The national final season is in full swing. Tonight, the Swiss national final, called Die Entscheidungsshow, is going to take place. We’ve taken a look at the entries and the procedure below, so here is the XTRA Preview & Review!
XTRA Preview: Die Entscheidungsshow
Switzerland are all for efficiency this year. No endless online procedure, no nonsense with semi-finals, just one show of less than two hours. SRF will be kicking off at 20:05 CET and will finished just one hundred minutes later, at 21:45 CET.
Six acts will fight for the ticket. Five of them from Switzerland, one from the south of Germany. All songs are in English as well. One of these six will get the task to bring Switzerland back to glorious days. Thirty years ago, they had their last victory. And four years ago, they last appeared in the final. Can they restore their winning ways?
Sven Epiney will once again host the show. The show will pre-dominantly be in German, although Italian and French might also feature. SRF Zwei will broadcast the show in Swiss German. If you prefer Italian, RSI La 2 is your choice. If you’re up for French, RTS Deux is the one.
50% of the vote will be decide by televoters. The other 50% will come from international juries. The following countries will help the Swiss pick:
- Albania
- Armenia
- Iceland
- France
- Germany
- Israel
- Italy
XTRA Review: Die Entscheidungsshow
Zibbz – “Stones”
Sami: “Stones” is very modern and I can imagine hearing this from the radio. The chorus is very strong and easy to sing along to.
Score: 7/10
Yassia: This is my fav entry. I like this music style, as I think it’s original and really catchy. I hope that live performance will be great too!
Score: 9.5/10
Riccardo: Sassy, quirky singer for a sassy quirky song. I LOVE this, great song, mysterious, powerful and radio-friendly. She would definitely be very high on my list in Lisbon and I hope with all my heart Switzerland chooses this.
Score: 10/10
Ryan: “Stones” was the most instant of all six songs for me, it was the first song I heard and was instantly impressed – a great quality for Eurovision. It’s modern, interesting and makes an impact. My only criticism is that I think the ending would benefit from even more elevation to maintain the listener’s interest to the end.
Score: 9/10
Angie Ott – “A Thousand Times”
Sami: The song is not bad, but we have heard this a thousand times before. I’m sure Angie will give a very powerful performance, but it needs more than that to do well.
Score: 5/10
Yassia: I like this song and think it has potential. It’s emotional and catchy. Let’s see if the performance will be on a high level too.
Score: 7.5/10
Riccardo: I love the instrumental part and love Angie’s voice. A thousand times is a strong, emotional song, though it gets a little repetitive towards the end. I look forward to seeing how this will translate live.
Score: 7.5/10
Ryan: I find this entry the most “formulaic”, it’s very stereotypical 2000s Eurovision from the production, to the build, to the lyrics. That said, there is potential here with a revamp. However, Switzerland need something different after their previous run of unsuccessful entries.
Score: 6/10
Naeman– “Kiss Me”
Sami: This obviously is something what Benjamin Ingrosso for example could sing at Melodifestivalen. It’s very well produced but I need a better chorus. It might not make you get on the dancefloor, but maybe move your body a bit.
Score: 8/10
Yassia: This song is just fine, but I don’t think it can score high or surprise anyone. Nothing special about it. A simple pop-song.
Score: 7/10
Riccardo: Parts of it remind me too much of Zara Larsson’s “symphony”. I like the uptempo beat and I can see it look good during the live shows but not original enough for me to love it.
Score: 6/10
Ryan: This and “Compass” are both fighting for the same vote in that both have that Shawn Mendes feel to them. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t feel quite as polished as “Compass” and falls a little flat.
Score: 6.5/10
Chiara Dubey – “Secrets and Lies”
Sami: I really love the first 30 seconds, but the rest of it is bit too Disney for my taste. It’s nice to hear more traditional ballad though, as I feel all the slower songs are either power or mid-tempo ballads.
Score: 5/10
Yassia: It’s a very sweet song with a sweet voice and melody. The problem about it is that I’m falling asleep, when listening to it. I wish it would be a bit more emotional.
Score: 6/10
Riccardo: Sweet, poetic, relaxing song. Love the piano background, it reminds me of a Disney soundtrack and Chiara is a great singer. Has the potential to do well.
Score: 8/10
Ryan: The acapella opening is beautiful, and the instrumentation that joins in during the first verse enhances it further. However after the first minute, I’m willing the song to develop but I’m struggling to find any hook or any progression within the song. A beautiful voice and a beautifully written song. Just not quite for me.
Score: 5/10
Alejandro Reyes – “Compass”
Sami: ”Compass” represents something what keeps playing on radio all the time. I like the studio version, but I’m not sure if it will work on the big stage
Score: 6/10
Yassia: A very disco song with great instrumentation. It catched my attention and somehow stayed in my head for a while, which is a good sign. Good luck to Alejandro!
Score: 9/10
Riccardo: I don’t like “follow that compass” that much but this is still a good song, wonderful instrumentation and Alejandro has a great voice.
Score: 7/10
Ryan: It took me a couple of listens to fully click with this, however it is now my favourite! As I mentioned in the “Kiss Me” review, this could very easily be a Shawn Mendes single – a great compliment. The instrumental hook is very modern yet very accessible with the “straight to you” lyric being sung over it. In addition, the middle eight adds a fantastic anthemic quality to the song, and is made for an arena setting!
Score: 10/10
Vanessa Iraci – “Redlights”
Sami: Vanessa has a very distinguishable voice. I feel like she deserves even better song than ”Redlights”. The song isn’t bad, but I feel like it doesn’t have enough personality and originality.
Score: 6/10
Yassia: I love Vanessa’s voice. the song is really good too and I think it has some chances to win the National Final. Very emotional and fresh.
Score: 8.5/10
Riccardo: I don’t like the intro too much but by the time the first chorus starts I’m sold. Catchy, powerful, different, one to watch in my opinion.
Score: 8/10
Ryan: This is one of the most modern-sounding entries here, with a quite beautiful piano house production quality. The hook is also catchy and fairly instant. If this song got a little bit more “oomph” to it, it could be fantastic.
Score: 8/10
Who do we want?
The XTRA Jury, this time consisting of [names of all reviewers] has spoken. Below you can see the average each song achieved. Their favourite for tonight’s show is ZiBBZ’s “Stones”!
- ZiBBZ – Stones: 8.8
- Alejandro Reyes – Compass: 8.0
- Vanessa Iraci – Redlights: 7.6
- Naeman – Kiss Me: 6.9
- Angie Ott – A Thousand Times: 6.5
- Chiara Dubey – Secrets and Lies: 6.0
Below, we’ve included a playlist for you. Which of these six do you like best? Make sure to let us know who you like by commenting!
[ypt playlist_id=PLilMLbHHTVTFpAPbzlAPlv_Gxq1bsJWEK]
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