SRF—Switzerland’s German-language broadcaster—will open its voting period on Monday, November 3. Ahead of that momentous event, we spoke to Michael James, the British singer-songwriter fielding the song “Boom”. Read on to learn more about his song, his previous experience in national finals and his love of Eurovision.

Michael James Interview

Hey Michael! Thanks for talking with us. Your new single “Boom!” is in the race to become the Swiss entry for Eurovision 2015. What made you send the song to the competition?

Hi there! Well, as you might already know, I entered my song ‘It’s not impossible‘ into the Swiss Eurovision selection last year and I had a lot of great feedback about it, so I decided why not do it again? When there’s an opportunity to get your music heard, why not use it? Of course, I’d also love to compete at Eurovision, whether it be as an artist, writer or both, so it makes sense to enter a competition like this!

People might know you better as a songwriter. This year you had quite a few songs in the national selections throughout Europe. Have you already sent in some songs to other countries?

Yes, I have mostly been known as a songwriter, so it’s cool that people are now getting a chance to see what I do as an artist.  Don’t get me wrong, I love songwriting and that will continue to be something I do on a daily basis. Of course, we’re always aware of the national final deadlines and if we find the right singer for one of our songs then we love to participate – if you’re not in, you can’t win! With regards to this year, you’ll have to wait and see!

Your song “Boom!” is a wonderful party song and unlike most of the SRF’s internet candidates, it has great production. Could you tell us something about the song? Did you know from the beginning that you would sing it yourself or did you offer it to any other artists?

Thank you! Actually, when we first wrote the song we weren’t thinking of me as the artist – we weren’t really thinking of anybody! We just wanted to create a great party song with a bit of an old-school, 90s vibe to it. I tend to sing most of our male demos and as I was in the studio singing ‘Boom!’ I started to feel a nice connection to the song so that’s probably when I started to think about keeping the track for myself. I wrote the song with Primoz Poglajen (my right hand man!) while Niklas Hast (genius!) jumped on board near the end to make everything really pop and shine!

Have you listened to any of the other songs in the selection? Any favourites?

Yeah, I’ve listened to a few of the songs, but not all of them. I don’t have a favourite as such but there are definitely some gems in there!

There’s always some discussions about whether every country should send a local artist or not. What’s your opinion?

You know, I think the world is a small place these days – people are travelling more and more and many people chose to live in countries far from where they were born.  The whole idea behind Eurovision, at least for me, is to break down borders, so I think it can only be a positive thing that artists and writers are able to represent any country they wish at the contest!  If each artist has to be ‘from’ the country they represent then we’d never have experienced Gina G or Katrina and the Waves (among numerous others!)

You are clearly a Eurovision fan yourself. What were your favourite songs from this year’s contest? What did you think of the winner?

Yes, I love Eurovision. This year my favourite was The Common Linnets; “Calm after the storm” but of course I absolutely loved Conchita’s performance. She was a deserved winner if ever there was one! What a voice!

We wish you loads and loads of luck! Do you have a message for our readers at wiwibloggs?

Firstly, wiwibloggs have been so supportive to me over the past few years and I see how you guys are quickly becoming one of the most important Eurovision sites out there…so thank you and great work! Secondly, to everyone reading, I hope you like my new song ‘Boom!’ as much as I do (don’t forget to vote when the time comes) and happy Eurovision season 2015!

Follow Michael James on social media

https://facebook.com/MichaelJamesPOP
https://twitter.com/MichaelJamesPOP
http://Instagram.com/michaeljamesmusic

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Deven O'Kearney
Deven O'Kearney
9 years ago

He is also entering the Irish selection process as well.

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

I like his voice. The song is more fit for Junior ESC than for ESC, though… I mean, it’s well-produced and has a nice melody, but the lyrics are a bit of a throwback to Vengaboys. I do appreciate that it’s a party song that’s not about drinking and sex.

LEAPerce
LEAPerce
9 years ago

Oh god, this is not good at all! Still if he’s Swiss I’d rather him than Kitty Brucknell. I think it’s so bad that she’d take the chance away from somebody actually from Switzerland. It’s pretty much cos she’d have no chance whatsoever of the BBC choosing her to rep us.

Ron
Ron
9 years ago

i think this guy happy for some ‘shine’ of him for this amateur song. It is one horrible entry of the web competition in Swiss not even qualified through. So come on!

cheesecake
cheesecake
9 years ago

This is horrible. No chance.