Bohlen, Menderes, Klaws & Co.: Who we remembered after 20 years of DSDS

In retrospect, Dieter Bohlen should be particularly proud of this negative criticism.

It was 2010 and Sarah Engels tried her luck with DSDS for the first time.

She made it to the next round and was scheduled to sing Milow's "You Don't Know" with another contestant.

But the nerves of the then seventeen-year-old failed, she couldn't get the text together.

“The number is super easy, you hear it on the radio all day long, over and over again.

If you don't have it, goodbye," Bohlen rumbled.

A probably fateful expulsion, because how things developed a year later probably exceeded the wildest dreams of those responsible for the station: Engels met Pietro Lombardi in the recall in the Maldives.

From then on, people flirted and cuddled, and even if a relationship was denied for a long time, RTL finally had a couple in the final, including a white dress for Engels (a staged wedding on the sofa, contrary to all RTL's fears, was then too much of a good thing, that only then afforded ProSieben 2019 at GNTM).

In the final, however, Pietro outperformed his vocally superior Sarah and became the eighth DSDS winner – with his likeable, idiotic nature, he had the viewers on his side.

The Sarah and Pietro Festival followed for RTL.

Not only was the winning title released in duplicate, from then on viewers were able to find out too much about the lives of the two in various documentary formats - the couple built a house, drove around in the mobile home and finally had a son Experienced.

They experienced a stroke of fate immediately after the birth of their son Alessio, who was born with a heart defect.

When the Lombardis separated in 2016, half the country took part: "The main thing is that Alessio is fine!" While the interest in the private life of the two, who have long been back to starting a family with new partners, seems unbroken, their respective music careers are in the background shifted.

After all, they have so far been spared participation in the jungle camp.

Pietro Lombardi returned to DSDS as a juror instead.

Somehow you're happy for him.

Rise King Menderes Bağcı

In a whopping 17 seasons in a row, Menderes Bağcı tried his luck with DSDS and never found it.

His tenacity and nasal, high-pitched voice made him unforgettable.

Dieter Bohlen once called it “eunuch voice”.

Bağcı's career began in 2002 as the "most persistent and certainly the best-known participant" at DSDS, as it says on its website.

He performed with Usher's "I Can't Let U Go".

He got no further than the preliminary jury.

Only at his third casting did he make it with the song "U Remind Me", again by Usher, in front of Dieter Bohlen.

He had a clear opinion about Bağcı's appearance.

"Super shit," said Bohlen at the time.

In the years that followed, Bohlen repeatedly insulted and laughed at Bağcı after his performances.

In a 2016 article, the Süddeutsche Zeitung called him Dieter Bohlen's whipping boy.

Nevertheless, he has not given up, time and again he gave himself up to the malice and bullying of the viewers.

After eight years, Bağcı made it into the "Recall" for the first time, but he never got beyond it in any season.

Because he was too old to participate in DSDS at the age of 30, Bağcı sang a medley of his previously performed songs in 2018 in the casting of the 15th season out of competition.