Lena Meyer-Landrut sits in her jury chair and grooves along to the beat of the music as Yosefin Bouhler sings. "Love on Top" means everything to the young singer — and she seizes her chance. With an expressive, soulful voice and great self-assurance, she rocks the stage. "It was always my dream to sing there. I'm a huge ESC fan. I've followed it every year since childhood. Taking part was practically handed to me in the cradle," she recounts with a laugh. When Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999, the four-year-old Yosefin watched enthralled and formed a plan: "Mum, that's where I want to stand, that's what I want too," she told her parents, and never lost sight of that dream again. For years she has worked with a team of songwriters and producers, composing songs and waiting for the right moment to apply for Eurovision. In 2016 the time came. Yosefin submitted a song of her own and was accepted. She made it into the best 30 singers and was then knocked out. "I was very disappointed, because I'd worked towards it for so long. But after a day or two I pulled myself together and carried on." Two weeks later the phone rang one morning and, completely unsuspecting, she suddenly received the joyful news that, via the reserve list, she was back in the show after all. She was to be in Hamburg that very evening. "I still remember exactly what I was doing in that moment. I'd just got up and was sitting sleepily on the couch with a coffee when the call came. I was so shocked that I stammered. I couldn't believe it. I didn't need the coffee to wake me up after that!" For two weeks Yosefin was surrounded by people as Eurovision-mad as she is. Above all, though, she was surrounded by wonderful singers, a fantastic team and inspiring artists. "I've rarely felt as at ease in my life as I did there. Being allowed to live your dream is simply indescribable." "Love on Top" did not go forward as the song for Germany, but Yosefin has the feeling that she came away only with gains. "Maybe this time wasn't quite the right moment for me. But I'm not giving up. I'm already thinking about which song I'll sing next time. After the ESC is before the ESC!" Until then, the talented singer can pursue her second great passion, acting, which she studied in Stockholm. That, she adds, has the advantage that she can explore completely different facets of herself and slip into other roles, rather than having to be Yosefin all the time, as when singing. Until Yosefin's next Eurovision song, though, you can happily let yourself be thrilled by "Love on Top".
A Dream Comes True
