Sürpriz

Sürpriz were a short-lived six-member German-Turkish musical group, consisting of Cihan Özden, Deniz Filizmen, Yasemin Akkar, Filiz Zeyno, Savaş Uçar and Bülent Ural, known for their participation in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest. The word "Sürpriz", means "Surprise" in Turkish. The group was formed by Özden in 1999 specifically in order to enter that year's German Eurovision selection with the song "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" ("Journey to Jerusalem"), which had been written by regular Eurovision composers Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. At the original selection held in Bremen on 12 March, "Reise nach Jerusalem - Kudüs'e seyahat" finished in second place behind Corinna May's "Hör den Kindern einfach zu". However, some days later it emerged that May's song had previously been released by another singer in 1997, which contravened Eurovision rules and led to its disqualification. As runners-up, Sürpriz were therefore offered the Eurovision spot, but this too caused controversy when allegations of self-plagiarism were made, claiming that the song was remarkably similar to another Siegel composition which had appeared on a B-side in 1984, "Wo geht die Reise hin?" ("Where Does the Journey Go?") by Harmony Four. The matter was taken to the European Broadcasting Union, where a panel of experts concluded that the similarity was not sufficient to disqualify the song on the grounds alleged.

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