Deutschland sucht den Superstar (German for “Germany seeks the superstar”) is a German television program, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. It is the German version of the Idols franchise, broadcast on RTL. (RTL owns the franchise worldwide.) The producers were not allowed to use the words “pop” or “idol” in the title (Frank Farian has held title rights to “idol” since the 1970s in Germany, and a deal with the creators of Popstars forbids the use of the word “pop” for Pop Idol editions outside the UK, henceforth “(regional) Idol” in other countries).
