The studio lights of the DSDS semi-final were the backdrop for a production break during which Bushido brought his four oldest children into the heart of the television set. In a departure from the typical judge-contestant boundary, the rapper introduced his family to the environment. The children were permitted to step onto the stage, appearing within the RTL production alongside the participants and crew.
Aaliyah and the intersection of family and competition
According to reporting from BILD, the presence of the children added a personal layer to the evening, particularly for Bushido’s daughter, Aaliyah. The report notes that the encounter became emotional when Aaliyah met contestant Tyrell Hagedorn, whom she views as a crush. This interaction brought the judge’s family and the contestants together on stage during the broadcast.
Backstage, the rapper spoke about the experience of being a father in the public eye and the perspectives his children hold regarding both him and the show. While the specific details of their private conversations remain undisclosed, BILD indicates that these moments highlighted a side of the artist often obscured by his public persona.
The presence of the children in the studio shows that the production included the judge’s family members in the televised environment, showcasing the Ferchichi family members during the recording of the show.
From the Runge-Gymnasium to the DSDS finale
The trajectory of Tyrell Hagedorn, one of the final five contestants, involves balancing his time in school with his participation in the competition. A 19-year-old from Oranienburg, Hagedorn is currently completing his Abitur at the Runge-Gymnasium. The overlap between his education and the competition was stark; as reported by Radio Deine Schlagerwelt, Hagedorn wrote his geography exam on the very morning he moved into the DSDS house.
His path to music was influenced by a medical necessity. A diagnosis of rheuma made a career in the public service sector impossible, leading Hagedorn to focus on songwriting. He describes himself as a Schmuse-Bubba-Balladen
type, focusing on German-language tracks while utilizing English for covers. His musical foundation includes a year as an exchange student in Ireland and experience performing with a music school band.
Hagedorn’s progression through the competition was not linear. During the casting phase, he initially struggled with Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love
before winning over the jury with Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself
. His position was further jeopardized during the recall, where he was initially eliminated following criticism from Dieter Bohlen after performing Montez’s Herzensmensch
. He only returned to the competition after contestant Delijah Haile chose to leave the show voluntarily.
A shift in the 2026 song release strategy
The 2026 season marks a departure from the traditional DSDS model regarding the release of music. Historically, the winner’s song was a closely guarded secret revealed only on the final night. This year, RTL has opted for a strategy of transparency and early exposure. All 11 live candidates were sent to the studio early to record songs that serve as personal season portraits.
For Tyrell Hagedorn, this means his track Die Eine
is already available on all streaming platforms under an OUT NOW
banner. According to Radio Deine Schlagerwelt, this approach decouples the song’s success from the final result of the competition. Hagedorn’s song, which explores a concept of three different loves, exists as a standalone piece of work regardless of whether he wins the title.
This strategy is consistent across the finalists. Other contestants, such as Paco Simic with Home
and Menowin Fröhlich with Easy
, have similarly seen their portrait songs released ahead of the finale. By releasing these tracks as introductions rather than prizes, the production makes the music available to the public before the final vote.
The final countdown to May 9
The competition now narrows to the final five. Tyrell Hagedorn will stand alongside Menowin Fröhlich, Abii Faizan, Constance Dizendorf, and Paco Simic in the season’s concluding event. The finale is scheduled for May 9 at 20:15 on RTL.
The various backgrounds of the contestants, including Hagedorn’s status as a student in Oranienburg and the experiences of the other finalists, provide a diverse field for the final vote. For Hagedorn, the finale represents the culmination of a path that began with a medical diagnosis and a geography exam, moving through a series of eliminations and returns.
As the production moves toward the finale, the focus shifts to whether the early release of portrait songs like Die Eine
will influence viewer perception and voting patterns. The final broadcast will determine the winner among the remaining five contestants who have already shared their individual songs with the audience.
