The eighth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar was broadcast on German channel RTL from 8 January to 7 May 2011. The winner got a recording contract with Universal Music Group. For the first time there was a prize money of 500,000 Euros. Nina Eichinger and Volker Neumüller were removed from the panel and were replaced by Fernanda Brandão and Patrick Nuo. Marco Schreyl returned as the host. DSDS has extended participation privileges to Austria and Switzerland. Pietro Lombardi won the competition.
Sixty people were injured on 27 March in a stampede when a large crowd showed up for an autograph session with this season's participants at CentrO in Oberhausen. More than two dozen people were hospitalized. The victims of the injuries were between 12 and 17 years old and injuries include broken bones, shock, and loss of consciousness. Emergency treatment tents to handle the crowd. The organizers were only expecting 5,000 fans to show up, but an estimated 19,000 people attended. There were no charges laid after the investigation was completed in July.
The Hamburger Morgenpost questioned whether RTL misquoted DSDS Top 10 candidate Anna-Carina Woitschack. In an interview, Anna-Carina was quoted as saying "It was cut together all wrong. I never said that I hate Sarah - but on the contrary, I do not hate Sarah Engels. That is what I said. But it was cut this way by RTL, because it looks good for the show."
RTL received a statement from the Office of Public Safety stating that Sebastian Wurth was not allowed to participate after 10 pm. RTL was also fined â¬15,000 for the incident.
The Hamburger Morgenpost questioned whether the live shows were actually live broadcast. In the third "Mottoshow", Marco Angelini slipped up in his performance and forgot to sing at the correct time.
Pietro Lombardi's brother posted nude picture of Sarah Engels after she used Pietro's cell phone to talk to girls. The hardcore fans of Pietro Lombardi told his brother Marco about this and he was not happy about this. So, he decided to take "revenge". Pietro's brother also wrote "Everyone knows how cheap Sarah Engels is. She is sneaky. A liar."
DSDS host Marco Schreyl mixed up the phone numbers for candidates Zazou Mall and Marco Angelini. A camera shot of Marco Angelini showed him enraged towards the lens. A reporter for the Hamburger Morgenpost, who was present, reported there were chaotic scenes shortly before the end of the recording. Dieter Bohlen mentioned the mistake and Marco Schreyl replied that "It could be made easier for the host". RTL decided that no candidate would be eliminated and the final show has been pushed back a week and is now scheduled to air on 7 May.
On the sixth Mottoshow, Sarah Engels had two wardrobe incidents, when dancing to "Walking on Sunshine", where she began dancing too close to one of the cameras, causing two upskirts. This was eventually shown to the studio audience during the recap of her performance and was noted by the judges.
As with season 7, an audition truck, in which the candidates can qualify for the televised auditions, stopped in various cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland between August 2010 and October 2010. Open auditions took place in September 2010 in Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin. 34,956 people auditioned throughout the 35 cities that hosted auditions. 135 candidates advanced to the Recall. Menderes Bagci, who failed in the auditions in the previous 7 seasons, advanced to the recall.
The first "recall" show aired on 2 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. Nico Raecke, who originally was one of the participants advancing to the Top 35, was thrown out of Deutschland sucht den Superstar because of his arrest for robbery and assault. Menderes Bagci was one of the candidates eliminated on 5 February Recall show. The Top 35 went to the Maldives.
(Ages stated at time of contest)
Advancing to Top 10 (Public votes): Norman, Marvin, Marco, Sebastian, Pietro, Ardian, Anna-Carina
Advancing to Top 10 (Jury selection): Sarah, Zazou, Nina
Pietro Lombardi (born in Karlsruhe).
Sarah Engels was born in Cologne on 15 October 1992. She had been taking vocal lessons for four years before participating in DSDS and took part in street festivals on many occasions. She was also on DSDS in season 6 where she was eliminated in the recall after a duet with Eugen Flittner. She was eliminated in the Top 10. However, on 10 March, Nina Richel had to leave DSDS as a result of bad health conditions, which resulted in Engels taking her place.
Ardian Bujupi was born in Pristina, Yugoslavia and lives in Heidelberg today.
Marco Angelini (born in Voitsberg, Austria). He completed his medical study shortly after the casting and is going to write his thesis after his departure from DSDS. He also planned to write a book about his time at the casting show and his impressions of it. He is lead singer of the Austrian-based rock band Black Balloon.
Sebastian Wurth was born in Wipperfürth on 24 July 1994. He is the youngest participant in this year's season. Dieter Bohlen saw great potential in him. Wurth is often compared with Justin Bieber because of their similar hair style. He is a fan of Bayern Munich.
Zazou Mall (Born in Zürich, Switzerland)
Norman Langen was born in Badenberg on 7 March 1985. He likes to sing in German, and likes Schlager, pop and dance music. He is a trained welder but is retraining as a hospice nurse. He has previously sung in a boy band (BXess, later Manhattan). He has three sisters.
Anna-Carina Woitschack (born in Kamern).
Nina Richel was born in Hildesheim. The then-17-year-old contestant has been eliminated by RTL chief Tom Sänger after the second "Mottoshow", allegedly for health reasons. Some days later she has told the whole story. After Sänger's decision Sarah Engels, not Marvin Cybulski, was invited for a comeback.
Marvin Cybulski (born in Hanover).