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Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

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Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 25 November 2007
Song: 12 January 2008
Selected artist(s)Paolo Meneguzzi
Selected song"Era stupendo"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (13th)
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 • 2008 • 2009►

Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Era stupendo" by Paolo Meneguzzi. Meneguzzi was chosen by the Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, to sing for Switzerland in Belgrade, Serbia. For 2008, SRG SSR idée suisse had continued to internally select the song and singer to represent Switzerland at the 2008 contest, with an open call for songs being held by the broadcaster.

Many artists announced their intention to submit songs to the Swiss broadcaster in the hope of representing Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Paolo Meneguzzi was selected by the broadcaster to perform for Switzerland with his Italian ballad "Era stupendo".[1]

Background

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Main article: Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2008 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-eight times since their first entry in 1956. The nation is noted for having won the first contest in 1956 with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved at the 1988, when Céline Dion won with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi".[2] Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Switzerland managed to participate in the final twice. In 2005, the internal selection of Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, performing the song "Cool Vibes", qualified Switzerland to the final where they placed 8th. Due to their successful result in 2005, Switzerland was pre-qualified to compete directly in the final in 2006. Switzerland did not manage to make it to the final in 2007.

The Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry.

Before Eurovision

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Internal selection

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Paolo Meneguzzi was internally selected to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

SRG SSR idée suisse opened a submission period between 20 July 2007 and 22 October 2007 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries.[3] Eligible artists were those that have had television and stage experience (live performances), have made at least one video and have released at least one CD which placed among the top 50 in an official chart. In addition to the public submission, the broadcaster was also in contact with individual composers and lyricists as well as the music industry to be involved in the selection process.[4]

On 25 November 2007, Swiss newspaper Blick claimed that "Era stupendo" performed by Paolo Meneguzzi would be the Swiss entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, which was subsequently confirmed by SRG SSR idée suisse on the same day.[5][6][7] Both the artist and song were selected by a jury panel consisting of representatives of the three broadcasters in Switzerland: the Swiss-German broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF), the Swiss-French broadcaster Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Televisione svizzera di lingua italiana (TSI), as well as the radio station from SF Schweizer Radio DRS and the music channel VIVA Switzerland.[8] Among the artists that submitted a song included Gimma, Jürgen Drews and Peach Weber.[9][10][11] In regards to his selection as the Swiss entrant, Meneguzzi stated: "I'm very happy and honoured to represent my homeland at Eurovision 2008. I'm anxious to go to the stage and to perform my song. I hope to meet new friends, new fans from many different nationalities who will vote for me and many new feelings we'll live together. [...] See all of you in Belgrade!".[12]

"Era stupendo", which was written by Paolo Meneguzzi together with Mattias Brånn and Vincenzo Incenzo, was presented to the public on 12 January 2008 during the annual SwissAward show broadcast on SF1, TSR 2 and TSI 2.[13][14][15] The official music video of the song was released on 18 March 2008.[16]

Controversy

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After the release of the song, there was speculation that "Era stupendo" was a plagiarism of "It Can Only Get Better" by Swedish singer Amy Diamond who was competing in the 2008 Swedish national final Melodifestivalen 2008.[17] Accusations arose that the beginnings of both songs were too similar to be a coincidence, however the song was not disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organiser of the contest.[18]

Promotion

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"Era stupendo" was released as a CD single ahead of the contest.

Promoting his song, Meneguzzi appeared on a Eurovision TV special on Maltese television in April 2008.[19] A CD single featuring the song was published, which peaked at number 11 on the Swiss Singles Chart in June 2008.[20]

At Eurovision

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The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 took place at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. It consisted of two semi-finals held on 20 and 22 May, respectively, and the final on 24 May 2008.[21] According to the Eurovision rules at the time, all participating countries, except the host nation and the "Big Four", consisting of France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from the respective semi-finals would proceed to the final.[22] On 28 January 2008, an allocation draw was held that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, with Switzerland being placed into the second semi-final.[23] The 2008 contest was the first to feature two semi-finals, a change intended to reduce the problems of neighbourly and diaspora voting that occurred in years past.[24] Countries that normally would vote for each other were placed into separate semi-finals.[24][25] Once all of the competing songs for the Eurovision Song Contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the delegation heads of the 43 participating countries of the contest rather than through another draw; the nation was assigned position seven, following Albania and preceding the Czech Republic.[26]

The commentators at the event were Sven Epiney for SF, Sandy Altermatt for RTSI, and Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner for TSR.[27][28][29] The spokesperson for Switzerland, announcing the results of the Swiss televote for the contest, was Cécile Bähler.[27]

Semi-final

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Meneguzzi performing "Era stupendo" during the second semi-final.

Meneguzzi sang in the second semi-final on 22 May 2008, performing 7th on the night. His performance included him wearing a black suit with a black shirt, and included two male and two female backing dancers and singers; the women dressed in black dresses with silver gloves, and the men in black shirts and black trousers. A pianist was also present on stage, dressed in a white shirt and black tie. The song began with Meneguzzi singing solo in the centre of the stage, with the back-up dancers surrounding the piano. As the song sped up, the dancers moved to behind Meneguzzi and began to sing. The performance included the use of pyrotechnics when the song sped up, as well as during the bridge.[30] Despite being a fan favourite the song only managed to receive 47 points, placing 13th in a field of 19 and failing to qualify for the final.[30]

Voting

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Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Switzerland in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, as well as by the country in the semi-final and final. Meneguzzi's performance received 47 points, placing the nation 13th of the 19 entries and not qualifying for the final.[31]

Points awarded to Switzerland

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Points awarded to Switzerland (Semi-final 2)[32]
Score Country
12 points  Malta
10 points  Albania
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point  Macedonia

Points awarded by Switzerland

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References

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  1. ^ Floras, Stella (27 November 2007). "Switzerland: Paolo's song is Era stupendo". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest Country Profile: Switzerland". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. ^ Kuipers, Michael (20 July 2007). "Switzerland launches 2008 campaign". Esctoday. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  4. ^ "esc beilagen zur anmeldung e1_2.pdf (application/pdf Object)" (PDF). www.sf.tv. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Paolo Meneguzzi for Belgrade, claims newspaper". Oikotimes. 25 November 2007. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  6. ^ Viniker, Barry (26 November 2007). "Swiss turn to Paolo Meneguzzi". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  7. ^ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (25 November 2007). "Schweizer Fernsehen confirms Paolo Meneguzzi as a choice". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  8. ^ "SF to select a local artist for Belgrade". Oikotimes. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  9. ^ Holyer, Steve (25 October 2007). "Swiss exclusive: "Pretty sure we'll send a Swiss artist again."". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  10. ^ "Peach Weber interested for Eurovision 2008". Oikotimes. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  11. ^ Reveler, Douwe (24 October 2007). "Gimma seems to be the favourite for Belgrade". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  12. ^ Costa, Nelson (27 November 2007). "Paolo Meneguzzi his song & his exclusive statement". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  13. ^ Hondal, Víctor (13 January 2008). "Switzerland: Era stupendo publicly presented". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  14. ^ Fisher, Luke (13 January 2008). "Song entry presented for Paolo Meneguzzi". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  15. ^ "SwissAward 2008". tsr.blogs.com (in French). 5 January 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  16. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (18 March 2008). "Switzerland: Era Stupendo preview video released!". Esctoday. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  17. ^ Bergfeldt, Carina (19 January 2008). "Schweiz kopierade Amys låt". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  18. ^ Råberg, Leif (20 January 2008). "Amy and Paolo: Similar songs?". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  19. ^ "Paolo Meneguzzi on Maltese television show". Oikotimes. 1 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  20. ^ "Paolo Meneguzzi - Era stupendo". hitparade.ch. Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  22. ^ Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Belgrade, Serbia: European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 20–24 May 2008.
  23. ^ "Semi-Final Allocation Draw: the outcome!". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  24. ^ a b Osborn, Michael (20 May 2008). "Sweden tipped to win Eurovision". BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  25. ^ Viniker, Barry (28 January 2008). "The Eurovision Song Contest semi final draw". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  26. ^ "Belgrade 2008: The running order!". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 - Internationaler Halbfinal aus Belgrad/Serbien" (in German). Schweizer Fernsehen. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  28. ^ "Paolo Meneguzzi rappresenta la Svizzera" (in Italian). Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  29. ^ "Eurovision: la Suisse n'ira pas en finale" (in French). Télévision Suisse Romande. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
  30. ^ a b Eurovision Song Contest Semi-final 2, 22 May 2008, SRG SSR idée suisse. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
  31. ^ "Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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