“The Voice” star Georg Stengel: How Roland Kaiser supported his career

With his distinctive raspy voice and natural musical talent, Georg Stengel (30) sang his way into the hearts of the “The Voice of Germany” jury and the audience in 2016. This gave him the courage to give up his training and try his hand at being a pop star. Since then, the Brandenburg native has enjoyed some success – such as with his single “Mars”, which stayed in the German single charts for 15 weeks in 2020 – but has also experienced some dry spells full of self-doubt.

The singer seems to be spending 2024 in the fast lane again: In the summer he accompanied pop icon Roland Kaiser (72) as a support act on his big anniversary tour. And on September 6th his long-awaited debut album “Endlich!” will be released, which he will present on his own tour in the fall. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, he talked about his new life as a pop star and what Roland Kaiser told him to do.

Mr. Stengel, it’s probably no coincidence that your debut album is called “Endlich!” How hard was the road to get there?

Georg Stengel: People talk about a rocky road, but in my case you can imagine it like this: I didn’t have stones, but rocks on my path. I’ve often thought that this album wouldn’t come out and I’ve often questioned whether I would even become a musician. But the fact that it is now as it is is great and of course I’m sticking with it, even if the road was hard. But finally, that’s the decisive word for everything, the time has come, because my album is finally coming out.

The album contains your previous successful singles combined with new pieces. How have you developed musically?

Stengel: I personally think that I have improved vocally in the last few years. I have become a bit more professional. The longer you practice and keep going, the better it gets. I have the best writers at my side and they know what is possible and have a picture in mind for each song. I also have a wonderful producer and when you combine all of that with me and a bit of humor, you can quickly come up with a great song. And of course I have gotten a lot better live too. Being on the road as a support act for Roland Kaiser for the last two months alone has helped me to improve a lot.

At the end of 2023 you completed a club tour with your band, and you’re also doing a lot of live performances this year. What do you think is the most exciting thing about touring?

Stengel: The most exciting thing is actually always the time in the nightliner. You drive to the location, then get on the bus, drive overnight to the next town, then sleep a bit in the moving bus, wake up the next morning at some rest stop and actually have no idea where you are, but you know that tonight hundreds of people will come just for you and shout your songs and are happy to see you. It’s a bit like a school trip feeling, but on a luxury level. I’ve learned to love everything about it. My first tour was almost a year ago and I really miss it and am already really looking forward to this lovely little school trip.

As support for Roland Kaiser, you played on the biggest stages in front of huge audiences. Didn’t that blow you away?

Stengel: Well, considering that I’ve never been to a stadium before, not even to a football match – I’ve really never seen the inside of a stadium – it was so crazy to be in such a huge stadium. Where football is actually played in front of thousands of people and then you stand there on the biggest possible stage in a sold-out stadium, in front of a legend: Yes, that completely blew me away. It’s such an indescribable feeling when you go out there and people are clapping and shouting for you too – it can’t be explained. It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced and I’ll carry it in my heart. It was like a once in a lifetime.

Did the Kaiser give you some tips for your own career during your tour?

Stengel: No tips, but we talked a lot. He was always very nice to me and took me aside a few times and told me that I was a good person, that I was on the right path, that I was doing everything right and that I shouldn’t worry and that I was a great musician and person and that he believed in me. That’s not a tip, but he gave me a lot of love and courage, which I think is even better than a tip.

Your fan base is constantly growing – how close is the contact with your audience?

Stengel: We keep in touch very closely. At concerts, it’s definitely close, and afterwards I always take time for everyone to take photos, give autographs and hug people. I really, really enjoy doing that. In the end, those are the people I have to thank for everything, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now and wouldn’t be making an album or a tour. And I also like to be in touch via Instagram. I like to reply and exchange ideas – only with nice messages and questions, of course. I’m a very open-hearted person towards my great people.

Will you continue at the same pace next year? Or will you slow down a bit?

Stengel: No, there is no downsizing at all. I want to do a lot more. I would actually like to start a real elephant tour over the next two or three years. I want to be seen everywhere, do something everywhere. I don’t really want to be at home for a single day, even though I’ll probably complain sometimes that I want to be at home for a few weekends, but I have to bite the bullet, that’s what I chose. And success is not luck, so I hope that twice or three times as much happens in the next few years, so that at some point I can maybe say that I’m taking a six-month break.