The audience sets the tone in "supervised singing"

"Oops!.... I Did It Again", "Wonderwall" and "California Dreamin'" are shouted wildly in a movie theater in Dresden's Schauburg. On stage are the two musicians Reentko Dirks with a guitar and Demian Kappenstein on the cajón. They are collecting suggestions for the first song of the evening from the 350 or so cheerful guests at the "Supervised Singing" event.

The two have been hosting the sing-along evening every month for almost ten years, and occasionally they are also guests in Berlin. Their concept differs from similar formats such as "Rudelsingen" and "Sing de la Sing", which also take place regularly in Saxony, in that spontaneous suggestions are made by the audience. There is no ready-made song list.

The audience decides

"At the beginning it's a bit chaotic, anarchically organized," says Kappenstein. The crowd simply calls in their song requests, the two musicians collect them and then let them vote by applause.

The first choice is a hit from the 60s: "California Dreamin'" by the folk-rock band The Mamas and the Papas - with German lyrics. The translation, which the two "supervisors" have Google deliver to the screen, makes them smile as they sing.

The second half of the evening is a little more orderly. Before the break, Dirks and Kappenstein set a topic on which they then collect suggestions by note and email. On this evening, the participants are asked to think about which song they would use to explain humanity to an alien. The result: a colorful mix ranging from obvious titles such as Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" to German classics such as "Über sieben Brücken" by Karat.

Unusual combinations emerge time and again. For example, Dirks lets "Summer of 69" by Brian Adams fade out to the Christmas carol "Silent Night" - accompanied by laughter and loud singing from the audience.

"Singing is simply incredibly liberating"

Maria Hahn is sitting in the front row. She wears a T-shirt with the event's logo - a drawn bonfire - and comes every month with a friend. "It really has become a ritual," says the Dresden native, who also sings in a choir. "I look forward to it every time because I know that I'll feel better afterwards, because singing is simply incredibly liberating."

"From start to finish, you feel taken along and supported," agrees her companion Yvonne Löffler. "Restore your mindset once and then go out fresh again. That's actually what the evening here is all about." She describes the atmosphere as unbiased and non-judgmental. "That's what makes the whole thing so pleasant and so easy."

"Then you have to learn it"

If Dirks and Kappenstein get stuck, they let the audience take the lead: "We don't know it," admits Dirks during the German rap song "Tau mich auf" by Zartmann. "Then you have to learn it," replies a quick-witted woman from the audience. And off they go. The guitarist then finds the melody surprisingly quickly, and the participants take the initiative when it comes to singing.

Only once does the auditorium fall silent, because neither the two "supervisors" nor the audience know off the top of their heads how "Moonlight Shadow" by Mike Oldfield ends. It doesn't matter - they continue with the guitar classic "Wonderwall" by Oasis, which everyone sings along to at the top of their lungs.

The audience is mixed in age (Kappenstein estimates between 25 and 75), but the women are clearly in the majority. "I think there is much more openness and impartiality," Kappenstein suspects. Women are more willing to sing along, even if they are not singers.

Exuberant atmosphere and surprising songs

Men are also increasingly finding their way to sing together. One of them is Martin Vogt. He spontaneously invited his girlfriend to the evening and is attending for the first time. "Wonderful, a very nice atmosphere, very relaxed, I like it," he says during the break. "Singing together, being surprised, which songs are requested, which songs you used to like." However, Vogt has not made any suggestions of his own: "I can't think of any songs because I'm so scared."

Shared flat party provides the idea

The idea for the concept came about at a shared flat party that Dirks and Kappenstein attended together. "I actually wanted to say goodbye at 9 o'clock," Dirks recalls. But then someone handed him a guitar with the comment: "You play one more!" In the end, the evening didn't end until 3 a.m. "That's when we realized what a joy it was to look together at what pieces were going through our heads."

However, it was several years before the first edition of "Supervised Singing" took place in 2017. "At some point, Demian said: "Let's do this now"," says Dirks. The organizer reacted somewhat sceptically, but gave the two of them a chance. "And then it grew and grew."

The "Supervised Singing" has long since found loyal fans. The next edition in April has long been sold out, with tickets only available again for May.