Zibbz to represent Switzerland at Eurovision 2018 with the song Stones

Six diverse songs sung in English was what the Swiss had to pick between in tonight’s Die Entscheidungsshow. It was won by sibling group Zibbz. They will now carry the task of trying to bring Switzerland back to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Switzerland last made the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. After disappointing results in Kyiv, the expectations were high tonight. Many fans were paying attention to this national final, hoping that Switzerland would choose a song that would not leave them in the semis again.

The show started with Timebelle receiving a lot of positive feedback for their performance of last year’s Swiss entry, Apollo. Then, all the artists were presented, followed by some images of the Eurovision history.  Soon, it was time to start the evening. Six songs were performed, all in English. All of them were very different, something for every taste.

At the end, the Swiss public and the international jury agreed to give the victory to the first song of the evening, “Stones” by Zibbz.

The songs

STONES

It all starts with a couple of siblings performing a pop-rock song. She sings while he’s playing battery. With a colorful stage, with two triangles (one red and another blue), she is dressed in a country style and sings very nice, with good vocals. However, the song itself is different from a typical Eurovision song. Even so, still a good performance.

A THOUSAND TIMES

This was time for Angie Ott, singing alone on the stage and dressed in an elegant red dress. She presents us an English ballad, with a strong melody, showing her powerful vocal skills mainly on the last part of the song, when there’s a higher key changing, giving it an extra strength. It’s a type of song that we are usually used to watch, so it’s not to so difficult to bet some money on this, as the next representative of Switzerland on Eurovision, if the country wants to ‘play safe’.

KISS ME

It’s time for the first guy of the evening, Naeman. He’s dressed in white, and presents us an uptempo pop song. Then, four dancers join him on the stage, dressed in black, for dancing with him. It’s a modern song, not a super song, but still an enjoyable one, with very good dancing moves. However, we get the idea that his voice may not be in better days.

SECRETS AND LIES

Well, now is presented the most intimate song. Alone on the stage, dressed in a white dress, with many searchlights aimed at her, envolved by a big darkness, she sings a very calm a touchable song, remind us of a white angel. It’s an interesting song, not an usual one, but still it would be interesting to see how this kind of song would do on the big European market. The weakest aspect of this song seems to be the lack of clarity of the melodic line…

COMPASS

Another man, this time playing a guitar. Meanwhile, the most impressive thing that’s noticed is that he has no left hand, but still he can play easily the instrument. He is joined by four people who play some drums and dance at the same time, mainly the electronic beat that suddendly appears in the main chorus. It’s an interesting song, different than what Switzerland usually send to Eurovision. But would it be a nice choice for the main stage?

REDLIGHTS

This is Vanessa, a former The Voice contestant. She’s dressed in black and she does her entire performance inside a red cube, alone on the stage. It’s a mysterious ballad and she sings it very well, with very nice vocals. It has an awesome staging, and it seems to be one of the best songs of the evening, with many Eurovision ingredients on it.

Results

International Jury Points

STONES by Zibbz 76
COMPASS by Alessandro Reyes 72
REDLIGHTS by Vanessa Iraci 42
A THOUSAND TIMES by Angie Ott 26
SECRETS AND LIES by Chiara Dubley 22
KISS ME by Naeman 14

Public Vote

STONES by Zibbz 77
COMPASS by Alessandro Reyes 48
SECRETS AND LIES by Chiara Dubley 44
A THOUSAND TIMES by Angie Ott 39
REDLIGHTS by Vanessa Iraci 25
KISS ME by Naeman 19

Overall

STONES by Zibbz 153
COMPASS by Alessandro Reyes 120
REDLIGHTS by Vanessa Iraci 67
SECRETS AND LIES by Chiara Dubley 66
A THOUSAND TIMES by Angie Ott 65
KISS ME by Naeman 33

In the video below, take a look at this year’s Swiss Eurovision entry Stones performed by Zibbz.

Read more in the news archive

Liked what you've read? Subscribe to our Eurovision news!