Image Credit: Anna Maria Boshnakova
This year, Germany made their selection through the national final ‘Germany 12 Points’, which saw 6 different acts from across the nation compete for a chance to win the ticket to Eurovision 2022.
The show was won by Malik Harris, who will be taking his song ‘Rockstars’ to Turin this May with the hopes to bring the contest back to Germany, 12 years on since their win in 2010 with ‘Satellite’ by Lena.
Find out all you need to know about Malik & Germanys chances in the contest below!
Who Is Malik Harris?
Malik Harris is a German-American singer, from Landsberg am Lech. Growing up, he began to make music at 13 and taught himself how to play the piano, guitar, drums and bass – some of which he included in his national final performance of ‘Rockstars’. He’s inspired by the likes of Twenty One Pilots and Macklemore, and their influence can be heard throughout his music. He combines both pop and rap elements in his songs to create a modern pop sound.
Malik has supported artists such as James Blunt and Tom Odell on their tours, but will now take centre stage at Eurovision, following on from a successful 2021. He released his debut album ‘Anonymous Colonist’ in August, and will be taking it on tour the day after the Eurovision final on May 15th.
Aside from music, he’s released his own documentary called ‘Time For Wonder’. In it, he uses his platform to document the institutional and structural racism that occurs across society, also sharing his own personal story surrounding this subject and his music. He released a song of the same title alongside the documentary, which you can listen to by clicking here.
You can watch Time For Wonder below. The documentary is in German, but has English subtitles available
How Well Will Malik Do At ESC?
Whilst ‘Rockstars’ may be far more accessible and less ‘marmite’ than Germany’s offering last year (‘I Don’t Feel Hate’ by Jendrik), many people do have concerns that it may not be impactful enough for viewers to pick up their phones and vote for it. If this is the case, a third 0 points in the televote may be on the cards for the country, something they won’t be aiming to achieve for a third time in a row.
That being said, however, there are many positives that come with this entry. It’s automatically in the final – Germany is a member of the Big 5 – and Malik is a strong live performer, which will surely help him in the show. It also is one of the few “generic” or “traditional” pop songs we have in our selection of Eurovision songs for 2022, and a modern one at that. This could really resonate with viewers who hear and enjoy songs similar to ‘Rockstars’ on the radio daily, and those who can’t connect to the songs that are a little more “out there”.
Winning may not be on the cards for Germany if general opinion and the odds are anything to go by, but it may surprise some if it’s able to build momentum after rehearsals begin. If staged right, German viewers may not be hearing another ‘Germany, 0 points’ this year, and we hope for both the country and for Malik that Germany will be able to come away from Eurovision this year with a positive result, which will help them going forwards to pick more great entries.
You can listen to the German entry ‘Rockstars’ below!
What do you think of Germany’s song for Eurovision 2022? How well do you think it’ll do in the contest? Let us know in the comments below!
