Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Black Smoke", written by Michael Harwood, Ella McMahon and Tonino Speciale. The song was performed by Ann Sophie. German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) organised the national final Unser Song für Österreich in order to select the German entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Prior to the national final, a wildcard selection round was held where undiscovered artists could apply to win a single wildcard to the main national final show. The wildcard winner, Ann Sophie, joined seven established artists that were invited to compete by the broadcaster in a show on 5 March 2015. After three rounds of public televoting, the winner was Andreas Kümmert with the song "Heart of Stone", written by Kümmert together with Christian Neander. However, upon the announcement that Kümmert had won the national final, the artist immediately forfeited his win so that runner-up Ann Sophie could go to Eurovision with the song "Black Smoke". The move garnered international media attention. The broadcaster confirmed in a post-show press conference that Ann Sophie would represent Germany at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Black Smoke".

As a member of the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), Germany competed directly in the final on 23 May 2015 and did not have to qualify from one of two semi-finals held on 19 May and 21 May. However, Germany was obligated to vote in the second semi-final. In Germany's fifty-ninth Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "Black Smoke" finished in last place, twenty-seventh, out of 27 competing songs, making it the sixth time the nation had placed last in the history of the competition and the third time the nation received nul points.

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Germany had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-eight times since its first entry in 1956. Germany has won the contest on two occasions: in 1982 with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" performed by Nicole and in 2010 with the song "Satellite" performed by Lena. Germany, to this point, has been noted for having competed in the contest more than any other country; they have competed in every contest since the first edition in 1956 except for the 1996 contest when the nation was eliminated in a pre-contest elimination round. In 2014, the group Elaiza won the German national final Unser Song für Dänemark, after qualifying from the wildcard round for new talents. Their song, "Is it Right", beat out entries from seven established German acts and went on to place 18th at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen.

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