She is Florian Silbereisen's "biggest fan"

Andrea Kiewel - She is Florian Silbereisen's "biggest fan"

"ZDF-Fernsehgarten" presenter Andrea Kiewel (58) celebrates the premiere of her new music show "Kiwi's Big Party Night" this Wednesday, December 27 (8:15 pm on Sat.1 and on Joyn). Guests will include Anastacia (55), Peter Maffay (74), PUR and Vanessa Mai (31). Three further episodes will be shown next year with appearances by Howard Carpendale (77), Christina Stürmer (41) and Thomas Anders (60). In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Kiewel gives a look behind the scenes of the party show and explains what makes the program different from "Fernsehgarten". She also reveals whether she sees herself as a competitor to Florian Silbereisen's (42) "Schlagerboom".

You are launching the new show "Kiwi's Big Party Night". How were the recordings?

Andrea Kiewel: If they had been private parties, I would have said it couldn't have been better. There were so many great musicians there. Since I've been presenting Fernsehgarten, these are all artists I've had to deal with again and again. I'm a self-confessed Vanessa Mai fan, I adore and celebrate Christina Stürmer and admire Nino de Angelo. I was also fascinated by the audience's confidence with the lyrics to "Abenteuerland" by PUR. And Heinz Rudolf Kunze's "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" has great personal meaning for me. Being on stage with Andreas Gabalier, DJ Ötzi, Peter Maffay and Anastacia was something very special. Also with Thomas Anders, of course, because he and his wife were the first people I told about this project and who advised me to do it.

What is different for you in the show than in "Fernsehgarten"?

Kiewel: It's a completely different show, a mix of party and concert, a perfect match of audience and artist, all the stars are hands-on and there are no seats. There was nothing but dancing for three and a half hours. Thanks to a 360-degree presentation, I as the presenter and the artists couldn't hide, we were all right in the middle of it. Many also walked through the audience and enjoyed it. Vicky Leandros even sang "Theo, wir fahr'n nach Lodz", although she doesn't usually sing it on TV anymore. Everyone sang along, it was suddenly so loud in the studio (laughs). Music in combination with dancing emphasizes this sense of community. People kept coming up to me and asking: "Can we give you a hug?" That was so warm.

What else can viewers expect from the show?

Kiewel: In all four shows, each of which also has a theme, there wasn't a song that I didn't know yet, but it really is, it always sounds so pathetic: life music. What's surprising is this range, that duets are sung or artists are on stage together where you think that's not possible. Or performers singing songs that you wouldn't have expected, like Sasha singing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody". I was particularly pleased about that because it proves once again that music has no boundaries. If you love to sing, you sing, regardless of the genre.

There have already been headlines saying that you are the new competition for Florian Silbereisen and are attacking his "Schlager boom". What do you say to that?

Kiewel: First of all, I consider myself Florian's biggest fan. He would be someone I would call at night if I couldn't pay for my burger at McDonald's. And about my four party shows: it's a bit like the Kiwi Fiat 500 trying to compete in Florian's Formula 1 race. But that doesn't mean we can't be successful as the "little sister".