ZDF is giving its format "Song Trip" a second season. According to a network announcement, in the new episodes Nico Santos, Rea Garvey, Yvonne Catterfeld and Peter Maffay each travel to a different country, where they get to know the local music and re-record one of their hits. At the end, they watch their experiences together. The season starts on July 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM on ZDF, with new episodes airing every Friday until August 7. The season will already be available in the ZDF media library starting June 29, 2026.
Trips to Vietnam, Cape Verde and more
Nico Santos kicks things off on July 17 with his trip to Vietnam. The pop singer creates a new version of his song "Play with Fire" there with folk artist Hoàng Thị Bích Hồng and singer Mai Chí Công, who represents the modern branch of Vietnamese music. Santos is excited to "immerse himself in a completely new world that we haven't experienced like this before," he is quoted by ZDF as saying.
On July 24, the network will broadcast the episode with Rea Garvey. For him, it's off to Finland and Sweden, more specifically to the settlement area of the Sami, an indigenous people. There he records a new version of the song "Halo" with joik singer Hildá Länsman. For Garvey, the goal of the journey is not "to get to know myself better, but to get to know the Sami people."
Yvonne Catterfeld immerses herself in the music of Cape Verde on July 31 and performs a reinterpretation of her song "Irgendwas" with musicians Fattú Djakité and DIEG. She praises the format for its music focus. Peter Maffay, meanwhile, talks about the collaboration with musician David Graham in Nashville, Tennessee. "That's exactly what interested all of us: That you find each other through music and get to know someone, and break down all those prejudices that are floating around," he explains according to the announcement. He reinterprets the title "Sonne in der Nacht". The episode with the German rock musician airs on August 7 on ZDF.
First season still featured five musicians
The network aired the first season in summer 2025. Max Giesinger traveled to Mongolia, while Lea ended up in Trinidad and Tobago. Juli explored the music landscape of Morocco, while the rappers from 01099 traveled around Albania. Alice Merton's "Song Trip" took her to Iceland.
