studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by German singer
Roman Lob
Roman Lob (born 2 July 1990) is a German singer-songwriter. In January and February 2012, Lob was a contestant in the German TV show ''Unser Star für Baku'', produced by the German broadcasting stations Pro7 and Das Erste. He is also the lead si ...
German-speaking Europe
This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Germanosphere () in Europe, German-speaking minority languag ...
. Recorded after Lob's win of ''
Unser Star für Baku Unser is a surname, and may refer to: People with the name
* The Unser family, a prominent family of American auto racing drivers:
** First generation:
*** Louis Unser (1896-1979), a nine-time winner of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb.
** Second generatio ...
'', the national pre-selection programme for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
, it was largely procued under the guidance of musician
Thomas D
Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Smudo, Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, and Michi Beck. They were, together with Advanced ...
, with additional production from André "Brix" Buchmann,
Thorsten Brötzmann
Thorsten Brötzmann is a German record producer, composer, and arranger. He collaborated with No Angels, Bro'Sis, Christina Stürmer, Monrose, Jeanette, Nina Kraljić, Oonagh, Alexander Klaws, and Modern Talking
Modern Talking was a German ...
, Michael Dörfler, Bertil Mark, Mathias Ramson, and production team Beatgees.
The album earned largely mixed to positive reviews from music critics some of who felt that it was uneven but praised Lob's vocal performance. ''Changes'' debuted and peaked at number nine on the
German Albums Chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
and reached the top 50 in Austria. It was preceded by lead single " Standing Still," Germany's 2012 Eurovision Song Contest entry in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, which finished in 8th place and became a top three hit in Germany. A second single, "Call Out the Sun," failed to chart.
Singles
''Changes'' was preceded by lead single " Standing Still," Germany's entry at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
in
Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
German Singles Chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
and finished in eighth place with 110 points on 26 May, 2012. After Lob's performance on the night of the contest, it also entered some international charts. "Call Out the Sun" was released as the album's second and final single on August 31, 2012 but failed to chart.
Critical reception
Amelie Köppl from ''
laut.de
''laut.de'' is a German online magazine covering music and entertainment. It was founded in Konstanz in 1996 by Rainer Henze ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...
'' critic Dieter Bartetz felt that Lob had "already proven that he has what it takes to withstand it. But he still has to prove that he, the exceptional talent, cannot be smoothed over musically. His debut album points in both directions, the smooth and the rough."