Sürpriz
Encyclopedia
Sürpriz were a short-lived six-member German
-Turkish
musical group, consisting of Cihan Özden, Deniz Filizmen, Yasemin Akkar, Filiz Zeyno, Savaş Uçar and Bülent Ural, known for their participation in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest
.
The word "Sürpriz", means "Surprise" in Turkish
.
The group was formed by Özden 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
on 12 March, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" finished in second place behind Corinna May
's "Hör den Kindern einfach zu". However, some days later it emerged that May's song had previously been released by another singer in 1997, which contravened Eurovision rules and led to its disqualification. As runners-up, Sürpriz were therefore offered the Eurovision spot, but this too caused controversy when allegations of self-plagiarism were made, claiming that the song was remarkably similar to another Siegel composition which had appeared on a B-side in 1984, "Wo geht die Reise hin?" ("Where Does the Journey Go?") by Harmony Four. 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.
Sürpriz therefore were given the go-ahead to perform in the 44th Eurovision Song Contest
, which took place in Jerusalem on 29 May. On the night, the song was performed in a combination of English, German, Turkish and Hebrew, and in what turned out to be a closely fought contest with some notably topsy-turvy voting, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" claimed an unexpected third place of the 23 entries.
The good showing at Eurovision 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.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
musical group, consisting of Cihan Özden, Deniz Filizmen, Yasemin Akkar, Filiz Zeyno, Savaş Uçar and Bülent Ural, known for their participation in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
The word "Sürpriz", means "Surprise" in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.
The group was formed by Özden in 1999 specifically in order to enter that year's German Eurovision selection with the song "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat
Reise Nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e Seyahat
"Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e seyahat" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999, performed in German, Turkish and English by Sürpriz.The song was performed twenty-first on the night, following Malta's...
" ("Journey to Jerusalem"), which had been written by regular Eurovision composers Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger
Bernd Meinunger
Bernd Meinunger is a German lyricist and record producer who frequently works with Ralph Siegel and David Brandes...
. At the original selection held in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
on 12 March, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" finished in second place behind Corinna May
Corinna May
Corinna May is a blind singer from Germany. As a child she was already used to music; her father had a huge collection of jazz albums. Soon Corinna started singing in a school choir and a gospel choir....
's "Hör den Kindern einfach zu". However, some days later it emerged that May's song had previously been released by another singer in 1997, which contravened Eurovision rules and led to its disqualification. As runners-up, Sürpriz were therefore offered the Eurovision spot, but this too caused controversy when allegations of self-plagiarism were made, claiming that the song was remarkably similar to another Siegel composition which had appeared on a B-side in 1984, "Wo geht die Reise hin?" ("Where Does the Journey Go?") by Harmony Four. The matter was taken to the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
, where a panel of experts concluded that the similarity was not sufficient to disqualify the song on the grounds alleged.
Sürpriz therefore were given the go-ahead to perform in the 44th Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1999
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 in Jerusalem, Israel after Dana International won the contest the previous year in the United Kingdom. The venue for the contest was the International Convention Center...
, which took place in Jerusalem on 29 May. On the night, the song was performed in a combination of English, German, Turkish and Hebrew, and in what turned out to be a closely fought contest with some notably topsy-turvy voting, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" claimed an unexpected third place of the 23 entries.
The good showing at Eurovision 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.