The cheerleader
Christian Oberfuchshuber fires up audiences as the crowd warmer for major TV shows
His show is before the show: Christian „Fuchsi“ Oberfuchshuber is the crowd warmer for major TV shows like Germany’s Next Topmodel, Eurovision Song Contest, or ZDF-Fernsehgarten. Two years ago, he energised the crowd at a Helen Fischer concert. The Bavarian native performs up to 250 shows a year, which amounts to a grand total of 6,000 shows across a 25-year career. We visited him at a recording of “The Voice of Germany” in Adlershof.
It’s twelve o’clock. The show begins in two hours. Oberfuchshuber prepares for his big performance while the audience registers at the desk of tvtickets.de, and people go to find their allocated seats. After a quick chat with the head make-up artist, a little powder here, a little mascara there, and a short trip to the ironing board for one of the hundred-plus patterned shirts he owns, it's time for “Fuchsi's warm-up” at 1 pm.
With “Relight My Fire” playing in the background, Oberfuchshuber makes his first announcement: “A warm welcome to The Voice of Germany.” He knows it’s not about him. It’s about the jury: Samu Haber, Yvonne Catterfeld, Mark Forster, and Kamrad. However, the crowd applauds just as enthusiastically when he enters the arena ahead of the main stars. Oberfuchshuber is not satisfied by it. He motivates the crowd: “That wasn’t bad, but now I want you to tear the house down,” he calls out into his microphone.
The show wouldn’t be complete without its audience-warming act. When Oberfuchshuber was unavailable, questions about Fuchsi’s whereabouts frequently arose. “Before we start the show, it’s your turn!” he motivates the fans and lays down the rules: “If one of you looks grumpy, you’re going to be cut out.” This is followed by a few tips on dancing. “It’s simple: just wiggle your bum.” The studio is buzzing, and the Bavarian firecracker whips them into a frenzy.
It’s the day of the so-called Battles during which the two, sometimes three talents of each jury member compete against each other. Often only one of the two talents reach the next round, sometimes none. Appropriate applause is particularly important during this phase. Oberfuchshuber knows the jury well because he has been with the show since its inception in 2011.
A total of eight sessions—one production in the morning and one in the evening—is produced on four days and the jury always wears the same outfits during the Battles. "It can happen that a candidate is moved to the beginning or end of a programme for dramaturgical reasons. It’s important that the jury always looks the same,” explains Oberfuchshuber.
The same goes for the so-called Team Fights and the Blind Auditions that starts everything. Those who have attended a Blind Audition know: The buzzer sound when the chair turns and the talent moves to the next round is only added in post-production. The interviews after the blind sessions take place on location.
The crowd warmer stays throughout the show to make small adjustments to the applause where needed or during the set changes. During smaller intermissions, Oberfuchshuber will ask if anyone from the audience wants to sing. There have been some who were really good. “The coaches encouraged one of them to apply for the singing show.” Two seasons later, he actually made it to the finals and ended up in third place.
Christian Oberfuchshuber, too, has been awarded for his talent and named Germany’s best audience-warming act in 2022. His recipe for success: “You always have to be ready for some light-hearted banter, you always have to know what you’re doing next, and of course you need to get a sense of the show and need to bring the temperature up in the room.” It’s that simple. At least for Christian Oberfuchshuber.
Susanne Gietl for Adlershof Journal
Pictures and videos of Christian Oberfuchshuber on Instagram (@oberfuchshuber)