Switzerland: ZiBBZ – Stones

Martin: It’s only when you take a proper look that you realise how rotten Switzerland’s recent Eurovision record is. Two qualifications in eleven years represents a diabolical return for a country with eight podium finishes to its name. The last of those was back in 1993, though, and they’ve only troubled the top ten once in the meantime (and that was with an Estonian band).

With the honourable exception of Sebalter in 2014, the country’s recent efforts have been safe to the point of blandness. Songs like Mélanie René’s “Time To Shine” or Takasa’s “You And Me” could have come straight from the soundtrack to a corporate promotional video, and for all it purports to have a darker lyrical message, this year’s Swiss entry is cut from the same cloth.

Granted, “Stones” does pack a pleasingly rocky punch in its studio arrangement, but the live performance by ZiBBZ (surely the world’s worst band name) is far too well-behaved to help the song stand out. A late position in the semi 1 running order will only be advantageous if the nearby likes of Finland and Cyprus are a mess. If so, “Stones” could feel like a welcome slice of normality. Otherwise I fear yet another NQ to add to that unenviable Swiss record.

Shi: Whenever the song comes up in a recap or a shuffle I think “oh, this is nice, what is this?”. Much like their German neighbors, they seem to have adopted the route of picking mostly perfectly pleasant songs that work nicely as background music while you go to the kitchen to refill your drinks.

Felix: There’s always one non-winning song that you immediately connect with any given year as indicative of its average quality. It’s “Katson sineen taivaan” for a middling year like 1979, “Iki dakika” for an epic year like 1991, and “Bones” – sorry – “Stones” for a musically disastrous year like 2018. Unmemorable, sterile, boring, bye.

video and title image source: eurovision.tv