Live: Switzerland decides for Stockholm

Tonight Switzerland decides who will represent their nation in Stockholm at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest 2016. There are six songs in the competition, but there can be only one winner. Just like last year, The Bodensee Arena in Kreuzlingen will the host show.

The three different Suisse broadcasters compiled the running order: German SRF chose three songs, French RTS choose two, and Italiaan RSI filled the remaining spot in the final.

The final decision will be made via combination voting with a 50/50 split between the jury vote and televoters. “Come Together” with us tonight to watch Die Entscheidungsshow – the broadcast goes live at 20:10 CET and you can watch it online on the SRF website.

The contestants will first sing their competing entry in the first round, and then a cover of a popular song in the second round.

The running order (with both song titles) follows:

  1. Vincent Gross – Half A Smile / Astronaut (original by Sido & Andreas Bourani)
  2. Bella C – Another World / Empire State Of Mind (Part II) (original by Alicia Keys)
  3. Kaceo – Disque d’or / Video Killed The Radio Star (original by The Buggles)
  4. Theo – Because Of You /Photograph (original by Ed Sheeran)
  5. Rykka – The Last Of Our Kind / Love Me Like You Do (original by Ellie Goulding)
  6. Stanley Miller – Feel The Love / Hello (original by Adele)

*Note: newest updates will appear at the top

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22:10 – Encore performance

Overwhelmed by her win, Rykka sings one more time with her fellow contestants gathered around her on the stage.

Thanks for following the show with ESC Daily tonight! Don’t forget to let us know what you think of the winner.

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22:09 – RYKKA IS THE WINNER!

Rykka will take the song The Last of Our Kind to Stockholm in May.

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22:05 – Contestants back to the stage

The six entries are called to the stage one last time, and it seems we are just on the edge of results.

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21:56 – Rise Like a Phoenix

However, it’s not Conchita singing but young 11 year old singer Flavio Rizzello – who later is joined in duet by the 2014 contest winner. Together they receive a standing ovation, and many compliments praising Flavio’s massive voice.

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21:52 – Voting is closed!

The winner is almost upon us. Who has your vote?

And in the meantime, host Sven Epiney has a quick chat with last year’s representative Melanie Rene.

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21:40 – Recap of both rounds

Followed by a short commercial break to let the votes come in.

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21:34 – Stanley Miller – Hello (original by Adele)

Coming from a musical (theater) background, Stanley sits center stage and tackles yet another anthemic song tonight, with a smooth, jazzy undertone to his voice.

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21:29 – Rykka – Love Me Like You Do (original by Ellie Goulding)

Canadian born Rykka takes on another massive number tonight, this time from Ellie Goulding. Mellow, intimate, and swaying to the melody, she does a good job.

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21:24 – Theo – Photograph (original by Ed Sheeran)

Theo goes for the timeless Ed Sheeran cover – however, it lacks the energy and quality of his own song performed earlier in the evening.

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21:17 – Kaceo – Video Killed The Radio Star (original by The Buggles)

“Back to the ’80’s” … this fun group of guys have chosen the song of MTV’s first music video – with a quick mashup near the end with Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. This time more casual with bare feet and ripped jeans, the group looks comfortable on stage and the performance is comfortable.

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21:12 – Bella C – Empire State Of Mind (original by Alicia Keys)

Bella C takes on the massive Alicia Keys anthem – she does well, but adds some interesting embellishments to select words that don’t quite seem to fit with the original clarity.

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21:08 – Vincent Gross – Astronaut (original by Sido & Andreas Bourani)

Vincent kicks it off again. Strangely he’s looking like the nerves have faded and his voice is taking the spotlight – a shame this is no longer the entry round.

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21:06 – Straight into round 2

Now each contestant will perform one cover of a popular song.

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21:03 – Recap of the songs!

We’ve now heard all six songs that are directly competing for Stockholm.

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20:52 – Stanley Miller – Feel The Love

Last entry-song of the evening comes from an American who lives in Madrid – Stanley Miller. The song with almost a retro vibe combined with shallow electronics receives a solid round of applause. The vocals are good and the staging fair – a good way to end the first round.

“Honestly, we don’t really know what Eurovision is in the America,” Stanley shares with Epiney, but says since he’s been living in Europe for eight years, he follows the contest and is super excited to be standing on the stage tonight in the Swiss preselection.

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20:46 – Rykka – The Last Of Our Kind

“I want to go to Stockholm”, Rykka says in the introduction interview – and she has a fair shot, as one of the stronger songs in the lineup. She begins shaky but recovers for the power-chorus and finishes strong. Billowy smoke surrounds her on stage, looking a bit like Marilyn Monroe, as her white dress glows against the blue.

“I’m always up for an adventure,” she tells host Epiney after the performance, “I don’t want it to stop.”

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20:40 – Theo – Because Of You

Taking it back down a few notches, Theo resembles Vincent in his song – another singersongwriter vibe with a soft progression. Theo, however, delivers a slightly better vocal performance, hitting a soft falsetto. The staging is also more thought-out, with a tree featuring hanging ribbons at the side of the stage and a mix of gold and green lights that wash across the performance in an intimate way.

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20:32 – Kaceo – Disque d’or

A bit of a wildcard to the competition, Kaceo replaced in the lineup the original entry from Stephanie Palazzo, who was disqualified as her song had previously been released in French back in 2013. Kaceo now comes with a French folk-rock song and quite a different impression on stage – our lead man wears an inflatable unicorn for pants, so it seems like he is riding the creature around the set – the band members are also surrounded by cutouts of animals, including a “gansta” penguin, a crowned bear, and a giraffe in a shirt – making it all in all fairly unforgettable.

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20:26 – Bella C – Another World

Seated at the piano, against a blue atmosphere, Bella C belts out a ballad that sounds as if it may have already been on the Eurovision stage. Even the staging/lighting looks ready for a larger venue. The kind of tension that builds in the strings and between the chorus is typically a strong contender for the contest. Another World is balanced in composition, and quite a bit stronger than the previous performance.

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20:20 – Vincent Gross – Half A Smile

Vincent kicks off the show with a real feel-good number, upbeat and that special kind of carefree indie music. The staging reflects a modern, trendy vibe showing smiling emojis across the LED screens and for the most part golden shafts of light. Unfortunately Vincent’s vocals are a bit shaky, on and off throughout the whole performance and the songs seems to have lost a bit of the original energy. Still, a million teen girls in the audience scream for him.

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20:17 – All on the stage

The contestants are called to the stage and the rules of tonight are explained.

And with that, first Eurovision winner Lys Assia gives a fond wave ‘hello’ from the audience.

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20:10 – Let the show begin!

The artists are introduced and our host Sven Epiney quickly hands it over to Conchita with her song Fire Storm.