EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | THE ROOP (LITHUANIA): „It doesn’t matter how many times you fell, what counts is how many times you get up.”

The story of Eurovision 2020 goes on despite all odds. And today we meet the ones who ranked first for many weeks in bookmakers and who were about to take their native country, Lithuania, through originality and free spirit, for the first time on the highest positions in ESC from Rotterdam.

But….good dreams never and and true art stories are always to be lived and told. The Roop (Vaidotas – singer, leader of the band; Robertas – drummer and Mantas – guitarist), because they are the ones who discover themselves to you today, are truly defined by creativity, new age music and innovation.

And this is their story.

Hello, guys, and welcome to Romania! So nice to meet you! This year seemed to be your year. You have been on the first place in bets for so long. What did this make you feel and what did it mean both for you as a band and for your country?

Vaidotas: First of all, I would like to say Hi to Romania. Have never been there, but I really hope to visit it one day and be able to walk in the street of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi or Timisoara. And talking about how we feel today – we are grateful for all the attention we have been receiving from all around the globe.

Robertas: It was extremely amusing and pleasant to feel support of so many people in Lithuania and around the world and to see how they enjoy our song and the dance which flooded social media.

Mantas: What was most impressive was to see how all Lithuanians were united in support of a Eurovision song – this had never happened in history.

Is Lithuania ready to win and host Eurovision Song Contest?

Vaidotas: As you may know, Lithuania has never won Eurovision. But still, this contest is a big thing in our country. This year could have been the first time in history when Lithuania wins. We had a chance to make it happen and we were more than ready to host Eurovision Song Contest.

Robertas: Lithuania has never been more ready than now. We have great arenas, lots of hotels, restaurants and bars. Welcoming that many people would be a pleasure.

Mantas: Agree with my colleagues, however, with the latest developments we might need to wait until another chance.

How can your musical journey until now be described in a few lines?

Vaidotas: Our musical journey has been the same as life, with many ups and downs. But I remember one thing – it doesn’t matter how many times you fell, what counts is how many times you get up.

Robertas: When we played or impersonated people of different occupations when we were kids, we would usually imagine we were artists or musicians.

Mantas: We are together for around 10 years and the journey was a real rollercoaster, from the joy of our first album to the brink of splitting up last year.

How did you get to the name “The Roop” for the band?

Vaidotas: We had around 100 different names for the band to choose from. But none of them were good enough. So, we asked one friend who was good with words for help. After discussing our concept as a band, she suggested the name “The Roop”- an archaic English word meaning to ‘shout’, ‘scream’, ‘to cry out’.

Robertas: We had so many options, but THE ROOP was short and visually memorable.

Mantas: We had really hard time picking the name for the band until THE ROOP came from a person outside of the band. THE ROOP might not be very easy to pronounce at first, but visually it is very appealing.

What is the main message of your song, “On fire” and how well related is to your personalities?

Vaidotas: One of the problems which is still broadly tolerated in this world is ageism. What I mean is people are too often judged based on their age and not their abilities. So, with this song we try to fight this status quo.

Robertas: Main idea of the song is that it is never too late to pursue your dreams. Age is not a problem. Laziness might be a problem.

Mantas: You are never too old to invent, learn, see, visit or try something new.

What are the things that get you guys on fire?

Vezi și

De Ziua Marii Uniri, Voltaj și Zdob și Zdub își unesc forțele și aduc în playlisturi „Fratz”

Vaidotas: Life.

Robertas: I dream of buying a motorcycle and getting motorcycle driver’s license this summer – maybe there will still be time for that.

Mantas: For all of us one of the greatest “on fire” moment is when we are on stage, when we play and feel the audience singing and dancing along

Which is your favorite ESC winner of all times ?

Vaidotas: I really appreciated Salvador Sobral’s performance in 2017. It was very simple and yet very captivating. This year, however, Iceland really stood out for me.

Robertas: I still think ABBA is all time favorite. 

Mantas: My favorite of all time might be Lena’s “Satellite” or Zdob si Zdub with “Boonika Bate Doba”.

What will come now?

Vaidotas: Currently we are working on a new album. We hope to visit Romania with our European tour and inspire Romanians to be on fire.

Robertas: In some sense we already live in post-Eurovision period. One thing I want to say, is that the band misses its fans so much that we are waiting for the first opportunity to play a live concert – we are going to do it from all our hearts.

Mantas: We want to give our fans more of what we have as soon as we can, so we are working on new material.