Will Church is a 28 year old singer-songwriter from Berlin, who wants to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. Will used to be a street musician and eventually had his big breakthrough in 2021, when he participated in The Voice of Germany and stunned the judges with his performance of Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade“ in the Blind Auditions. Since then he has written songs for numerous popular singers in the German music industry.

Ahead of his performance at Unser Lied für Liverpool, Will was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:

Hi Will and thank you so much for participating in this interview! We cannot wait to find out more about you and your song “Hold On”
Hey, thanks a lot! I’m super happy to talk to you 🙂

First of all, how did you get the idea of submitting a song to the German Eurovision selection?
I´m a big fan of the ESC ever since Lena won 2010 and thought this year I finally wrote a song that might have a chance to make it to to the finals. Also, Germany didn’t do too well in the last contests and I´m sure I’ll do better than bottom 5 *knocking on wood*

At The Voice you impressed everyone with your stunning interpretation of Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade” – Did you choose a Eurovision winning song on purpose back then?

Arcade is such a great song and Duncan’s voice is incredibly unique. I chose it as a challenge but I was surprised it felt so comfortable singing and suited my style perfectly. Almost like it’s my song. Hopefully it’s a good sign that I feel good singing ESC winning songs.

How has your career changed since The Voice of Germany?
I already had a career as a musician before the voice but it certainly took it to the next level. My collab and writing partners changed a bit and a couple more doors opened. I´m not sure I’d be part of the Eurovision pre selection if it wasn’t for my blind audition to be honest.

What inspired you to write “Hold On” and what is the song about?
The song is a reminder and a sign that you’re stronger together than alone. It´s ok to ask for help if you’re not alright and everyone of us can do their best to make their friends or even strangers feel a bit better. In times when I felt stressed out and missed my friends and live shows due to the pandemic my family and my girlfriend really helped a lot. So that was my inspiration for the song.

You write songs for other artists as well – Which musician would you like to work with someday?
I would really love to work with Jacob Collier or Bon Iver (Justin Vernon). These lads are such incredibly talented musicians and I can always hear when they helped working on songs for other artists. And I ALWAYS love it. I´d also love to sing Arcade with Duncan. That’d be soo cool. OMG.

Do you already have plans for your performance at Unser Lied für Liverpool? What should the Eurovision fans expect?
We´re already in talks about the live show and my first ideas went from Michael Schulte´s stripped down ESC performance to a massive Rammstein pyro show but at the moment it’s something completely different. Can’t tell you guys too much tho – sorry 😉

What would it mean to you if you got chosen to represent Germany on the Eurovision stage?
That’d mean the world to me! I really think I might cry on stage and I never did that before.

How do you feel when you think about the upcoming days and weeks?
To be honest I´m not so sure what the next days will be like but I´m really looking forward to the 03.03. and just can’t wait to sing my heart out on stage.

Finally, do you have anything else you would like to say to our readers from all over the world?
I´m Will Church and I´m ready for Liverpool!
Thanks so much for the interview. That was fun 🙂

Once again, thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions! We wish you the best of luck for Unser Lied für Liverpool on March 3rd and hope to see you in Liverpool!

If you want to support Will, you can also vote for him in our poll:

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