Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — gathered in Bern to discuss the contestants participating in Die Entscheidungsshow, the national selection for Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Today we look at acoustic guitarist/vocalist Theo with “Because Of You”. Do Theo’s chilled-out vibes relax us, or is it because of Theo we never stray too far from the sidewalk? Read on to find out…

THEO – “BECAUSE OF YOU”

“BECAUSE OF YOU” REVIEWS

Bernardo: I’ve got to be honest — the folk-pop music style is currently dominating my playlist, so it’s no surprise that I quite like this tune. I find it difficult not to compare him with Vincent, but I believe his voice suits this type of song perfectly – actually better than Vincent’s. Is this Eurovision material? I have my doubts. But hey, it worked with ByeAlex. With the correct staging this can be a strong contender.

Score: 6/10

Edd: If this was given a slightly cleaner production, and a strong visual performance, I’d say this could be a pretty good Coldplay-esque entry. However, the Swiss-Italian contestants (Sinplus, Sebalter, etc) always seem to have pronunciation issues. And Theo is no exception. The song is trying to be very serious and endearing, but I just can’t take it seriously when he sounds like that.

Score: 6/10

Josh: Much like other songs in this years Swiss selection, the studio version of “Because of You” absolutely slays the live version. The similarities between Theo’s and Vincent Gross’ songs however are far too similar for such a small national final and I fear that they will cancel each other out. The song is pretty. The folk-pop vibes I can absolutely get behind. The live performance definitely needs to be amped up otherwise this will just get lost. I would also be happier if Theo ditched that greasy flap of a fringe. Soz.

Score: 5/10

Mikhail: He doesn’t care about the people, about the world, about anything! I don’t really care for him or his song. It’s just simple vowing and whining with a guitar which I find very boring. And the cliche lyrics make me sick. An annoying scream for love. Meh.

Score: 4/10

Robyn: It’s difficult to not compare Theo with Vincent Gross – two young guys with guitars, folk-pop songs and the exact same floppy haircut. Theo is at a disadvantage with his strong Italian-Swiss accent, and his lyrics lack the punchiness of “Half a Smile”. It’s a pleasant song, but there’s nothing memorable about it.

Score: 4/10

William: This folksy ditty makes me nostalgic and dredges up memories of missed opportunities, and the sorrows and regrets that come with them. That’s great on first listen, but the song becomes a bit too cloying and saccharine the second and third time around. What really killed it for me was the live performance: those harmonies just don’t work.

Score: 5/10

In the Swiss Wiwi Jury we have 16 jurors but only have room for 6 reviews. The remaining ten scores are below!

Anthony: 4/10

Antranig: 5/10

Cristian: 4/10

George: 6/10

Luis: 3.5/10

Maria: 6.5/10

Mario: 5/10

Ramadan: 4/10

Renske: 5.5/10

Sopon: 2/10

The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 6.5.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 4.79/10

FOR OUR LIST OF SWITZERLAND 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE SWITZERLAND EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE

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Alex
Alex
8 years ago

I like this one. If they get the harmonies worked out and tinker with the instrumentation a little bit, this might be a successful entry for Switzerland. But they do have to do some revision.

Stephanie
8 years ago

I am in agreement, the song leaves me flat and bored

Colin
Colin
8 years ago

One of the most boring songs I have ever heard in national finals. I feel sleepy just by listening one verse.

Ben Rafter
Ben Rafter
8 years ago

You hear these kind of songs at mass. Won’t stand a chance in Stockholm if he wins the national final. 4/10