Overview

• The three-hour special aired on 20 September on ZDF after an August taping in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle.
• Wayne Carpendale surprised his father on stage as a documentary excerpt played, prompting Howard to say the public doesn’t know what his son has done for him.
• Jürgen Drews, retired since 2022 because of polyneuropathy, joined for “Es war alles am besten,” with Howard noting they may have sung together for the last time.
• During the broadcast Drews recalled nearly cracking the U.S. Top 40, and one report said his single peaked at No. 79 in America.
• The program averaged a 16.3 percent audience share and drew mixed online reactions, from praise for the finale to complaints about repetitiveness and the target demographic.