One of the most successful countries to compete in the annual Eurovision Song Contest in recent years has surely been Germany since securing their second victory at the esteemed event back in 2010 at the hands of Lena Meyer-Landrut with the song Satellite written by John Gordon and Julie Frost. She returned to defend her title the following year with the track Taken By a Stranger written by Gus Seyffert, Nicole Morier and Monica Birkenes finishing in a respectable tenth place. This time round though, they initiated a call for artists as they had done the first time Lena was selected and ended up coming up with Roman Lob who will be representing the Western country with the song Standing Still written by one of the most prolific teams in songwriting including Jamie Cullum, Steve Robson and Wayne Hector. He has since been signed to Universal Music Germany who have coordinated with the respective promotional resources coming up with a set of questions which have been answered by Roman himself.

How do you feel about representing your country at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku and what does the musical competition actually mean to you as an artist?

It’s a great feeling and I’m really excited. It means a lot to me. All this is really thrilling and I‘m mainly looking forward to making music in another country with artists from all over the world.

You took part in the German TV show “Unser Star für Baku” looking for this year’s ESC contestant. Could you tell us something about your experiences during that time?

I made lots of new experiences. The panel gave us great and helpful hints and I also learned lots of new things from the other candidates.

Right after winning the pre-selection process known as “Unser Star für Baku” – what kind of thoughts came to your head first?

I couldn't believe it – at that moment my mind went completely blank!

Could you talk to us about your Eurovision entry; what is the song about, was it your favorite one, who`s the writer?

Standing Still was my favourite from the first second! It was written by Jamie Cullum. The song is about a couple who unfortunately split up. The guy has to come to terms with the fact that the woman has left him.

What are you looking forward to the most – in respect of taking part at the Eurovision Song Contest and could you speak to us about the way that your stage performance will look like whilst in Baku?

I’m really looking forward to getting to know other cultures and meeting new people. It’s still at a very early planning stage. Probably a fairly straightforward show.

Did you have a chance to listen to any of the other entries? Do you have any favorites?

Yes, I've seen a few of them. But I don’t have a favourite yet. Each one of them is good in their own way and it’s really difficult to decide on a favourite at this early stage.

What is your favorite Eurovision song of all times and what is your favorite one from your home country?

Lena with Satellite was absolutely amazing, and I thought Lordi were pretty cool, too!

What are you going to do while staying in Azerbaijan? Do you have any plans besides the Eurovision Song Contest?

I’d love to get to know the country and its people, and of course I want to go to the beach.

Do you have a musical idol?

Yes, I really like the band Paramore and Xavier Naidoo.

What do you expect from the Eurovision Song Contest 2012? Do you think it will have a great impact on your career?

I'll take things as they come. It will definitely be a great experience!

Roman Lob is a upcoming performer who was chosen through a selection process which included hundreds and thousands of applicants from all over the country. He won the selection process in a tight final against Ornella de Santis despite having been the favourite as from the second show in which he had competed in. Due to the fact that Germany is a member of the elite five in the competition, they will be competing directly in the final and it seems that the bookmakers see them as potential winners by virtue of putting them in eight position with their pop track which is also being very much well received by the fans of the esteemed event.

Source: Universal Music Germany