Wiwi Jury Swiss Edition: Timebelle with “Singing About Love”

Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — continued its journey through Switzerland ahead of Die Grosse Entschediungsshow on January 31. This time we stopped off in the country’s capital, Bern, to tour the historic old town and to review Timebelle and their song “Singing About Love”. Did our jurors fall in love? Or was it a matter of hate at first listen? Read on to find out…

Angus: This. Is. Awesome. Okay so the chorus is kind of a let down after the really promising build up of the first verse, but this is really catchy and totally deserves to win. The addition of the accordion adds an authentic edge and basically does what Elaiza tried to do in 2014, only about a thousand times better (and I liked Elaiza so I’m being generous with that margin).

Score: 9/10

Anthony: One of the favourites to represent Switzerland and I can clearly see why. “Singing About Love” does exactly what it says and really brings out the feel-good factor. Lead vocalist Miruna Manescu’s one talented lady and she fits into the group like a duck to water.

Score: 8/10

Sami: This is a perfect Swiss entry. Typical radio pop, doesn’t annoy anyone and might make it to the final – but won’t place really highly. It’s well-produced and they look great on stage. It’s catchy, has great instrumentation and I think this might be the song we hear in Vienna.

Score: 8/10

Renske: This is catchy and I love how the accordion and saxophone combine. To be honest, if this song goes to Vienna as many people are predicting, I’m not sure it is strong enough to make people pick up the phone and vote. The song is indeed memorable and Timebelle’s vocals are strong and controlled, but it doesn’t give me “the sparks” yet.

Score: 7/10

Chris: Certainly with the construction of this band, your mind harkens back to Mandinga in 2012 – and Timebelle certainly have the Romanian roots to boot. Much like “Zaleilah”, I feel like I should like “Singing About Love” a lot more than I do. The band work well together and it’s got a nice hook, but it just doesn’t come alive for me…yet.

Score: 7/10

Ramadan: This is my favourite to win the national selection. I think Timebelle would be the right choice and usher Switzerland into the finals. It’s the most modern song of the lot and I love the mixtures of genres. It’s the most radio-friendly entry. Credit to the lead singer for flowing so well in the band. Those vocals are full of confidence, y’all!

Score: 9/10

Sopon: Hot girl, hot accordionist, hot song = what can go wrong? Mixing pop, hipster, and rock perfectly, I love it. I adore Miruna, she sounds like Anna Rossinelli (the singer), who I adore! Although the rest of the band sounds nothing like Anna Rossinelli (the band), I certainly rate this highly.

Score: 10/10

Robyn: OMG, this song is adorable! Really strong verses lead to a killer chorus that always makes me smile. And a non-cheesy sax solo! Plus as an extra bonus, all members of the band are rather good looking. Timebelle has great stage presence too. I would be happy to see this in Vienna.

Score: 8/10

Josh: The hot favourite so far in the wiwibloggs poll, and I can see why. It’s a solid pop-rock song. Catchy tune and the lead singer has a great vocal. Could make it to the final, but it may struggle to have a similar impact as ‘Hunter of Stars’ had in 2014. But overall it’s a good entry!

Score: 7.5/10

Deban: Timebelle simply NAIL IT! There’s an ease to “Singing About Love”. Miruna Munescu, the Romanian lead vocalist, exudes the right dose of flirty confidence. The subtle, yet flawless choreography of the all-male band members, demonstrate that they take this gig seriously – without overworking the brief.

Score: 9/10

William: Any woman brave enough to wear a cap backwards with a glittery dress and leather lace-up boots gets my vote! But seriously, this song is the most modern of the lot. It goes for a lot — country, jazz, dance, and rock to name a few genres — yet for some reason it works. Credit to the lovely lead vocalist for bringing it all together. In my mind Switzerland is a two-horse race between Timebelle and Andy McSean, but I’m going to back “Singing About Love”. This is my Swiss jam, y’all! 

Score: 9/10

Patrick: Well, I have to say that this is the only suitable song of the NF, even if it’s a show with low quality songs! Timebelle is still not my cup of tea and I don’t know what I should think of it. I can see it being performed in Vienna, but I have the feeling that something like what happened to Anna Rossinelli could happen and people could forget it! We’ve heard this kind of song a million times before and a good voice alone can’t win. It’s catchy and you can dance to it, but I’m not sure how it would do in Vienna.

Score: 5/10

Zach: I can see why this is a favourite — it’s very infectious to say the least! Pleasant to listen to, catchy, and really good vocals from the main female singer. I’ll agree with others in that the build up is slightly let down by the chorus, but I found myself bopping along to it regardless.

Score: 8/10

The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 10 and a low of 5

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 8.1/10

You can read all of our reviews and rankings for Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow by clicking here. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team from wiwibloggs.com on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Timebelle