Stefan Raab facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stefan Raab
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Raab at a Eurovision Song Contest 2010 press conference
|
|
| Born |
Stefan Konrad Raab
20 October 1966 |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1990–2015, 2024–present (entertainer) 2018–present (as producer) |
Stefan Konrad Raab (born October 20, 1966) is a famous German entertainer, TV host, and producer. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the popular comedy show TV total on ProSieben. He also created other well-known TV shows like Schlag den Raab and the Bundesvision Song Contest.
Stefan Raab started his TV journey in 1993. He became very famous in 1994 after making a funny song about a national football coach. In the early 2010s, many people thought he was the most important person in German TV entertainment.
He is also known for his work with the Eurovision Song Contest. He helped produce, write, or perform German songs for the contest from 1998 to 2012. He started the show Unser Star für Oslo ("Our Star for Oslo"). This show helped choose Lena Meyer-Landrut, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 for Germany.
In 2015, Stefan Raab stopped appearing on TV, but he kept working as a TV producer. He returned to public view in 2024.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Stefan Raab grew up in Cologne, Germany. He lived with his sister and their parents, who owned a butcher's shop. He went to a Jesuit boarding school called Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn.
Before he became an entertainer, Stefan Raab trained as a butcher in his parents' shop. He also studied law at university for five semesters but then decided to leave. Stefan Raab lives in a suburb of Cologne. He has two daughters, born in 2004 and 2006, with his girlfriend Nike. He keeps his private life very secret from the media.
Stefan Raab's Career Highlights
His Television Journey
Stefan Raab became very popular in Germany as the host of Vivasion. This comedy show was on the German music TV channel VIVA from 1993 to 1998.
In 1999, he created TV total, which started airing on ProSieben in April 2001. It was on four times a week. At first, TV total was a comedy show that made fun of funny or embarrassing moments from other TV programs. But soon, it became more like a late-night show with music performances. It was similar to shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
After a boxing match against Regina Halmich in 2001 and a speed skating race in 2002, he created other celebrity sports events. These events are still produced regularly. They include TV total Turmspringen (high diving) and TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge (stock car racing). He also invented new fun sports. In November 2003, he started the first "official" World Wok racing Championship. In this race, people use changed Chinese woks to slide down an Olympic bobsled track. This championship happened every year until March 2011. The first Autoball EM (a version of football played in cars) happened in 2007.
In 2006, Raab invented the game show Schlag den Raab (which means "Beat the Raab"). In this show, he competed against a person in many different challenges. Some episodes of this show lasted more than five hours and were very popular.
Stefan Raab also organized PokerStars.de Nacht, a poker event with famous German entertainers. In September 2012, he announced a new talk show on ProSieben that would have political guests. It started airing on November 11, 2012.
In September 2013, Stefan Raab was one of four hosts for a big debate. This debate was between the German chancellor Angela Merkel and her challenger Peer Steinbrück.
In mid-2015, Raab said he would stop appearing on TV. The last episode of TV total aired on December 16, and the last Schlag den Raab aired on December 19, 2015.
He returned in 2024 with a new show called Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million on RTL+. This show is a mix of TV total and Schlag den Raab.
His Music Career
Stefan Raab taught himself to play many instruments. He plays piano, drums, guitar, ukulele, and some wind instruments. In 1990, he started working as a producer and composer. He made jingles and radio commercials in his own studio in Cologne.
From 1994 onwards, he produced many popular songs. These included "Böörti Böörti Vogts" (a song about Berti Vogts) and "Hier kommt die Maus" ("Here comes the mouse").
Stefan Raab also created and hosted the Bundesvision Song Contest. This contest was based on the Eurovision Song Contest. It first aired on ProSieben in 2005. The contest features singers from each of Germany's 16 states. Their songs must be at least partly in German. It took place every year until Raab stopped appearing on TV in 2015.
His Role in the Eurovision Song Contest
Stefan Raab wrote the song for Germany's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. The song was "Guildo hat euch lieb!" by Guildo Horn. It came in seventh place. Raab himself performed as the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with his funny song "Wadde hadde dudde da?". He finished in fifth place. For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, Raab created a talent show called SSDSGPS. The winner, Max Mutzke, finished in eighth place.
In 2009, a public TV channel asked Raab to help organize a national competition to choose Germany's song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Raab's TV network, ProSieben, agreed to work with the public channel. This led to the talent show Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo). It had 8 shows starting in February 2010. Raab was the head of the jury. In the final on March 12, 2010, Lena Meyer-Landrut won. On May 29, 2010, Meyer-Landrut won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with her song "Satellite". This was Germany's first Eurovision win in 28 years!
The TV channels continued to work together for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Lena Meyer-Landrut was chosen to sing for Germany again. The show Unser Song für Deutschland was held to choose her song. Meyer-Landrut sang twelve songs, and the public voted. Raab helped choose the songs and was a judge in the final. "Taken by a Stranger", which Raab produced, was the winning song. In May 2011, Raab was also a co-host of the main contest. Meyer-Landrut finished in tenth place.
After the 2011 final, Raab said he would stop being involved with Eurovision. However, he returned in 2012 as the creator and producer of the show Unser Star für Baku. Raab was a regular jury member. The competition was won by Roman Lob with "Standing Still", which finished in eighth place. Raab was no longer involved from the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 onwards.
After returning to entertainment in 2024, Raab offered to produce a new show to choose Germany's song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. In October 2024, it was confirmed that Raab would return as creator, producer, and jury member for Chefsache ESC 2025: Wer singt für Deutschland?. The shows will be on both public and private TV channels. Raab said he might produce or write a song for the competition, depending on the artists.
Eurovision Participations
| Year | Place of event | Artist | Song | Involvement as | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Birmingham, England | Guildo Horn | "Guildo hat euch lieb!" | Composer | 7 | 86 |
| 2000 | Stockholm, Sweden | Stefan Raab | "Wadde hadde dudde da?" | Performer, composer |
5 | 96 |
| 2004 | Istanbul, Turkey | Max Mutzke | Can't Wait Until Tonight | Discoverer, composer, mentor |
8 | 93 |
| 2010 | Oslo, Norway | Lena Meyer-Landrut | "Satellite" | Creator and jury president of Unser Star für Oslo, mentor |
1 | 246 |
| 2011 | Düsseldorf, Germany | "Taken by a Stranger" | Creator and jury president of Unser Song für Deutschland, music producer, mentor, host |
10 | 107 | |
| 2012 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Roman Lob | "Standing Still" | Creator and jury member of Unser Star für Baku | 8 | 110 |
| 2025 | Basel, Switzerland | colspan="2" [[TBD]] | Creator and jury member of Chefsache ESC 2025 | colspan="2" [[TBD]] |
Stefan Raab's TV Shows
As a Host
- 1993–1998: Vivasion, VIVA
- 1995–1996: Ma' kuck'n, VIVA
- 1999–2015: TV total, ProSieben
- 2005–2015: Bundesvision Song Contest, ProSieben
- 2009, 2014–2015: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
- 2011: Eurovision Song Contest, ARD
- 2012–2013: TV total Quizboxen, ProSieben
- 2012–2013: Absolute Mehrheit, ProSieben
- 2013: Das TV-Duell – Merkel gegen Steinbrück, ProSieben
- 2024–present: Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million bei Stefan Raab, RTL+
As a Contestant
- 2003–2015: TV total Wok-WM, ProSieben
- 2004–2015: TV total Turmspringen, ProSieben
- 2005–2015: TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge, ProSieben
- 2006–2015: Schlag den Raab, ProSieben
- 2008–2014: TV total Autoball, ProSieben
- 2009–2015: Deutscher Eisfußball-Pokal, ProSieben
As a Producer
- 2009–2024: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
- 2009: Unser Star für Oslo, ARD/ProSieben
- 2010: Unser Song für Deutschland, ARD/ProSieben
- 2011: Unser Star für Baku, ARD/ProSieben
- 2018–2024: Das Ding des Jahres, ProSieben
- 2019: Headis Team-WM, ProSieben
- 2019–2024: 1:30, ProSieben
- 2019–2024: Schlag den Besten, ProSieben
- 2020–2024: Free European Song Contest, ProSieben
Awards and Recognition
Stefan Raab has won many awards for his work in television and music. For his show Vivasion, he received the Goldener Löwe (Golden Lion) in 1996. This award was a big deal before the Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award) existed. For TV total, he won the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 1999 and the comedy award Rose d'or in 2001.
He won the Adolf-Grimme-Preis in 2005 for his talent show SSDSGPS. This award was for finding and helping young music talents. In 2005, he also received the Deutsch-Türkischer Freundschaftspreis (German-Turkish Friendship Award). He won the Bravo Otto award as "Comedystar" from 2000 to 2003. He received the ECHO (a German music award) as "Best National Producer" in 2000 and 2005.
On September 29, 2007, Raab won the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for "Best Entertainment Show" for an episode of Schlag den Raab. This show also won the Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) in 2008 and the Bambi media award. In 2009, Raab won the Herbert Award for Best Television Sports show for TV total Turmspringen.
You can even see a wax figure of Stefan Raab at Madame Tussauds in Berlin since April 2009.
In 2010, Raab received the Bavarian TV Award for starting and leading the jury of the show Unser Star für Oslo.
See also
In Spanish: Stefan Raab para niños
