Répondez-moi

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Répondez-moi
Gjon's Tears
publication 4th March 2020
length 2:59
Genre (s) pop
Author (s) Gjon Muharremaj , Alizé Oswald, Xavier Michel, Jeroen Swinnen
Producer (s) Jeroen Swinnen, Pele Loriano
Label Musikvertrieb AG

Répondez-moi ( French for answer me ) is a French-language pop song that was interpreted by Gjon's Tears . With the title he was supposed to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam .

Background and production

As early as the second half of 2019, Swiss radio and television invited performers and composers to apply for 2020. Half of the title is determined internally from the audience and the judges. A total of 515 songs were submitted.

On March 4, 2020 it was announced that Gjon's Tears would represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest with the title Répondez-moi . He wrote it together with Alizé Oswald, Xavier Michel and Jeroen Swinnen. The latter led the production with Pele Loriano. The song was mixed by Werner Pensaert.

Music and lyrics

Répondez-moi is described by the music publisher as mystical and intense. The text is entirely in French. Most recently, Michael von der Heide sang a French-language song for Switzerland at the Grand Prix.

For the singer, the theme of the song is very personal, but universal and speaks to everyone:

«Everyone wonders why we are here, where we come from, where we are going. These are essential questions, especially for people with a migration background. My parents come from Albania and Kosovo. Even if I grew up in Switzerland and this is my home, these are topics that concern me a lot. "

- Gjon's Tears

The instrumentation is withheld in the first verse and the first repetition of the chorus. The drums kick in for the second verse and the strings become more intense. In the bridge, Gjon's Tears is only accompanied by the piano, before the choir begins to accompany the last repetition of the chorus. The singer asks various existential questions in the verses and asks for answers and “no empty phrases” in the chorus.

At the Eurovision Song Contest

Switzerland should have performed this song in the second semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. However, due to the advancing COVID-19 pandemic , the competition was canceled. The choreography was to be developed by Sacha Jean-Baptiste.

reception

According to Philippe Zweifel of the Tages-Anzeiger , Répondez-moi is "a well-lubricated ESC power song". While the French language is a disadvantage, the ancestry of the interpreter can in turn be an advantage. Stefan Künzli from the Aargauer Zeitung describes the song as the “counterpart” to Luca Hänni's She Got Me , namely as a “slow, mystical and melancholy title with Balkan flair”. The interpreter has an "extraordinarily beautiful, high voice and skillfully switches between head and stomach voice". The song lives from its sophisticated dynamics, but stops suddenly and surprisingly.

The fan blog ESCXtra says that you can enjoy the song best when you stand crying in the shower. The discovery of an artist and a song, as in the case of Switzerland, is like winning the lottery. According to Eurovisionary, it is a pity that the contribution was "wasted" after the Eurovision Song Contest was canceled. It is hoped that Gjon's Tears will come back the following year with an equally good song. On the other hand, it was criticized that the song only gets great towards the end, but that it is too late by then. ESC Kompakt says that the singer has to carry the song all by himself and does it excellently. Another reviewer writes that when he first listened to it, he found the contribution “bad and exhausting” for his ears and criticized the “tearful voice, especially in the high ranges”. One could also repeat the criticism of Arcade from last year, which described the song as a "self-pitying head voice whimpering to a sometimes modern sound".

publication

The title and music video were unveiled on March 4, 2020. It was shot under the direction of Janine Piguet, who also wrote the script. The video is in black and white. One was inspired by the work of Andrei Tarkowski . Part of the video was shot in the library in Freiburg im Üechtland . The director commented on the choice of location as follows:

“And we chose to direct a part of this clip in the library because there are so many books and when you have questions, where do you go? You go into a library and you try to answer. So you walk in the book shelves and ... I don't know. Maybe you pick up something. You wonder if maybe this is going to answer your questions. "

“We decided to shoot part of the video in the library because there are so many books here and where do you go if you have questions? You go to a library and try to find answers. You move between the bookshelves and maybe you pick up a book here. You wonder if it will answer your questions. "

- Janine Piguet

The video also shows the singer's parents, brother and grandmother.

On March 26th, Gjon's Tears released an acoustic version .

Commercial win

Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 100 (1 week) 1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sanjay Jiandani: Switzerland: SRF Confirms participation in Euro Vision 2020. In: esctoday.com. July 11, 2019, accessed on July 21, 2020 .
  2. ↑ @srfesc: Tweet. In: Twitter . September 16, 2019, accessed on July 21, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b This is our ESC candidate: Gjon's Tears. In: Swiss radio and television . March 4, 2020, accessed July 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ credits. In: Tidal . Retrieved July 21, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Switzerlands' Eurovision Song Contest candidate. In: Musikvertrieb AG. March 4, 2020, accessed on July 21, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Répondez-moi (answer me). In: Swiss radio and television . Retrieved July 21, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final? In: eurovision.tv. January 28, 2020, accessed March 26, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam is canceled. In: eurovision.tv. March 18, 2020, accessed on March 26, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Stefano Casellini: Switzerland: Sacha Jean-Baptiste creative director for 'Répondez-moi'. In: esctoday.com. March 12, 2020, accessed on July 21, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Philippe Zweifel: This is what the new Swiss Eurovision contribution sounds like. In: Tages-Anzeiger . March 4, 2020, accessed July 22, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Stefan Künzli: With Balkan flair to Rotterdam: This is the man who represents Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest. In: Aargauer Zeitung . March 5, 2020, accessed July 22, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Rigmo Kannike: Xtra Insider 2020: We Review Switzerland! In: ESCXtra. May 8, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Theo Vatmanidis: Eurovision 2020 entries: Switzerland - we are discussing Répondez-Moi by Gjon's Tears. In: Eurovisionary. April 16, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  14. ↑ ESC-Songcheck compact (35) - Switzerland: "Répondez-moi" by Gjon's Tears. In: ESC compact. April 24, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  15. ^ Gjon's Tears: Making-Of Répondez-moi. In: Swiss radio and television . May 10, 2020, accessed July 23, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Switzerland picks Gjon's Tears with French 'Repondez-moi' for Rotterdam. In: eurovision.tv. March 4, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  17. ↑ ESC 2020 UPDATE WITH GJON'S TEARS. In: Musikvertrieb AG. March 27, 2020, accessed on July 23, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Charts Switzerland