Missed Opportunities 2014: Switzerland!

Sebalter achieved a fantastic and very respectable 13th place for Switzerland this year. Switzerland are often very underrated although they were rewarded for their effort this year. The Swiss national final took place on 1st February, but before that there was an "expert check" in November and an online platform with 100's of artists showcasing their songs, in the hope they would make the national final. Here are a few of my favourite offerings from Switzerland this year:

Christian Tschanz - Au Paradis
Au Paradis was probably my favourite song in the Swiss selection. Christian Tschanz's performance in the national final was great however only came 4th, in a field of 6 acts. A beautiful ballad sung in French, his voice is unique. I don't know how this would have fared in Eurovision. Maybe Switzerland wouldn't have made the final? Hmmm. But it would have been once of my favourites in Copenhagen anyway. I really love this song!

Paula Marengo - J'ai envie de toi
Paula Marengo entered the Swiss national selection with a very quirky little tune. Her song was entitled J'ai envie de toi. She's a Spanish multidisciplinary artist and was one of the finalists in the 2011 Spanish national final. Paula moved to Switzerland and writes songs in Spanish, English and French. A true artist!

Gosia - I'm Not Afraid
Finally, we have the lovely Gosia! Gosia Andrzejewicz is a Polish born singer who tried to represent Switzerland with I'm not afraid. Her song was awesome and it's a shame Gosia never qualified to the final. She was eliminated in the "expert check", probably because of her underwhelming vocals... The Polish singer was among the favourites to fly the Swiss flag in Copenhagen.

Switzerland: National final tonight!

Tonight the Swiss representative will be selected! There's six acts in the running, and I think it will be a great show. Christian Tschanz and Sebalter are my favourites - I would be delighted if either of them were victorious tonight. 

I reviewed the songs a couple of weeks ago. My prediction is that either Yasmina or Sebalter will win although who knows what could happen. The results will be decided by televote alone - and the show will start at 20:10 CET. But there's more going on tonight - Latvia, Hungary, Sweden, Iceland and Lithuania will hold semi finals (I'll probably blog the results from those on Sunday morning, as I'll concentrate on the finals tonight). And Finland chooses their entry too. It promises to be a hectic night! Here are the acts which will battle for the Swiss ticket to Copenhagen:

• 3 For All – Together Forever
• Nino Colonna – La luce del cuore
• Christian Tschanz – Au paradis
• Yasmina Hunzinger – I Still Believe
• Natacha & Stéphanie – Une terre sans vous
• Sebalter – Hunter Of Stars

...and thank you to everyone who voted in my poll! Sebalter won the poll ;-) let's see if he wins tonight too.

Review: Switzerland's national final!

Switzerland will select their representative in a couple of weeks and therefore I have decided to review the participating songs. The selection is actually pretty good.

• Christian Tschanz – Au paradis

My favourite entry in the Swiss selection is Christian Tschanz with "Au paradis". It's a beautiful song and I would love to see it represent Switzerland in Copenhagen. Christian's voice is unique and the song is really good - this blogger would love to see him win! 10/12

• Sebalter – Hunter Of Stars

Sebalter has a very strong change of winning the Swiss national final. I like it - it's sweet but the whistle section is very annoying yet catchy. I hope the performance won't be crazy or messy, this song doesn't need it. I think the Swiss will like this and I actually predict it will win! Me likes. 8/12

• 3 For All – Together Forever

I loved this song at first but I've already grown tired of it. I'd probably be sick of it by May if they was to win the national final. The performance will have to be very strong for this to stand any chance, and their vocals will need to be perfect too. I think there are stronger songs but it's okay. The lyrics are pretty cheap - nah, can't say I'm a big fan of this. 4/12

• Yasmina Hunzinger – I Still Believe 

This a typical ESC ballad, it's kinda boring but her voice is awesome and the song does have something. I think this could win the selection but she would fail to qualify in Eurovision. It it my or does Yasmina look a bit like Hera Bjork? Anyway I think this is a really strong ballad - but it will depend on the live vocals to see whether she'll win or not. 6/12

• Nino Colonna – La luce del cuore

The only Italian song in the selection. It's okay, nothing special.. I don't think it's memorable enough for Eurovision. Nino is probably a great performer but it just lacks something. I do love the Italian language but I don't think it'll trouble the scoreboard... 5/12

• Natacha & Stéphanie – Une terre sans vous

A dreary French ballad... Switzerland will probably like this and I think it has a chance of winning. But I hope it won't win. This is probably my last favourite in the selection. I have no more to say really apart from it's very weak. 2/12

Okay, my predication is that Sebalter will win - and that wouldn't be a bad choice. However my favourite is Christian Tschanz. Please vote in my poll if you already haven't done! :-)