Stefan Raab

Stefan Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German entertainer, television host, and music producer. He rose to fame as the host of the long-running late-night comedy show TV total (1999–2015). Raab created other hit programmes such as Schlag den Raab. In addition, Raab played a big part in Germany’s Eurovision Song Contest entries from 1998 to 2012, including guiding Lena Meyer-Landrut to win the contest in 2010. However, he retired from television in 2015 and stayed off-screen for several years. After a long break, Raab made a comeback in 2024 with new entertainment shows.

Early Music Career

Stefan Raab began his career in the music industry before becoming a major TV personality. In 1990, he opened a small studio in Cologne and worked as a freelance producer, creating jingles and radio commercials. He had his breakthrough in 1994 with a comedy song called “Böörti Böörti Vogts,” a spoof about Germany’s football coach Berti Vogts. The song became a hit and introduced Raab’s humorous style to a wide audience. He followed up with other novelty songs in the 1990s, such as “Hier kommt die Maus” (a tribute to a children’s TV show) and “Maschen-Draht-Zaun,” which further cemented his fame. These early music successes set the stage for Raab’s move into television.

Television Breakthrough and Success

In 1993, Raab made his TV debut as host of Vivasion, a comedy program on the music channel VIVA. The show’s popularity helped launch his television career. In 1999, he created TV total, a late-night comedy show that began regular broadcasts in 2001 on ProSieben. TV total featured Raab satirizing funny clips from other programs and hosting live musical performances. It became a ratings hit in Germany. Notably, Raab became known for his inventive TV stunts and events. For example, he introduced Wok racing, where celebrities race down a bobsled track in modified woks. In 2006, he launched the game show Schlag den Raab (“Beat the Raab”), in which contestants challenged him in various games. The format proved very successful, and it later aired in the UK as the show “Beat the Star”. 

Eurovision Song Contest Involvement

Stefan Raab had a long association with the Eurovision Song Contest, taking on roles as songwriter, performer, and producer. In 1998, he entered Eurovision as a composer, writing “Guildo hat euch lieb!” for Germany’s act Guildo Horn, which finished 7th in the contest. In 2000, Raab himself represented Germany as a performer with the quirky song “Wadde hadde dudde da?”, achieving fifth place in Europe. For the 2004 contest, he organized a televised talent show (with a satirically long name SSDSGPS) to find Germany’s entry; this produced singer Max Mutzke, who came 8th at Eurovision 2004.

Raab’s biggest Eurovision success came in 2010 when he led the national selection Unser Star für Oslo, discovering Lena Meyer-Landrut, who went on to win Eurovision 2010 with “Satellite” – Germany’s first win in 28 years. The following year, Raab co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf and helped choose Germany’s song for that year. After producing one more selection show in 2012 (which yielded Roman Lob’s 8th-place entry), Raab stepped back from Eurovision involvement. Apart from the main contest, in 2005 he also launched the Bundesvision Song Contest, a German spin-off competition featuring entries from all 16 states of Germany, which ran annually until his retirement in 2015. This domestic contest showcased Raab’s passion for promoting new musical talent on a national stage.

Later Career and Retirement

In the early 2010s, Raab expanded his television work beyond comedy. In 2012, he ventured into political entertainment by hosting a late-night talk show that featured politicians as guests. He even served as one of the moderators for Germany’s 2013 federal election TV debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel and challenger Peer Steinbrück. Despite branching out, Raab continued to host his regular entertainment shows on ProSieben during this period. In mid-2015, after over a decade of nonstop TV success, he announced that he would retire from television. He wrapped up his ongoing shows at the end of that year: the final episode of TV total aired on 16 December 2015, and the last Schlag den Raab was broadcast on 19 December 2015. This marked the end of an era in which Raab had been a constant presence on German TV screens.

Recent Projects and Comeback

After stepping away from the spotlight, Stefan Raab remained active behind the scenes as a television producer. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 he produced the Free European Song Contest, an alternative music event to replace the cancelled Eurovision Song Contest that year. Raab eventually returned to the spotlight in 2024, signing an exclusive deal with the media group RTL Deutschland. He launched a new show called Du gewinnst hier nicht die Million (“You won’t win the million here”) on the RTL+ streaming platform. This program was described as a mix of TV total’s talk show elements and Schlag den Raab’s game challenges. The show ran for one season and ended in mid-2025. However, later in 2025 Raab debuted another television project: a late-night talk format named Die Stefan Raab Show on RTL’s main channel.

Additionally, Raab has returned to Eurovision-related work by helping to produce Germany’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.