Rykka may have been born in Canada, but she is taking Switzerland by storm. Owing to the strength of her voice and her edgy song “The Last of Our Kind”, she’s emerged as the favourite to win Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow, Switzerland’s national selection for Eurovision 2016.
She caught up with wiwibloggs during the Christmas holidays and told us all about her stage name, what it was like being a busker in Vancouver, her love of Tina Turner, and, of course, her Eurovision song.
“The message is stand up for love in hard times,” she says. “You can always be standing up for love when everything is nice and rainbows and unicorns. But when stuff gets hard, that’s the most important time to be strong and stand for what you believe in.”
She also reveals that she wore a trash bag to Switzerland’s Expert Check — the round where 19 hopefuls were whittled down to just six.
“I made the top out of garbage bags, and the bottom part I just got second hand in a thrift store. It also really looks like garbage bags, so I’m just wearing a big giant garbage bag.”
The song came organically and quickly — and with the contest looming in the background.
“All throughout we were writing for Eurovision and we kept that in mind and put in the key changes,” she says. “It somehow, with all the tweaks, just slowly became what it was.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIlEcu140Ew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2cyWoYw3g0
I’ve loved the last 3 Swiss entries to Eurovision (despite the fact 2013 and 2015 didn’t qualify), and after watching Rykka’s expert check performance I was absolutely convinced that she should be the one going to Stockholm – out of the 6 finalists she has the most powerful, contemporary song and if it’s combined with a good stage presentation I know she’ll do really well. And of course being Canadian, it always makes me so proud when someone from our amazing country does well on the world stage.
She is amazing, and I’m so addicted to her song and the single she has out at the moment – “movies”, it’s brilliant. One of the first hidden gems discovered in the early stages of 2016 contest for me. She would do so well!
I put rykka in my video for switzerland for who i think should represent each country this year 🙂
Cheering for Rykka from here in Vancouver, Canada! Go, Rykka! Praying your can represent Switzerland in ESC 2016!! 😀
Best song in final. And female singer from Canada always had good result at Eurovision. Luxembourg 1986 3rd place, Switzerland 1988 1st place, Switzerland 1993 3rd place, France 2004 4th place.
She NEEDS to represent us!
I hope she also slays her cover in the final, since this might help her gain votes (like Mélanie last year).
I had a flashback back to the future … and she won.