The first Swiss song in French since 2002 tells of how love can make you feel like you’ve struck gold. Will they take first place this year?
Michael von der Heide is an accomplished performer and music guru. It was he that helped pick The highest heights for Switzerland last year. His stage performance, resplendent on gold suit, was very commanding, and there was a lot of movement. His three backing singers dressed respectively in pastel shades of pink, blue and cream had echoes of the 1980s, indeed you could say that about the song too. Also on stage was a male backing vocalist in a white suit, playing what looked like a large yellow balalaika, or the type of guitar we last saw in the Danish song Ka du se hva jeg sa in 1988.
The backdrop is literally a lot of balls, which isn’t meant to be derogatory. The circular beaded curtain last seen in the Portuguese rehearsal yesterday made another appearance, along with more static silver balls flanking the stage. The lighting was multi-coloured, again with golden overtones. We also see pyrotechnics and fire during the course of the song, but no dry ice.
This is a difficult one to call as regards qualification. He has a decent voice, but maybe the song is a little dated. We eagerly await his second rehearsal on Friday.
