We took the opportunity during the continental-wide lockdown to speak to Swiss artist Gjon’s tears about his Eurovision participation as well as his career to date. In a 40 minute chat with us, Gjon’s tears took the time to answer our questions about the origins of his artist name, the development of “Répondez-moi” and the ties between the lyrics and his family’s heritage.
“Now people have an expectation” says Gjon’s tears
In a long-ranging interview, one of the topics we discussed was about the difficulty in creating another entry for 2021 on a similar emotional and personal level to “Répondez-moi”. Gjon’s tears explained:
Honestly, I think that it is harder now. People have heard my voice and so there’s no surprise. Now people have an expectation and that is hard – harder than before. I have ideas though, and I already started to work on songs.
Gjon’s tears, Switzerland 2020 and 2021
We also discussed “Répondez-moi” itself. Whilst talking about the reasons why he used the very personal story which touched many people from immigrant backgrounds for his Eurovision entry, he said:
I had a direction, I really wanted to speak about identity and origin as they were subjects I didn’t speak about before and these are things that are important for me.
Gjon’s tears, Switzerland 2020 and 2021
Discussing this subject further, we also talked about the number of acts from an Albanian background who have represented other nations at Eurovision over the past few years. Upon being asked how it feels to be granted a voice to both express his artistry and echo his & his families lived experience, Gjon’s tears explained:
I know that in the contest you have to represent a country, but you’re not the country. For me, the song also represents me as an artist. I did have a proposition from Albania to do Festivali i Këngës and they called me 4 days before the deadline to ask if I could do a song. I had already applied for Switzerland. I called the Swiss delegation and they said “the most important thing for us is to see you in Eurovision – either with us or with Albania – because people have to see you!
Gjon’s tears, Switzerland 2020 and 2021
Other topics that we discussed were about the origins of his artist name, his time competing in reality competition shows such as The Voice France, and how he felt to see such an overwhelming reaction to “Répondez-moi” by so many Eurovision fans worldwide.
You can discover what Gjon’s tears had to say on all the themes, and why he felt like a superhero, in our interview at the top of this page or on YouTube.
What did you think to the answers Gjon’s tears gave us? Are you excited to find out what his entry will sound like in 2021? Let us know in the comments below and on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube profiles.
