twˈɛnti sˈɔŋz wɜː sᵻlˈɛktᵻd tə pɑːɹtˈɪsᵻpˌeɪt ɪnðə kˌɑːmpətˈɪʃən θɹuː ɐn ˈɑːnlaɪn pˈoʊl, wˌɪtʃ ɪŋklˈuːdᵻd ˈɔːl wˈɪnɚz ʌvðə jˈʊɹɹoʊvˌɪʒən sˈɔŋ kˈɑːntɛst ænd ˈɔːl dʒˈɜːmən jˈʊɹɹoʊvˌɪʒən ˈɛntɹiz bᵻtwˌiːn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti sˈɪks ænd tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪv wˈʌnhˈʌndɹɪd θɹˈiː ɪn tˈoʊɾəl.
Twenty songs were selected to participate in the competition through an online poll, which included all winners of the Eurovision Song Contest and all German Eurovision entries between 1956 and 2005 (103 in total).