After previous news that Germany would be internally selecting their act this year, it has now been announced that Slovenian-born Ben Dolic will represent Germany. He will be performing the entry, Violent Thing on stage in Rotterdam.
Ben was selected by 2 independent juries in the internal selection process, which was organised by the German broadcaster, NDR. He was chosen by a Eurovision jury, consisting of 100 people from across Germany, and also an international jury which featured 20 music professionals. Both juries assessed the submitted artists as well as the submitted songs.
Ben speaks of his selection, saying, ‘When I got the news that I had been accepted by the juries, I was totally overwhelmed. Taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest for Germany was a dream come true for me. This is where I made my breakthrough as a professional singer. I think we have the perfect song for the Eurovision Song Contest, and I will give everything I have for Germany’
Ben Dolic was born on the 4th of May in 1997 in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. His music career began at the age of 12, when he competed in Slovenia’s Got Talent, reaching the semi-finals. In 2016, he made it to the semi-finals of the Slovenian national selection for Eurovision as a member of the group, D-Base.
When he was 18, Ben moved to Switzerland with his family, which is where he learned German. Then in 2018, he was settled in Berlin, where he competed in The Voice of Germany, finishing in second place.
His Eurovision entry, Violent Thing, was written by Austrian-Bulgarian producer and songwriter Boris Milanov and his team. Milanov is no stranger to Eurovision, having written a number of successful Eurovision entries, such as Beautiful Mess (Bulgaria 2017), Nobody But You (Austria 2018) and If Love Was A Crime (Bulgaria 2016) among others.
Boris commented, ‘Ben Dolic’s unique and immediately recognizable voice immediately reminded me of his musical idols. He has no reason to fear being compared with pop giants like Justin Timberlake or Michael Jackson. We had a fantastic time in the studio. He sings with an amazing degree of confidence and at the same time effortlessness.
Thomas Schrieber, Head of Entertainment at ARD commented on Ben’s selection, saying, ‘Ben Dolic is an exceptional talent. With his crystal-clear and expressive voice, it is not at all surprising that he convinced both of the independent Eurovision juries in Germany. Ben has worked hard at his craft for years and has high artistic standards. That impressed us immediately. We are very happy that he is now competing for Germany, and I have no doubt that he will soon win over both the German and the European fans.’
The staging is set to be done by MTV Video Music Award-winning choreographer Marty Kudelka who is known for choreographing 3 of Justin Timberlake’s world tours, as well as his halftime show at the Super Bowl in 2018.