Recommendations of the Editorial team
The surprise effect for “Staying Alive – Stars sing with legends” was great. Many people asked themselves, how is it possible for Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Freddie Mercury and Amy Winehouse to sing duets with German celebrity musicians? It worked – even if it seemed quite scary and probably couldn’t be implemented perfectly.
First of all, there were only two episodes of the show, which was shown for the first time in Germany and could also be successful in other countries. However, the ratings in this country initially point to a flop. The second broadcast on May 2nd was watched by just 0.51 million people. In the intended target group, things looked even worse. The format may be aimed primarily at short streaming clips on Joyn and on social media.
Is ProSieben now working on the concept again to send “Staying Alive” into a new round? (We have a few ideas.) In the meantime, it’s worth considering who might be considered for further shows. The title already specifies that these must be legends who have already died.
New singers for “Staying Alive”
Perhaps a duo would be desirable. However, there are very few where both have already died. A revival of Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg’s groaner hit “Je t’aime… moi non plus” would be interesting. So there would be no need for a celebrity from the present. Dream pairings such as Michael Jackson together with David Bowie or Prince could also cause a sensation.
“Staying Alive” could also do with a little more hard rock. It’s obvious that Ozzy Osbourne could play a good role in a new episode. If there is no other option, he should belt out “Dreamer” with Rea Garvey. There would certainly be time for a bat bite.
However, an AI avatar of Kurt Cobain could attract a lot of attention. “Come As You Are”, a bit of an MTV unplugged feeling, plus a few stories from stars who were at Nirvana’s last concert in Munich. It would be funny if “Cobain” showed up wearing a “Corporate TV Shows Still Suck” shirt!
Udo Jürgens or Rio Reiser?
There is still no way to bring a German-speaking legend back on stage. There is an excellent selection, including for duets. How about Falco and “Rock Me Amadeus”? For the older generation, a reunion with Udo Jürgens should create a champagne atmosphere. But all of this would possibly be topped off by an AI appearance from Rio Reiser.
Of course, there is still a big singer or grande dame who can compete with Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse. Tina Turner and Donna Summer could set the studio on fire. Aretha Franklin or Etta James might be a surprise. But ProSieben would certainly be happy to rain red roses for Hildegard Knef.
All of this is still a thing of the future. So far, the channel has not announced a sequel to “Staying Alive.” It remains unclear whether they were aware that some viewers would rate the program as a “cynical moral spat” or “desecration of corpses”. But with Saturday night shows, it sometimes takes time for them to get on the right track. When “Masked Singer” started, there was a lot of laughter and the audience preferred to tune out.
