Tanzschein
2026 single by Cosmó
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Tanzschein" (transl. 'Dance(-ing) Licence') is a song by Austrian singer Benjamin Gedeon known by his stage name Cosmó. It was written by Gedeon, Elias Stejskal, and Ella Stern and will represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. It reached number seven on the Austrian Singles Chart.
| "Tanzschein" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Cosmó | |
| from the EP Lieber tanz ich weiter | |
| Language | German |
| English title | Dance(-ing) Licence |
| Released | 5 February 2026 |
| Genre | Electropop • synth-pop |
| Length | 2:48 |
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist | |
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| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Wasted Love" (2025) | |
Composition
Gedeon had completed one or two song writing sessions with the writing team for the song when one day he was out jogging in Vienna and then he pulled out his phone and sang the first line of the chorus "Sie brauchen einen Tanzschein" (You need a dance license) with Gedeon commenting that "I showed that to my producer and he said, "Yeah, that's good. Maybe let's write, write like one or two other songs as well.", but I couldn't focus. I was, I was so focused on [that song]... ...I had to, I had to do it."[1]
In relation to the songs lyrics Cosmo has commented that "...I was in a club the first time, and there wasn't any dancing, but there wasn't really any talking either. It's just standing around, and... I don't know what they're thinking... Nobody starts dancing... ...And I think you should actually dance and enjoy the music. That's the only way to really forget about everyday life and enjoy life... Letting go a little, listening to yourself. And above all, dancing together, not just for yourself, but also with others."[2]
Music Video
When asked about the ideas behind the music video Cosmó responded "...the producer Phil and the lovely team from Sonority had like this idea that it's... you can't really put away your inner animal, you know, it's always in there. That's why we also have that scene where I'm looking in the mirror and there's a lion. It's more about letting go of your inner animal... kind of dancing away your inner animal... And we wanted to show that in in the music video. And also this kind of transition from animal to human where the lovely Hannah, um takes off her mask and becomes a human, uh and then dances with us all together."[1]
Eurovision Song Contest
Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?
Cosmó was announced as one of the 12 artists that would compete for the Austrian National Selection for Eurovision 2026, "Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?."[3] His competing entry for the Selection, "Tanzschein" was released on 7 February 2026.[4] The Selection took place on 20 February 2026 in Vienna. After the voting segment, Tanzschein placed first which meant that Cosmó would represent Austria in 2026.[5]
When asked about how the live performance for the national selection came together Cosmó responded "One evening, we were sitting with the band, racking our brains: 'Where can we get dancers?' 'We'd love to have dancers with us.' Then we looked at each other in the band and thought, 'Don't you guys want to do that?' And everyone was like, 'Yeah, let's do it!'".[6]
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and will consist of two semi-finals to be held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. As the host country, Austria automatically qualifies to the Final and will perform in 25th (last place) at the show.[7][8] But also the already qualified songs take part in the semi-finals before; Cosmó will perform Tanzschein in the second, after Cyprus's Antigoni and before Latvia's Atvara.[9]
Charts
| Chart (2026) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] | 7 |
| Austria Airplay (IFPI)[11] | 28 |