Schulte, Michael

According to the stories of Michael Schulte himself, he lived with his family until the age of 11 in the North German village of Lindaunis ( German Lindaunis ), which is known for its drop-down railway bridge over the Schlyai Bay ^[3] . At the age of seven, he first picked up a guitar, then learned to play the piano, and tried to sing as soon as he began to speak ^[4] . He composes his own songs from the age of ten. When he was eleven, the family moved to Dollerup near Flensburg , where Michael became a student in a Danish gymnasium. After receiving a certificate of maturity in 2009, he passed alternative civilian service . Music has always been a major part of his life, so he ventured to test himself as a street musician - however, not where many could easily recognize him, but in the city of Eckernforde ^{[5] [6] [7]} .

Michael’s stage experience gradually accumulated, but he refused the invitation to take part in the television casting show “ Germany is looking for a superstar ” on the RTL Television channel ^[4] .

Popularity came to him thanks to the Internet . On February 4, 2008, Schulte registered his channel on the YouTube portal and immediately uploaded a video clip on it with a cover version of the first single of Barbadian singer Rihanna - “ Umbrella ”. Inspired by unexpected success, Michael continued using his webcam to create and publish his own arrangements on the network , gradually gaining fame ^{[2] [8] [9]} .

In the summer of 2011, at Kiel Week, Schulte sang Russian in concert with famous Irish guitarist and singer Ri Garvey , lead singer of German pop rock band Reamonn ^[10] .

Ri Garvey was part of the organizers of the first season of the casting “Voice of Germany” (2011-2012), where in addition to him were: Nena , Xavier Naidu and The BossHoss ^[11] . It was Ri Garvey who invited Michael to participate in this competition. Schulte at first was in the lead, but eventually took third place ^[12] . During the final show, his duet with British pop musician Ed Sheeran became, according to Michael, the embodiment of his new creative ideas. Sheeran and Schulte not only resemble each other externally, but also internally they were close in their musical preferences ^{[13] [14]} .

Schulte uploads videos on his YouTube channel together with various artists, for example, Max Giesinger a cover version of an Australian singer Gauthier ’s song “ Somebody That I Used to Know ” was published, and so on ^{[1] [15] [16] [17]} .

The organizer of the competitive selection of participants from Germany for Eurovision is traditionally the association of television and radio companies ARD . On February 22, 2018, the program “ Our song for Lisbon ”, In which six applicants took part. The voting result according to the updated rules was equally composed of three results - a vote of viewers, an international jury and experts of Eurovision. Michael Schulte received 12 points from each of the three evaluating groups for his performance of the ballad “ You Let Me Walk Alone ”, dedicated to the deceased father ^{[17] [18]} .

Michael, who has been living in the Lower Saxon city ​​of Buxtehude ^{[19] [20] [21]} since 2017, admitted in an interview with various correspondents that his character is calm, that he likes life in the lap of nature, where you can "to the singing of birds, the sound of the wind and the rustle of foliage ”to compose their new songs that megalopolises never seduced him ^[2] . However, he happily joined the planned tour with concerts and the presentation of “You Let Me Walk Alone” in London , Madrid , Amsterdam before the start of the Eurovision Song Contest-2018 ^[22] . At the preparation stage, Michael kept his usual calmness and was going to appear at the final performance in gray jeans and a black shirt in accordance with the tonality of his ballad ^{[4] [23]} . He noted the special importance of personal memories of his father, including because he was waiting for the birth of his son. It was his beloved father, who himself played the guitar, who taught Michael the first chords. He saves his father’s old guitar strap as a heirloom ^{[4] [24] [25]} .

Schulte expressed his forecasts about Germany’s performance in Eurovision-2018 very carefully, looking back at the last places in previous years and hoping to get at least ten with his ballad. Regardless of the results of the European competition, Michael Schulte was previously included in the club tour program in November 2018 in German cities - Munich , Cologne , Hamburg , Berlin ^[26] .

The results of Eurovision 2018 were determined both by the vote of the national jury (including countries that did not reach the final) and the choice of viewers. There is a noticeable difference between the two votes. According to the decision of the professional jury, the highest number of points was received: Austria - 271, Sweden - 253, Israel - 212, Germany - 204, Cyprus - 183. Among the viewers by the number of points, the top five were: Israel, Cyprus, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany. The best points in two votes were: Israel - 529, Cyprus - 436, Austria - 342, Germany - 340, Italy - 308 ^[27] .

Media commentators called the unexpected and even sensational 4th place of Michael Schulte. The musician himself admitted that since childhood he was a fan of the European song contest ^{[28] [29] [30] [31]} .

International success in Lisbon made Michael Schulte a celebrity in Buxtehud . On May 18, 2018, burgomaster Katya Oldenburg-Schmidt ( German: Katja Oldenburg-Schmidt ) congratulated the singer at a gala reception at the old town hall ^[32] , where he signed the city’s golden book and from the balcony, thanked the audience, sang fragments from his ballads and invited to the concert on October 13, 2018 ^{[21] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]} .

On May 19, 2018, the stern magazine placed the words of the singer in the “Speaking of the Day” ( German Spruch des Tages ) heading: “Applying for a German pre-selection was one of the best decisions of my life. ESC has become a huge adventure and time that I will never forget. ” Michael Schulte also explained where to find the application form for selection from Germany for Eurovision-2019 ^{[38] [39]} .

One month after performing at the Eurovision Song Contest in Buxtehude, the wedding of Michael Schulte and his fiancee Katharina Mayer ( German Katharina Mayer ) took place. Witness from the groom was his friend, the famous musician Max Giesinger ^{[40] [41]} .
On August 17, 2018, Michael and Katarina had their firstborn, who was named Luis ( German: Luis ) ^{[42] [43]} .

On June 24, Michael Schulte with a guitar participated in the musical end of Kiel Week 2018, which brought together more than three million viewers ^{[44] [45]} .

After the birth of the first-born, Schulte recorded a new song, “ Never Let You Down ”, continuing the theme of communication between fathers and sons ^[46] .

On November 16, in the “ Theater on Potsdamer Platz ”, the 70th, starting in 1948, was the ceremonial presentation of the Bambi Television Prize. According to the results of a public vote ( German Publikumswahl ), the prize was given to Michael Schulte, who was ahead of the others in this nomination - Mike Singer , Nico Santos and Leah ^[47] .

As of July 26, 2019, the number of subscribers to his YouTube channel exceeded 267 thousand, and the number of views was more than 65 million ^[48] .

Albums

(In parentheses indicate the time of publication)

• All the Waves (03/11/2011)
• Acoustic Cover - Live, Vol. 1 (05/06/2011)
• Acoustic Cover - Live, Vol. 2 (07/08/2011)
• Berlin Sessions (12/02/2011)
• Acoustic Cover - Live, Vol. 3 (07/27/2012)
• Wide Awake (09/28/2012; DE: # 54)
• Grow Old with Me (EP-12.21.2012)
• My Christmas Classics (11/22/2013)
• Thoughts (EP-05.16.2014)
• The Arising (10/03/2014; DE: # 81)
• Hold the Rhythm (04/28/2017)

Singles

Other publications

• 2010: The Soul of the Traveler ( Soul Traveler )
• 2011: She ( She )
• 2011: Tears
• 2011: Good Times
• 2011: Last Christmas
• 2012: Without You ( Ohne Dich )
• 2012: Jump Before We Fall
• 2014: Rock and Scissors
• 2015: Indigo ( Indigo , feat. "Fewjar")
• 2016: Remember Yesterday ( Remember Yesterday , Alle Farben & Perttu)
• 2015: Carmine ( Carmine , feat. "Fewjar")
• 2017: End of My Days

• 2017: the role of Micah ( German: Micha ) in the German comedy sketch television series "Neomaniac" ^[50]
• 2018: the role of Albert ( German: Albert ) in the musical drama Children of the Dead City ^[51] .

• Eurovision 2018

• Michael Schulte with the ballad “You Let Me Walk Alone” at the NDR talk show on 02/23/2018.
• Michael Schulte with the ballad "You Let Me Walk Alone" at the final of Eurovision 2018 05/12/2018.
• Michael Schulte sings an interview for Buxtehude for ARD 05/18/2018.
• Interview before the performance at the Seestadtfest in Bremerhaven for Radio Bremen 05/25/2018.