2 | "Don't Think About Me" | 52,85% |
Daniele Negroni
Daniele Negroni was born on 31 July 1995 in Arona, Italy. He currently resides in Regensburg, Bavaria. He was rencently in an apprenticeship for being a chef. He can play the drums. He is a fan of James Blunt, James Morrison and Xavier Naidoo. His dream is to be a footballer. He has played for and a fan of Borussia Mönchengladbach. He is a heavy smoker. In a conflict with fellow DSDS candidate Kristof Hering, he called Kristof a "faggot". He became the runner-up behind Luca Hänni.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Forget You" | 12,97% |
| Top 10 | "Beautiful Girls" | 14,39% |
| Top 9 | "All Summer Long" | 14,51% |
| Top 8 | "Oh Jonny" | 15,27% |
| Top 7 | "Ab In Den Süden" | 14,37% |
| Top 6 | "Forgive Forget" | 17,39% |
| Top 6 | "Y.M.C.A" | 17,39% |
| Top 5 | "It's My Life" | 23,59% |
| Top 5 | "Cello" | 23,59% |
| Top 4 | "No Matter What" | 27,97% |
| Top 4 | "Sex on Fire" | 27,97% |
| Top 4 | "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" | 27,97% |
| Top 3 | "Wherever You Will Go" | 34,62% |
| Top 3 | "Drive By" | 34,62% |
| Top 3 | "Beggin'" | 34,62% |
| Top 2 | "Dance with Somebody" | 47,15% |
| Top 2 | "Forgive Forget" | 47,15% |
| Top 2 | "Don't Think About Me" | 47,15% |
Jesse Ritch
Jesse-Ritch Kama-Kalonji was born on 19 February 1992 in Urtenen-Schönbühl, Switzerland. He won a regional music competition in 2006. He has had minor roles in weddings and sang in a gospel choir. He took piano and singing lessons for five years in classical and pop and taught himself the guitar. Whitney Houston, James Morisson and Beyoncé Knowles. He works as a nurse at the hospital. His father is from the Congo. He currently lives with his girlfriend. He likes to relax with singing, listening to music, cooking, or for a cozy evening with his girlfriend in front of the television. Music, shopping and football are among his biggest hobbies. He was eliminated in the Top 3.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Let Me Love You" | 8,00% |
| Top 10 | "So Sick" | 7,10% |
| Top 9 | "Yeah 3x" | 7,66% |
| Top 8 | "Just the Way You Are" | 9,58% |
| Top 7 | "Danza Kuduro" | 9,77% |
| Top 6 | "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" | 21,41% |
| Top 6 | "Higher" | 21,41% |
| Top 5 | "Breathing" | 21,66% |
| Top 5 | "Breathe Easy" | 21,66% |
| Top 4 | "She Doesn't Mind" | 25,70% |
| Top 4 | "The Final Countdown" | 25,70% |
| Top 4 | "Earth Song" | 25,70% |
| Top 3 | "Die Erste Träne" | 32,55% |
| Top 3 | "Every Breath You Take" | 32,55% |
| Top 3 | "Unbelievable" | 32,55% |
Fabienne Rothe
Fabienne Rothe was born on 9 December 1995 in Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia. She is currently in the 10th class. She is a member of the member of the Music Academy of Neuss. She is a fan of Tyler Ward, Justin Bieber and Usher. Before participating on DSDS, she auditioned twice on Das Supertalent in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Fabienne was rumoured to be in a relationship with fellow DSDS candidate Hamed Anousheh. Kristof Hering stated that Fabienne and Hamed went to bed with each other. Hamed denied this. Fabienne was crying hardly when he left the DSDS Villa. She told Bravo that "I've never had sex". She was eliminated in the Top 4. She was the last female contestant.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Just Hold Me" | 5,63% |
| Top 10 | "Wovon Sollen Wir träumen" | 10,76% |
| Top 9 | "Jungle Drum" | 10,35% |
| Top 8 | "Mercy" | 9,69% |
| Top 7 | "36 Grad" | 24,33% |
| Top 6 | "New Soul" | 16,14% |
| Top 6 | "Higher" | 16,14% |
| Top 5 | "Hello" | 17,32% |
| Top 5 | "Someone Like You" | 17,32% |
| Top 4 | "Hot N Cold" | 20,31% |
| Top 4 | "Black Velvet" | 20,31% |
| Top 4 | "Liebe ist Alles" | 20,31% |
Joey Heindle
Joey Heindle was born on 14 May 1993 in Munich, Bavaria. He currently lives in Freising, Bavaria. He has 5 siblings. He has trained as an assistant chef and has further training as a chef. He had to cancel training due to a hand injury. He can play the guitar. He has sung at birthday parties. His favourite singers are Elton John and Xavier Naidoo. He went shirtless for his Top 8 performance. He felt uncomfortable going shirtless. Joey stated "Actually, I did not want that, but did that because the director wanted." Joey called DSDS jury member Dieter Bohlen a "pussy" for the negative criticism he has given him. After the show, Joey stated "Dieter was a pussy. He's just went out and did not further heard. That was just simply sucks. That would make no man on earth in a talent show. This is an insult to the power of three". Joey also stated that his relationship in the long-term won't suffer because of this and he will forgive Dieter at some point. He was eliminated at the Top 5. Within days of being eliminated, he got a recording contract with music producer Mark Delgardo.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Here Without You" | 14,12% |
| Top 10 | "Hey, Soul Sister" | 14,84% |
| Top 9 | "Crying at the Discoteque" | 16,61% |
| Top 8 | "Der Weg" | 26,59% |
| Top 7 | "Love Is in the Air" | 16,31% |
| Top 6 | "Bitte Hör Nicht Auf Zu Träumen" | 16,17% |
| Top 6 | "Hero" | 16,17% |
| Top 5 | "Grenade" | 15,57% |
| Top 5 | "Behind Blue Eyes" | 15,57% |
Kristof Hering
Kristof Hering was born on 27 February 1989 in Hanover, Lower Saxony. He currently lives in Hamburg. He lives with his boyfriend who is 30 years older than him. He has a tattoo on his left ankle. He has an older sister and younger brother. In 2008, he left home and went to a catholic gymnasium where he received his abitur. He is a fan of Udo Jürgens, Robbie Williams and Peter Maffay. He also likes jazz and pop. He likes to go shopping, listening to music, do sports with his friends. He has lost 25 pounds since 2008. He keeps it off by going to the gym three times a week. He was at the Stage-School-Hamburg in 2008 and 2009. His favourite songs includes "Über 7 Brücken" by Peter Maffay and "I Sing A Lied Für Du" by Andreas Gabalier. Kristof was eliminated in the Top 6. Kristof stated that "I'll miss the whole team, but none of the candidates." He believes fellow candidates Luca Hänni, Jesse Ritch and Fabienne Rothe are cold and calculating. suffered verbal and death threats during his participation during season 9 due to his homosexuality. People were writing stuff like "You are sooo gay to.."; "I'll cut your eggs"; "Get out of DSDS, if you value your life" and "I stab you up". RTL filed charges against unknown persons because of the threats.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Und es war Sommer" | 4,26% |
| Top 10 | "Verdammt ich lieb dich" | 5,53% |
| Top 9 | "Ai se eu te pego!" | 8,07% |
| Top 8 | "So Bist Du" | 7,46% |
| Top 7 | "Über Den Wolken" | 10,67% |
| Top 6 | "Joana" | 9,42% |
| Top 6 | "Y.M.C.A" | 9,42% |
Hamed Anousheh
Hamed Anousheh was born on 13 January 1987 in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. He currently resides in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. He has an Iranian background. His parents fled Iran because of the Iranian Revolution. His father is among the five masters of Persian flute and played before the Queen. After his birth, the family moved back to Iran. His parents divorced and him and his siblings returned to Germany with their father. He is a fan of Michael Jackson. Hamed was eliminated in the Top 7. Hamed was rumoured to be in a relationship with fellow DSDS candidate Fabienne Rothe. Kristof Hering stated that Hamed and Fabienne went to bed with each other. Hamed denied this. Fabienne was crying hard when he left the DSDS Villa.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "Hangover" | 7,00% |
| Top 10 | "You Give Me Something" | 8,10% |
| Top 9 | "Give Me Everything" | 10,03% |
| Top 8 | "Moves Like Jagger" | 9,14% |
| Top 7 | "Heart Skips a Beat" | 8,88% |
Vanessa Krasniqi
Vanessa Krasniqi was born on 22 June 1994 in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. She is going for her Fachabitur and is currently in the 11th class. Her father is from Kosovo. She has a half-brother name Dardan. She became the fourth place at Das Supertalent in 2008. She was eliminated in the Top 8 on 17 March. Considered a frontrunner of her season, her early elimination shocked the judges and her fellow contestants. RTL stated that she won't return despite angry fans protesting.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "I'll Be There" | 6,90% |
| Top 10 | "Rolling in the Deep" | 11,93% |
| Top 9 | "Titanium" | 9,48% |
| Top 8 | "Bleeding Love" | 7,38% |
Silvia Amaru
Silvia Amaru was born in Hamburg on 22 December 1990. She has an Italian background. She has sung for five years at the Alster sparrows and the Hamburg State Opera. She likes soul, R'n'B and Italian music. She is a fan of Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga. She was eliminated in the Top 9 on 10 March.| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" | 3,65% |
| Top 10 | "Domino" | 5,84% |
| Top 9 | "On the Floor" | 5,63% |
Thomas Pegram
Thomas Pegram was born on 14 January 1985 in Hohenems, Austria. His father is American. He can play violin, piano and electric guitar. He sang in his band at age 16 and wrote and recorded his own music in his home. He participated for Austria in the 2004 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. He became the 16th participant of the Top 16. There had been a "Top 15" in the previous 4 seasons. He was eliminated in the Top 10 on 3 March. He stated in an interview with RTL that one of the reasons why he didn't go further is that the girls didn't consider him a heartthrob and fellow candidate Luca Hänni "can do much better".| Show | Song | Percentage of calls |
| Top 16 | "You've Got a Friend" | 3,98% |
| Top 10 | "Man in the Mirror" | 5,02% |
Controversy
Voting error
During the Top 16 show Marco Schreyl read out an incorrect phone number for Christian Schöne. Following complaints that the error may have cost Schöne his place in the competition RTL started voting to see if viewers wanted to reinstate Schöne and give him a second chance. Approximately 1.4 million people voted in the poll, but the majority voted against Schöne returning. The remaining contestants who had already qualified for the "Top 10" announced that they were happy with the result.Producer favouritism
On 25 April, three days before the final show was broadcast, Daniele Negroni was declared the winner on RTL's website. Hamburger Morgenpost published and article complaining that "amazingly" RTL were promoting a winners tour for Daniele Negroni "on an RTL ticket page". Another Negroni concert was also announced for 30 June 2012 at the MEP arena in Meppen. In the final TV show Luca Hänni was voted the winner of season 9, with Negroni finishing second.Facebook predictions
At the start of the mottoshows the Hamburger Morgenpost suggested that Thomas Pegram's elimination was expected because of some of his statistics on the DSDS Facebook pages. He had the fewest "likes" of all the contestants, with only 4,105 people having clicked the button, and received only 813 comments after the official DSDS Facebook fanpage put up his photo. The following week Hamburger Morgenpost again suggested that Silvia Amaru's elimination was expected as she had the lowest "like" total of the remaining contestants. Silvia Amaru's photo had 4,761 "likes" while her competitors were around 10,000 on Sunday 11 March. The Morgenpost said that it should be "clear" to RTL that "Facebook is a power killer" for Deutschland sucht den Superstar. In the Top Eight show the following week, Kristof Hering had the fewest likes for his photo, but was not voted out of the show.Employment laws
The Cologne district government had concerns that the show was violating employment laws that protect children, prohibiting minors from appearing on–stage after 10 PM. The issue had been raised the previous season when the appearance of Sebastian Wurth was judged to have contravened the law, with RTL receiving a 15,000 Euro fine for the incident. The season nine contestants affected were Daniele Negroni, Luca Hänni, Vanessa Krasniqi and Fabienne Rothe. RTL decided to cancel the results shows for 7 April, 14 April and 21 April to avoid infringing the child labour laws.Homophobia
Contestant Kristof Hering suffered abuse and death threats during his participation during season 9 due to being openly gay. Comments were posted on various websites making physical threats against Hering, including "I'll cut your balls"; "Get out of DSDS, if you value your life" and "I'll stab you up", prompting RTL to file charges against various individuals for making the threats. Hering also clashed with fellow contestant Daniele Negroni, with Hering calling Negroni "asocial" prompting Negroni to publicly call Hering a "faggot".Reception
TV ratings for season 9 have been disappointing. None of the mottoshows have reached 5 million viewers. season 1 averaged 8.09 million viewers and season 8 averaged 6.32 million viewers in the show's key demographic. Only 4.71 million people watch the final show of season 9. This is the lowest viewership in the history of all the final shows of DSDS.Aftermath
As the winner, Luca Hänni received a recording contract with Universal Music Group and €500,000. Within days of being eliminated, Joey Heindle got a recording contract with music producer Mark Delgardo.Marco Schreyl, who has hosted DSDS since season 3, will not be returning to host season 10. Bruce Darnell and Natalie Horler both left the show after season 9.