This year Germany has chosen Malik Harris as its representative on Eurovision 2022 that will take place in Turin next May with the song “Rockstars”. But who is Malik Harris? In this article you will have the opportunity to know more about Germany’s singer for Eurovision 2022.
About Malik Harris
Malik Harris is a German-American singer born in 1997 in Landsberg am Lech and raised nearby in Issing. He comes from a very musical family: his paternal grandfather was an opera singer, his maternal grandmother was a pianist and his father, Ricky Harris, is a presenter and singer and, in addition to mastering many other instruments, is a cello teacher.
His musical career began with covers of famous songs accompanied by his guitar, which he has been playing since the age of 13. He also taught himself to play the keyboard and drum machine. His first singles Say the name (2018) and Welcome To The Rumble (2019) became hits on Spotify, which made it easier for him to sign a contract with Universal. In the summer of 2019 he also released his first EP, titled Like That Again, and also kicked off his first solo concert tour in Germany. He also performed as an opening act for singers such as James Blunt or Tom Odell.
In October 2020, he became the first German artist to make it onto the billboard screens in New York’s Times Square with the release of his single When We’ve Arrived. In the same year, he released other singles that made some impact, such as the anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement, titled Faith. In August 2021, his first album, Anonymous Colonist, was released. In addition, on the Sunday after the Eurovision final in Turin, he will be starting his German concert tour in Berlin.
The song, written by Malik himself together with Marie Kobylka and Robin Karow under the Universal label, reached the 98th position in the official ranking in Germany collected and published by GfK Entertainment. The track takes a look back at the good old days to remind us to keep enjoying every moment and to keep being “rock stars”. It was written because of the hiatus in his musical career during his time of confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to him, “Rockstars” is a song that has incredible personal meaning for him and offers a glimmer of hope in these difficult times.
Lyrics
Look where we are
We used to be the rockstars
Who never thought of no harm
‘Til this thing we call life stopped gleamin’
I wish there was a way to go back dreamin’
Remembering gets so hard
When time is moving so fast
Wish there was a way to know that we’re in
The good old days before we all just leave ‘em
I tried getting rid of the pain
I tried to make it go away
But it probably won’t change
Always thinking ‘bout my own worries
Remеmber back when we had no worriеs
Now life just ain’t hittin’ the same
I sit here missing
Reminiscing ‘bout innocent old days
When I was afraid of nobody
Now I’m afraid of being a nobody
Don’t wanna leave my bed
I’ll just stay in, never get it together
‘Cause the voices in my head
They keep saying it’ll never get better
Look where we are
We used to be the rockstars
Who never thought of no harm
‘Til this thing we call life stopped gleamin’
I wish there was a way to go back dreamin’
Remembering gets so hard
When time is moving so fast
Wish there was a way to know that we’re in
The good old days before we all just leave ‘em
And even though it’s always been an uninvited guest
It finds a way in nonetheless, wish I could change my address
And you know, just be somebody else for a couple of days
Although I’m pretty sure we all feel the same kind of way
‘Cause if you think about it
Aren’t we all sat in a place where we look back on better days
And wish they weren’t so far away?
I wish that I could just go back and be the way I was
I wish I’d still not give a damn ‘bout how I come across
I wish the way I saw myself had never gotten lost
And all the worries, all the thoughts, all the thinking, all the parts
So exhausting, always caught up inside my doubts and flaws
And I’ma count them all
Somebody catch me, I’m ‘bout to fall
Yeah, I’m ‘bout to fall
Can we press pause
Or do a restart and be who we are?
We used to be the rockstars
Who never thought of no harm
‘Til this thing we call life stopped gleamin’
I wish there was a way to go back dreamin’
Remembering gets so hard
When time is moving so fast
Wish there was a way to know that we’re in
The good old days before we all just leave ‘em
We used to be the rockstars (Didn’t we?)
We used to be the rockstars (Didn’t we?)
We used to be the rockstars
We used to be the rockstars
Remembering gets so hard
When time is moving so fast
Wish there was a way to know that we’re in
The good old days before we all just leave ‘em
Germany in Eurovision
Germany was 1 of the founding countries of the Eurovision Song Contest and has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest every year since 1956 apart from 1996 when its entry failed to qualify from a pre-selection round.
Germany’s early decades at the Eurovision Song Contest were a mixed bag; a couple of top 5 placings but finishing last with zero points in 1964 and 1965. It would take Germany until 1970 to reach the top 3 for the first time when Katja Epstein represented the country in Amsterdam.
Germany’s most successful decade at the Eurovision Song Contest was the 1980s where the country notched up six top 5 placings including 4 second place finishes and its first victory in 1982 when Nicole won the contest in Harrogate with Ein bißchen Frieden. In 2010, Lena won the Eurovision Song Contest for Germany for the second time with the song Satellite. In 2018, they made a return to the top 5 of the competition thanks to Michael Schulte’s You Let Me Walk Alone.
German songwriter Ralph Siegel is one of the most notable figures in the competition, having written more than 20 different entries, including Germany’s first winner in 1982.