Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Switzerland's Luca Hänni with "You Got Me"...
The alpine country of Switzerland, smack dab in the middle of Europe, has been a mainstay in the contest, only missing out four years (when rules had lower-scoring countries unable to compete the following year, stupid rule, glad it's gone). Anyhoo, the country has not had much luck lately, only qualifying for the finals twice in the last fourteen years (and even then, not reaching the top ten). Last year the pleasant but forgettable rock of ZiBBZ placed 13th in the semi final with "Stones". Perhaps importing in an act from Los Angeles (albeit of Swiss-born siblings) diluted the faithfulness to the contest, and while it wasn't horrid, it didn't stand out in a year when you had to. Well, this year the country is straying even more into mainstream pop territory with its entry, but this time there is a lot of buzz on the song...
Switzerland - "She Got Me" by Luca Hänni
After last year's runner-up success with Cyprus' "Fuego", there are at least four clones of the song in this year's line-up. Besides the irony of that country's "Replay", the most blantant crib of the mood if not the song would be from mountainous Switzerland, who somehow channel a Brazilian beach holiday with "She Got Me", sung by Luca Hänni. Luca, born in Bern, the country's capital, is most famous so far for competing and winning in Germany's version of American Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar in 2012. His "winner's song", "Don't Think About Me", became a #1 hit in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and even made my own personal top-100 chart back in the day. His debut album, My Name Is Luca, topped the album chart in Switzerland, as did his second record Living The Dream. He's had seven Swiss Top-40 hits so far, and was selected without a public final by the Swiss broadcaster. The song he will perform, "She Got Me", was written by Luca with Laurell Barker, Frazer Mac, Jon Hällgren, and Lukas Hällgren. But the sound is totally Latin, as fans (or non-fans) are prone to calling this "Despa-Fuego" after its very blatant similaries to the previous year's hit as well as Luis Fonsi's "Despacito". Along with the sailor shanty-bar-style music video, and you would never guess this was a Swiss Entry. It's solely constructed for ears attuned to Spotify and pop radio, and while it's competent in its intent, there's only so much being a second generation copy of Jason DeRulo will get you...
Yes, the boy can move.
But on the Eurovision stage, where there is room for only six, will Luca be able to carry the same vibe as in the populous music video? Will his voice be up to the task of carrying such a heavily-produced studio cut on stage? I'm not sure yet. It's defintely a crowd pleaser, and a certain section has already pegged it to win at best and top ten at least. As for me, while compositionally its a step above Tamta, the song still manages to sound like its trying to pretend its the summer radio hit of 2019. I would be happy with seeing them qualify after missing so many times, they're owed one. And they've got good odd, with neighboring Germany, Italy, and Austria able to vote, as well as historical supporters the UK and the Netherlands. But I can't lie about the fact that this is sat-radio music meant to fit in with a horde of others. And finally, the "dirty dancing" reference is still too jarring. (Rating: 6/10)
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Switzerland have been taking part in Eurovision since the start in 1956, winning the first event with "Refrain" by Lys Assia...
Although the country had made the top ten eight times in the first ten years of the contest, and respectably in the 1970s (although with one last place finish), Switzerland managed to win Eurovision so far only once, in 1988, by hiring a "ringer", a young Canadian singer with a big voice named Celine Dion. Her song, "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" ("Don't Leave Without Me"), won over the UK by only one point...
As for my personal non-winner favorite, besides Celine I would definitely pick Sebalter's "Hunter Of Stars" from 2014, who not only managed to make the finals and not come in last place, but be quite easy on the eyes as well (as well as having the most interesting song of the millenium)...
The Swiss have come in last place in either the finals or semis nine times in their history, and there were some really deserved klunkers in there, some of which got zero points. But in terms of WTF-ness, a song that didn't make the finals can easily claim the prize, when one of the country's biggest-selling stars, DJ Bobo, entered in 2007 with "Vampires Are Alive", which managed to place 20th in the semi's (one place below Denmark's drag queen DQ)...
Comments