Sürpriz

Sürpriz
Background Information
Origin	Germany and Turkey
Genre	N/A
Current Members	N/A
Past Members	Cihan Özden Deniz Filizmen Yasemin Akkar Filiz Zeyno Savaş Uçar Bülent Ural
Eurovision Song Contest
Year	1999
Country	Germany
Song	Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat
Semi Position	--
Semi Points	--
Final Position	3rd
Final Points	140

 

Sürpriz were a six-member German-Turkish musical group who represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 in Tel Aviv with the song "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat", which finished in third place.

The group was formed in 1999 specifically in order to enter that year's German Eurovision selection with the song "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" ("Journey to Jerusalem"), which had been written by regular Eurovision composers Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. At the original selection held in Bremen, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" finished in second place behind Corinna May's "Hör den Kindern einfach zu", which was eventually disqualified as it had been previously released by another singer. As runners-up, Sürpriz were therefore offered the Eurovision spot, but this too caused controversy when allegations of self-plagiarism.  The matter was taken to the European Broadcasting Union, where a panel of experts concluded that the similarity was not sufficient to disqualify the song on the grounds alleged.

Their good showing at the Contest failed to translate into substantial sales, and "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" failed to chart in Germany. The group recorded a self-titled CD, which was released in Turkey only in 2000, and continued through several personnel changes before disbanding in 2002.