We had the pleasure of chatting with the talented singer-songwriter, Will Church, who is among the nine artists vying for a chance to represent Germany in this year’s Eurovision.
In our interview, Will discusses his unique sound, his excitement for the national selection, and some of his personal interests outside of music. He also shares his creative process behind his Unser Lied entry, “Hold On,” and gives us a little sneak peek into what we can expect from his live performance.
Hello Will! Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with you, could you please introduce yourself?
Hey, Thanks for having me 🙂
Sure, I’m Will Church. A singer/songwriter based in Berlin. I like playing music, eating lasagne and I’d love to be part of the ESC in Liverpool this year.
How would you describe your music or musical sound to our readers?
Hmmm. It’s kinda difficult to describe cause I always write and produce what I feel at that moment. I make chill house/pop/dance music almost always starting with just a guitar and sometimes it stays a singer-songwriting tune. Pretty much like Ed Sheeran or James Arthur, I guess.
How have you found the preparation for Unser Lied für Liverpool so far? Are you starting to feel ready for the 3rd of March?
I feel super ready even though my stage show is not completely planned yet. But it will be great I’m sure.
Many people, especially from Germany, may recognize you from your performance of Duncan Laurence’s Eurovision-winning song “Arcade” on The Voice of Germany during your blind audition. Do you have a special connection to that song or the Eurovision contest in general?
Yeah, that’s true. I LOVE that song. The funny thing is I didn’t even plan to sing on The Voice. But apparently, someone did a great job thinking I could nail it. I was so happy when I listened to it and immediately remembered him singing it on Eurovision.
I always watched the ESC but when Lena Meyer Landrut won in 2010 I was completely hooked.
How would you compare your experience on The Voice of Germany with competing for a spot at Eurovision?
It’s completely different from what I can tell. The thing with The Voice is that you get the spotlight for about 5 minutes and then it’s gone.
Now I feel like people keep coming and watching what I do and trying to figure out who I am. Thinking about how I’d perform and having numerous opinions about us artists. It’s a bit weird sometimes but I kinda love that.
To better understand who you are beyond your involvement in the music industry, I would like to ask you a few questions about yourself outside of music. Name one thing about you that not many people know.
I’m a massive fan of Dragon Ball. I own all the mangas which is quite a lot.
What do you do to unwind and spend your free time?
Reading books/comics, playing PlayStation or doing sports (football, table tennis, proper tennis ;), hanging out with my friends and chilling, or going for a walk with my lil dog Gisela and my girlfriend.
Can you walk us through the songwriting process for your Unser Lied song “Hold On”? Was it initially written with the national selection or mind, or did you have it recorded prior to the submission period?
We got together via Zoom and wrote remotely with two guys from Germany and one producer from Sweden. When we found that topline we thought “Well-this could be an ESC song for sure”. Knowing that the last years didn’t go too well for Germany I thought this might do better 100% so I tried my luck.
If you could describe your plans for the Unser Lied live show using only ten words or less – what words would you choose?
Not, 100%, done, yet, dark, Gotham, beginning, bright, emotional, end.
Lastly, is there anything that you would like to share with our readers at ESCUnited?
I hope you like my song “Hold On” and if you haven’t yet go stream it on Spotify. Don’t forget to vote for me in case I make it to the finals in Liverpool. You’re the best xx
On March 3rd, we will have the opportunity to watch Will Church’s final product live from Cologne, Germany. The live stream will be on www.eurovision.de. If you are interested to hear more from Will Church, his Instagram is linked here.
Do #YOU want to see Will Church perform Eurovision? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or our forum!
