GERMANY 2022

The German National Final "Germany 12 Points" was held on March 4th at the Berlin-Adlershof TV Studios, hosted by Barbara Schöneberger. The winner was chosen through an equal weighting of televoting and online voting compiled regionally through radio station websites where voting opened on the 28th of February. Going to Turin is Malik Harris with the song "Rockstars"

Malik Harris, although born in Germany, has American roots. His father is American presenter and radio host Ricky Harris and two of his grandparents also worked in the music industry. It came as no surprise when he began to teach himself the guitar, keyboards, drum machine and learned how to use a loop station. After the release of his first two singles in 2018 he was then signed up by Universal Music Group in 2019. That same year he began his first solo tour began. Last year he released hs first full album "Anonymous Colonist". His music is a real mish mash of influences; fusing pop and rap with aspects of rock and electronic music.

The song starts off which a very basic and keyboard accompanied chorus. This establishes the theme and mood very quickly. For here it goes straight into the first verse. The verses here have a much different feel and cadence and are actually quite long and full compared to the lesser worded chorus. This time the backing at a bit more full with the second half having a trilling beat in the background. Unusually verse 2 is a rap, even more unusually it seems to fit snuggly between the chorus at the start and chorus at its end. The last 30 second is covered but  a free form bridge which highlights parts of the chorus followed by the final few words of the chorus sung quietly over an acoustic guitar.

Let's just start from scratch. This national final was ABYSMAL. Yes, the singers and songwriters showcased were fine and dandy but there was no depth or breadth, everything sounded samey, nothing that blew your socks off. There wasn't even anything that was appallingly bad - apart from the poor lass who forgot her lyrics and even that was taken in good spirits. However Jamala's performance was possibly the strongest and most heart-wrenching thing and has contributed to many millions of Euros being raised to help those in need.. Going back to the task in hand, Malik's song and performance probably had the most promise. The setup on stage was very fragmented visually although I feel like they were trying to encapsulate in a 3 minute song what an an entire set might look like. The whole thing looked too frantic and bitty and didn't quite connect fully. That all said Mailk's live performance was vocally strong and clear. With simpler direction and stagecraft this could be made into something memorable and voteable. Right now it is too busy and the production crew need to focus on getting his feelings and emotions down the camera - in particular during the rap - because making people remember and want to vote for this is imperative.

ARTIST - Malik Harris

SONG - Rockstars

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Malik Harris, Robin Karow, Marie Kobylka