After three years of being stuck in the Eurovision semi-finals, Switzerland went back to the drawing board for 2018. With a stronger field than ever, tonight’s Die Entschiedungsshow looked to be a close fight. In the end, Switzerland chose Zibbz with “Stones” for Eurovision 2018!
ZIBBZ — “Stones”
Tonight’s decision was made of a 50/50 split between public voting and an international jury. Whilst the jury had a close fight between Zibbz and Alejandro Reyes, the public overwhelmingly supported Zibbz. The brother and sister duo won with a total of 153 points.
Alejandro Reyes finished second, whilst Vanessa Iraci won a close battle for third. You can find all the results below:
Entscheidungsshow 2018: International Jury
Germany — 12 points to Alejandro Reyes
France — 12 points to Alejandro Reyes
Armenia — 12 points to Vanessa Iraci
Albania — 12 points to Zibbz
Italy — 12 points to Zibbz
Iceland — 12 points to Zibbz
Israel — 12 points to Zibbz
Entscheidungsshow 2018: Public Vote
- Zibbz, “Stones” — 77pts
- Alejandro Reyes, “Compass” — 48pts
- Chiara Dubey “Secrets and Lies” — 44pts
- Angie Ott — 39pts
- Vanessa Iraci — 25pts
- Naeman – 19pts
Entscheidungsshow 2018: Full Results
- Zibbz, “Stones“: 153pts
- Alejandro Reyes, “Compass“: 120pts
- Vanessa Iraci, “Redlights“: 67pts
- Chiara Dubey, “Secrets and Lies“: 66pts
- Angie Ott, “A Thousand Times“: 65pts
- Naeman, “Kiss Me“: 33 pts
Tonight’s show opened with a brief reprise of Switzerland’s 2017 entry, “Apollo”, performed by Miruna Manescu of Timebelle.
Showact: Miruna und Jugendmusik Kreuzlingen #srfesc pic.twitter.com/Hj3wxZVNxm
— SRF ESC (@srfesc) February 4, 2018
We also saw an interval act, where singer Leticia Carvlho teamed with a Swiss yodelling band to cover “Amar pelos dois”. Yes, that really happened, y’all!
As revealed at the end of January, Zibbz will sing in the second half of the first semi-final. Will that draw help them achieve Switzerland’s goal of qualifying?
What do you think of Switzerland’s choice tonight? Do you think they can finally return to the Eurovision final with “Stones”? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
How much of your opinion is biased because it’s Switzerland? Think about it.
Stone Cold… Somehow reminded me Black Smoke of Germany! Seems they might share the same fate. Well sung though…
Much better than last year’s entry. It is competent and well sung, but leaves me rather cold.
bland song won
bland bland
Zibbz and stones won’t break my soul gotta be your on miracle
Something I noticed: save for Italy, Germany, and France, all the other countries who voted here are performing/voting in semi-final 1 as well. This could bode well for them, given that most of them put their votes behind Zibbz.
I was very impressed with the staging, it was really cool with the diamonds (especially when they flew at the camera into the first chorus), and the alternating red/blue lights and pyramids were fun. I really like the song but I think it MUST have good staging or it may become forgettable. The only thing I didn’t like was the long pause immediately after the first chorus.
If you see the odds for the swiss natinal selection you can see that sometimes or often bookies are wrong…. they put vanessa iraci first and zibbz 4th and finally it’s zibbz have won
Zibbz was leading by far till 2 days ago!! Then Alejandro was leading for 36 hrs and then Vanessa became 1st in odds!
What people fail to recognize is its not a person who determines these odds …. it’s we the people who are willing to bet on certain entries winning is what determines the odds.
Another worthy winner. This year we have 7 decent entries now. However, I only love France out of these 7, the others are just decent songs, and it is difficult to rank them. I am happy that this year is progressing with no bad songs, jury corruption…etc
Corruption stories are yet to come, as mostly Eatsern Europe coutries haven’t stepped into the game…Azerbaijan, Russia, Belarus. These songs are meh for me. Last year’s entries of the same countries were 100 times better for me…Requiem by Alma, Apollo and even Do it for your lover (the first 2 minutes). Probably Czech Republic is the only exception.
oh you’re western it seems. On your high horse again *rolleyes*
It’s quite easy to be on a high horse when certain countries keep digging their ditches deeper and deeper.
Which is the 7th entry?
I assumed Alekseev will win Belarus selection, but maybe they will throw a curve ball 🙂
Once again Switzerland sends the song people forgot was competing. As they have done since 2015. Seems to be their new role in the contest..
Handle this carefully Switzerland. You’ve already ruined Apollo. (My heart is still aching from it)
It’s a decent modern pop song but yet it also feels very generic. I think semi 1 is going to be very open so I wouldn’t rule it out
Weird. This was one of the better songs in a weak selection and only now have Switzerland fallen to 43rd in the betting odds. What exactly had the bookmakers been expecting?
By the time of the results Zibbs fell to 4th in the Swiss NF odds behind Vanessa, Alejandro and Chiara. Which is why the bookies should never be trusted (remember they said in 2014 that Conchita didn’t have a prayer compared to Aram MP3 and look what happened)
this is so bad, apollo was 100 times better
lol, no. This is more original and less cliche like that awfull apollo-thing. This will do better and at least qualify 🙂
The lyrics are vague and most people wont get the meaning, the chorus is repetiive, the staging with the stones is cheesy it looks like a try hard mess overall not to mention that these rock\edgy songs rarely do well in esc
I’m really happy about the outcome. This will be definitely one of my favourites in Lisboa.
So far, this year kicks off marvellously imo…
It’s just an OK-ish song, not bad, not that good. I don’t see it doing well in May tho..
1. France 9/10
2. Spain 7.5/10
3. Albania 7/10
4. Czech Republic 7/10
5. Malta 6/10
6. Switzerland 5/10
I still think that Ciara was the only one that brought something special to my ears. But I know it’s a song that needs the silence of a small teather and probably wouldn’t survive a noisy arena. If only she could grab our attention as Salvador was able to do, but that was not the case. So I think Switzerland made the best possible choice. “Stones” is a dynamic song which lyrics that address a current subject. I don’t think they do it with the necessary punch though. The siblings seem to be lovely and I guess most people will… Read more »
My new top :
1:/ France (so far)
2:/ Czech Republic (so far)
3:/ Switzerland
4:/ Malta
5:/ Spain
6:/ Albania
My Top 2 is very strong and Albania is my real last but it’s hard to choose between Switzerland, Malta and Spain
Welcome back to the final, Switzerland! 😀
Do people really believe at what oddmakers have to say?
The same bookies who said it was Italy until, like, the day of the finals? I can count the amount of times the bookies got it right the first time on one hand. (Far as I can remember, ’97, ’09, and ’12 were the only times the bookies got it right the first time, maybe ’88 as well. Feel free to prove me wrong!)
In 2015 they got the top 5 exactly right.
And let’s not forget that everybody, not just bookies, were sure Italy would win. I mean I can’t tell how many comments I read on here that said “Italy will win with the biggest margin ever” and “Italy should already start to pick arena for next year”. There was also the “it will be the biggest winning song in ESC history”
Don’t blame the bookies for that. We all fell for the hype, with or without bookies.
And I stand corrected! Well done, sir. I have heard many stories about the Italian hype (I only got into the contest July of last year). In hindsight, it should’ve been in the top 5, but considering how hard it is to pin down what makes a Eurovision song a winner (you couldn’t draw a clear thread from, say, Believe to Fairytale to Satellite to Running Scared, since they were all very different songs and music tastes change over time), it takes a lot for me to determine a Eurovision song “winner-ly,” and that’s mostly in hindsight. Italy didn’t really… Read more »
It changed it one day before Semi-final as in after jury semi-final to Portugal!!
They have Spain very high. Like, yeah right.
The chorus is really strong and catchy, not quite as Lie to Me but really good. The first two verses however dragged a lot I think the staging didn’t really elevate it until the second half of the song. Make it a bit more visually interesting (don’t have camera angles where the lights block the artists faces) and with a good place in the running order I see this putting Switzerland back in the final 01) Lie to Me – Czech Republic 02) Tu Cancion – Spain 03) Stones – Switzerland 04) Mercy – France 05) Mall – Albania 06)… Read more »
1. France
2. Czech Republic
3. Spain
4.Albania
5. Switzerland
6. Malta
Yeeesss!!!!! My favourite song! This entry brings even more diversity to this year’s Eurovision. It’s the best choice Switzerland could make! Wish them luck!
Well I don’t like rock songs so there is my first issue ( but of course that’s just a personal preference ). And what can the do with the staging. Nothing more that give her a mic stand and him the drums. The lyrics were mention quite a lot but I don’t think that the audience listen so much to a rock song when they hear the t the first time!!!there is just too much going on. That only works for ballads of mid-tempos! I’m Swiss by the way!
Meh.
IMO Switzerland made big strides forward with this year’s selection..
The overall quality was much higher than last year..all songs were good
Therein lies the problem………all the songs were very good….but not great…..
In my opinion “Stones” was the best of the bunch and I do enjoy it…..it’s just not special enough…..Not to win
All these comments apply to the UK selection on Wednesday also…..overall good but not great
Sorry!!
OMG Madonna will perform on ESC 2018
Nope. Not confirmed. :/
it’s about the Switzerland’s woman, she looks a like Madonna
Yes! My favourite song won!
MY TOP 6:
1. Spain
2. Czech Republic
3. Albania
4. Switzerland
5. France
6. Malta
The song has a powerful message.
No person can be insulted or mobbed on the internet while the authors of such hate speech remain anonymous. The lyrics invite to – metaphorically – throw stones in defense. Live and let live!
No, I’m pretty sure that violates free speech. A person does have the right to stay anonymous if they merely insult or “mob” a person. If this is really what the song is about, then I can’t believe we’ve got 2 political songs already. Both supporting social justice ideas. How lame.
Oh, please.
So what if songs have nice messages. I love how poignant and important Mercy is.
Mercy does have a nice laid-back feel and I don’t speak French. But this song was never about the song itself, it was about the political message. And the political message falls flat when you learn that it doesn’t apply in the majority of cases. All of these songs about refugees ignore the facts. They aren’t going to let us forget the meaning at Eurovision.
They did the right choice. But that The Voice auditioner hat needs to go at the Eurovision.
Great choice! I must say, Alejandro would have been also a good one.
Vanessa disappointed me a little tonight, but I have her song on a loop, I love it so much! I was surprised of how low the televoting ranked her.
I like the song. Alejandro’s as well.
Will this song make me vote for it? No.
Good luck CH!
For now, I can only see Czech Rep. making me voting for it.
Neeeeext song/country, please!
Just wanna throw it out there that Tina Turner is a Swiss citizen. Next year, Switzerland. Next year.
I am so so happy my favourite won!
My ranking:
1. France
2. Switzerland
3. Czech Republic
4. Albania
5. Spain
6. Malta
Best choice they could made! My top:
1. France, 10/10
2. Czech Republic, 9/10
3. Malta, 8/10
4. Switzerland, 7,5/10
5. Spain, 6,5/10
6. Albania, 4/10
Nice political song, but the girl doesn’t convey the feelings of the song. She needs to at least pretend she hates Trump and be pro-new generation.
The lyrics have a powerful message.
No person can be insulted or mobbed on the internet while the authors of such hate speech remain anonymous. The lyrics invite to – metaphorically – throw stones in defense. Live and let live!
Not great, not bad. That’s the problem.. it doesn’t make any impact.
It won’t make people to pick up the phone like Sebalter did in 2014. It’s too average and forgettable. Not enjoyable, not catchy. It has nothing to stand out.
France, Spain or Czech Republic are way ahead compared to this. They make you feel something which is the key.
Unlike* Sebalter I mean. People called to vote for him xD. Switzerland 2018 is the opposite.
1 ALB 2 CZE 3 FRA 4 ESP 5 MAL 6 SWI
I’m happy with this choice! However, I’m not sure if Switzerland will qualify. I would have preferred Chiara’s “Secrets and Lies”. I can’t believe the jury ranked her 5th out of 6.
For now this is my new top:
1. Spain (8.5)
2. Albania (8.25)
3. Switzerland (7.25)
4. France (7)
5. Czech Republic (4.5)
6. Malta (4)
She also worked on All the Feels by Renaida.
And yet again my favourite comes second… First Eva, then Song for Dad, and now Compass. Very disappointed. Stones is a pretty good song but I really did love Compass.
My top 6 as it stands:
1. Czech Republic
2. Spain
3. Switzerland
4. Albania
5. Malta
6. France
Looks like that this year’s Eurovision has all chances of being a wake ahead of funeral. I like the girl, not the song. Why do countries choose mid-tempo songs or ballads?
Albania: kinda rock song, no ballad, France: Pop song, no ballad, czech republic: Uptempo song, no ballad, Spain: Okay, this is a ballad, Switzerland: Uptempo song, not a ballad… We’ve got ONE ballad out of 6. Your comment doesn’t make any sense.
This is a very uptempo rock! What’s up with your hearing?
Pals, I need some dance pop songs like Descpacito or Timberlake’s hit songs. That’s how we should party that night and not sit back and yawn. No song can make me stand and party so far. Sorry and please don’t be rude. It’s my opinion
It’s not about being the fastest pop trash! it’s about good Music. if you want swedish Pop trash 43 times, go for it….But slow Songs are as equally good as fast songs.Often even better.
Whether or not it’s any good is totally your opinion. Whether or not it’s a ballad is a fact. It’s not. Nothing to do with it’s quality or individual taste. We all have our own personal favorites and that’s cool. Only saying that musical tempo is a metric fact and not up to debate. Use different reason to say it’s bad, if that’s how you feel.
Listen man, I’m all for a mix of uptempo and slow, but last time I can remember a largely uptempo year, it was 2008. Did anyone actually like 2008? That’s the worst year in recent memory to me.
Best of the bunch tonight, but worst of the 6 selected so far.
That’s Malta, though.
Again, the best song won! It’s a great song, and with just a little fine tuning on the vocals combined with good staging and decent promotion, I think this could do well. With SF1 wide open as compared to SF2, it all depends on how well the performance goes
My ranking: 1.czech republic 2.Spain 3.France 4.Albania 5. Switzerland 6.Malta.. Not that Stones is bad… I just think it’s kinda average and nothing special.
Legends is the big favorite, so you might be on to something!
my issue is like… this song seems to be super angry about nothing in particular… is there something else other than !!!the world is unfair and I can’t do anything!!!! sung by… middle class white people from switzerland? i can see it *maybe* being an anti-trump anthem but in that case it sparks as much thought as maraaya’s ‘diamond duck,’ ie none in comparison to mercy it just sounds so juvenile and I guess there’s some aggressive american-sounding grit in this that mimics some sort of southern rock (alabama shakes? samuel adams ads?) but As Someone From South Of The… Read more »
The lyrics actually are about sexual harassment.
No person can be insulted or mobbed on the internet while the authors of such hate speech remain anonymous. The lyrics invite to – metaphorically – throw stones in defense. Live and let live!
Yay! I’m happy. You’re on the right track, Switzerland! Pull through!
So, we’ve got six now. I enjoy them all, and again, my opinion will change as we get closer to the contest, but for now:
1. Spain
2. Albania
3. Switzerland
4. France
5. Czech Republic
6. Malta
Let’s see how things change! Three days until we hear from the United Kingdom, six until Italy and Denmark! I’m pumped!
The typical radio-friendly songs you listen for 3 or 4 days then you forget them forever and ever. Might pass the Semi, but pretty sure it will be bottom in the final. Too generic. No emotion. 1. Albania (Too much potential in this. I keep listening to it everyday on my phone on my way to work) 2, France (I just love it, but it has started to fade a little bit. Not much replays on my way to work lol. I see a winner potential in this though. Paris 2019 maybe?) ——–DECENT SONGS BORDER——— 3. Malta (catchy at first,… Read more »
pumped up by*