Ohrwurm
MfG: Sincerely yours

The TV song contest Ohrwurm (earworm) put German pop music on televisions across Thailand. The finale was broadcast live nationally. More than three million viewers rooted for their favourites.

Nannaphat Thammacharoen, 16, from northeastern Thailand and called Mild by her friends, sang the 3A song “Sind wir Freunde.” This tune about first love and being unsure whether it’s just friendship or a little more, was chosen by most participants. It’s a song that sounds easy, but demands a great deal from the singer.

Other favourites among the participants included Tim Bendzko’s hit “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten,” Nena’s “99 Luftballons” and “Tage wie diese” by the Tote Hosen. However, nobody got up the nerve to try “MfG” by the Fantastische Vier.

For some, Ohrwurm was their first encounter with the German language and pop culture. So the fact that the pupils and students performed their songs on stage in front of a celebrity jury is all the more remarkable. They rehearsed the songs during voice lessons organized by the leading record label GMM Grammy. They were trained in pronunciation by a teacher from the Goethe-Institut.

One of the jury members from the casting show was the German-Thai singer and actor Jannine Weigel, known throughout Southeast Asia as “Ploy Chompoo,” who appeared as the celebrity guest of the live broadcast of the finale on Voice TV in Bangkok. More than three million viewers rooted for their favourites. Mild was among the winners in her age group. Soon, she will be able to hear her song where it originated: her prize includes a language course in Germany.