“Wenn ich ein Turnschuh wär” by Die Goldenen Zitronen from 2005 pre-dates the massive migration movements of 2015, which became known as the Refugee Crisis, by a whole ten years.

Helene Fischer’s song “Atemlos durch die Nacht” (2013) is certainly the German-language song that achieved the greatest presence in the 2010s. As far as its reception is concerned, it has been associated with a consensual effect that almost encompasses all genres.

Christin Nichol’s track “Bodycount” (2024) is meant to be understood as an outlook on what the 2020s could one day stand for. Good, glamorous pop music in step with the times, with a progressive, emancipatory claim.

Anyone who grew up in the early 80s in West Germany is sure to be familiar with both the series “Es war einmal … der Mensch” and the song “Tausend Jahre sind ein Tag”. But the song by Udo Jürgens also developed a life of its own beyond that, as part of the album “Udo ʼ80”, which despite the title was released back in 1979.

As a songwriter (and lawyer), Franz Josef Degenhardt had certainly expressed his explicitly left-wing views on sociopolitical themes by 1968. His most famous song to date, "Spiel nicht mit den Schmuddelkindern" from 1965, takes an agitation-free and more sophisticated approach – and can still command relevance today.

"Der lachende Vagabund" (1957) as performed by Fred Bertelmann is one of the best sellers in the German music industry. Within a short time two million copies of the single were sold in Germany alone, with the total standing at 3.5 million. By comparison – "She Loves You" is the most successful Beatles single in the United Kingdom, of which 1.9 million were sold.