Switzerland: Luca Hänni – She Got Me

Felix: Oh, Luca Hänni. Luca who? In my country, one of Switzerland’s neighbours with a huge (pop-)cultural overlap, Luca Hänni isn’t some unknown Eurovision singer that nobody’s ever heard of. For the general German audience, the name needs no further introduction: Luca won the 9th season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (German Idol).

That was back in 2012, which is not exactly yesterday, but his name still pops up every now and then on celebrity portals, tabloids etc… in short: He isn’t forgotten at all. He transformed from a pup to a hottie within those seven years, and I knew that even before I learned that he would represent Switzerland at Eurovision. Yes, it’s weird to have someone participating in Eurovision who you know from the real world, and it’s even weirder to write about it, but Luca is very welcome to the party!

Because I generally like him, and because Germans will probably prefer to root for someone they know well from their home TV stations than for some unknown S!sters, I was a bit afraid to listen to the song. But surprise surprise, especially since this is 2019, which is not my year: I really, really, like it. If Luca performs this well, and if Europe is in a pop mood when it counts, then Switzerland can go very very far this year. Victory not excluded. A shame they couldn’t just call it “Dirty Dancing”.

Shi: I was never one to try and replicate the choreography of videos and performances I like, but I absolutely did try to go low and get some of those moves from the video clip. Can’t wait to see the actual performance and generally can’t believe there’s a Swiss entry that can actively do well. Wonders never cease.

Martin: Of the songs inevitably being described as the “Fuegos” this year – Switzerland, Cyprus, Malta et al – I imagine Luca will land the highest on the scoreboard. It’s never going to be fully my kind of thing personally, but I’m glad for the Swiss that they’re finally playing the game again.

video and title image source: eurovision.tv