The non-binary artist Nemo will represent Switzerland at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö with the song “The Code.”
The in-your-face, full-throttle entry snakes through rap, drum ‘n bass and opera. It’s fun and unconventional — but it carries an important message about self-acceptance and showcases the perseverance many people need to live openly and freely.
For Nemo, cracking the titular code reflects the journey of learning they were neither male nor female. As they sing: “I, I went to hell and back/ to find myself on track/ I broke the code/ Oh, Oh, Oh…”
Using binary code as an analogy for black and white, male and female, Nemo unlocks their truth: “Somewhere between the 0’s and 1’s/ that’s where I found my kingdom come/ my heart beats like a drum.”
Nemo will sing “The Code” for Switzerland at Eurovision 2024
Nemo fully understands the enormity of singing for Switzerland. In a press release sent by Swiss broadcaster SRF, Nemo said:
“It is an incredible honor to be able to represent Switzerland at the ESC. The Eurovision platform offers a huge opportunity to build bridges between different cultures and generations. That‘s why it‘s very important to me as a genderqueer person to stand up for the entire LGBTQIA+ community.”
“‘The Code’ is about the journey I started with the realization that I am neither a man nor a woman. Finding myself has been a long and often difficult process for me. But nothing feels better than the freedom I have gained by realizing that I am non-binary.”
SRF describes the song as “the artistic manifesto of this personal journey” and a “safe space where every person can find their truth.” His personal story becomes “a universal narrative” and a call for everyone “to crack their own code and enter the kingdom of authenticity.”
About Nemo — Switzerland’s Eurovision 2024 singer
Nemo faced serious competition for the gig. As Blick.ch explained earlier this week, a total of 472 songs were submitted in a multi-stage process. Nemo and their song was chosen by two juries: a panel of at least 240 people in an international audience jury and a 30-member international jury of experts from 20 countries.
SRF shared Nemo’s official biography:
“Born in 1999 in Biel, a small bilingual town in Switzerland, Nemo has been playing the violin, piano and drums since they were a small child. In 2016, Nemo became famous overnight as a rapper through an appearance at SRF Virus (#Cypher) which went viral on social media. Afterwards they released two EPs – on which seven songs made it directly into the official Swiss Singles Charts, songs like “Ke Bock”, “Du” and “Himalaya” are now part of Swiss cultural heritage, reached gold or even platinum status and at the age of 18, Nemo already got rewarded with five Swiss Music Awards.”
“2020 marks the beginning of a period of change: Nemo starts writing and producing for other artists, takes the first steps beyond the Swiss borders and releases songs in English. Nemo deals with themes such as gender identity, mental health and finding one‘s place in this world. Nemo radically follows gut feeling, talent and emotions will guide Nemo the way in the future. Therefore, they’re uniqueness will surprise and inspire us again and again. Nemo currently lives in Berlin.”
I don’t see where he has broken any code: The two diggets that he is mentioning (“0” and “1”) were used creatively by million of people and artist, popular and unpopular for at least the last decades and even before.
A computer can describe everything using “0” and “1”. Even the most creative picture can in its very basics be reduced to those two diggets/elements.
Nemo is latin for “nobody”. You will never be nobody, but you might think you are nobody. This would mean you suffer from nihilistic depression which is also linked to depressive narcissism.
can’t wait for their live performance, I’m sure it will be fantastic~
can’t wait for their live performance, I’m sure it will be fantastic~
This is how its done! ?
Music: ?
Lyrics: ?
Artist: ?
Message: ?
Authenticity: ?
Entertainment: ?
Winner: ????
Microplastics
Also I can’t avoid the comparison between him and Olly Alexander. Both even look a bit similar, both are very queer forward, singing with a high pitched voice but their ESC efforts are like night and day. Nemo is like Olly 3.0, he’s so much more interesting than this bland mediocre and repetitive song that Olly came up with for Eurovision.
Seems like among hundreds of million people from EBU countries there are only queer and feminine looking guys left to sing for western countries. Is it even allowed to be straight or a masculine or normal looking gay guy?
There is a big representation gap. That’s why less and less people are watching eurovision. It’s becoming a more and more queer trans event in a very exclusive bubble. As a normal gay guy I find that quite alarming
Normal gay guy, as opposed to abnormal effeminate gay guy or non-binary person? It’s not effeminate people’s fault if the most traditionally masculine gays won’t show up or come out.
Just for the western countries you have this year:
And let’s not forget Baby Lasagna being one of the favorites.
However, I’m personally not sure how I feel about the overrepresentation of pencil moustaches, are they this year’s broccoli haircut?
It’s on a level of Toy for being kind of all over the place yet still somehow consistent. The live will be interesting. I’m kind of afraid that the challenging notes will be pre recorded on a backing track instead of sang live.
This is the standout song of the year for me so far. First listen it sounded like a bit of a mess. Second time I got it and from there it’s grown and grown. It’s the only song so far this year which has really grabbed me as having that essential mix of flamboyant showmanship and musical/lyrical depth which keeps me hooked. The video is amazing, if they can bring some of that visual flair to the staging to bring all the elements together, it could be absolutely epic.
This song can win!!! It’s every genre in it!
Even Germany’s entry is much better than this song; cringe and trash song 🙁
A patchwork of different songs an genres that don’t make any sense. The video is good, but that’s a bad thing because the staging will not stand out compared to this. Also I have doubts about live performance. Still probably the best song in this latest batch.
worst Swiss entry ever :/
I’ve been obsessed with this over the past day, it’s easily in my top 5, maybe even top 3.
When I first heard it I wasn’t impressed, but it grew on me immensely. It really is an ear worm.
This is not just a song, it is a whole journey! Love the lyrics, the message, the mix of genres and Nemo’s unforgettable voice!
Blody brilliant. They cracked the code to my top 1!
This really sucks.
Why? If you have nice message why make it so difficult like this? I can’t call it a song.. where is the melody? Is this where we are from now on? Is this contest about who can make a song the weirdest so that it can be called unique and a masterpiece? It’s certainly not a song I would have in my ears and listen to outside of the eurovision bubble. Where are the real hits?? A real HIT!
You must be really lonely my dear.
As you reacted on your own post.
And I dont to be vile.
I think are you doing that bc of getting more attention on your post or are you really lonely? Im sorry if you are as that isnt a nice position being in.
All the best and take care.
Love from the Netherlands.
Switzerland 8/12
Okay, as a young gay guy, I understand that Nemo doesn’t want to fit sex/gender stereotypes of male and female—fine, I’m all for it. But he (sorry!) covers it with a thick layer of an ideology that is simply false: this promise of escaping sex/gender, “radically following gut feeling,” having “to stand up for the entire LGBTQIA+ community”—all of this Berlin crap. I’m sorry, but (1) there can be no meaningful sex/gender beyond male/female, (2) “radically” following whatever you feel leads you to self-destruction, and (3) there’s no such thing as the “LGBTQIA+ community”—it’s a fantasy, not reality—there are individuals,… Read more »
Totally bull****
I think your message is “false to spread”.
I also think that all those gays on ESC are spreading a harmful and false message. But your hair looks okay IMO.
This is a masterpiece.
The lyrics are insane and have a very deep meaning.
I’ll support Switzerland in May!
Annoying and trash song
All the cool weirdos are gonna eat each other up in May, and we will end up having the dumbest pop ballad from Azerbaijan winning the whole competition.
Exactly my thought. Well it worked for Käärija last year.. but this year? People probobly will get tired of it and vote for something more recognizable. I know I’m annoyed by now.
This is really good song,.. very theatrical and the best video i’ve seen so far.. Just wondering how this could be translated on stage.. I’m afraid it will lose some of it’s magic on stage.. but i do like it. Well done switzerland
What kind of genre is this? ‘Uneasy listening’? Nah, that’s a bit too artsy and annoying for me. But if Nemo really can pull it off live, we’ll be in for one of the most spectacular and memorable performances ever, and I’m really looking forward to that.
On second thought, by far the best release of today. If they can really pull this off live, it could do very well.
at first listen i was like wtf is this
but the more i listen the more i’m really starting to like this
i think this will probsbly be one of my favorites
I take back what I said before, this song is great! I love it, I love the melody, the lyrics, the tempo, everything! It’s enticing, visually arresting and engaging.
I’m sure that they were picked bc they delivered on the live audition, so I hope the song gets a proper package that can make a huge impact on the night!
I will try to crack the code. (For those who do not like music analysis, please don’t read the rest of this post. Thank you.) V1: F minor, descending chromatic scale. Pre-Chorus 1: Theatrical hits. Mozart Magic Flute element. Chorus 1: Fusion. Piano theme to dance beat, then merging into R&B and rap. Lovely chords here. V2: Rapping verse. Ascending chromatic scale and shifting harmonies to match. Pre-Chorus 2: Added lyrical melody, to Mozart again. Chorus 2: The core “dance” part of the song. Extended Bridge: This sounds like blues/jazz to me. Melodic break: Wow, Fmin9! One of the best… Read more »
I can actually see this as the jury winner…
in the semi round there is no jury. I am not sure if the song goes to the final.
Oh this is definitely qualifying
Juries only vote for bland songs, this one will do better in the televote if anything.
not a huge fan of the final product, but it is certainly creative and daring.
“The Code” has broken my defences and overloaded my musical brain. I need to let this song sink in.
Ha, I thought it might…
I usually don’t appreciate songs in English in Eurovision ( apart from those of countries where it is native) but this… is amazingly good!!!! Top 3 for me up till this moment.
Many great things to point out here : the artistic line of the singer, the top quality music video, the rap and opera parts… Even the bridge which is reminding the Norwegion song from 1966 (yes, should definitly get a listen). I think Switzerland has cracked the code to be in Eurovision final every year ! Good luck Nemo.
Holy shhhush, what an interesting year this is! I’ve no idea what is going to happen but we are in for a wild ride.
I’m really into this Belgian craziness… It feels like something that shouldn’t work at all, but it does!
They’re taking a real risk here – but serious respect for the ambition. I’m assuming if Nemo couldn’t handle the vocals, they wouldn’t have picked such a demanding song but we’ll have to see live.
I will be strict with Switzerland because IF Nemo can nail the vocals and IF they give them a strong staging concept then omg this has the potential to have a MASSIVE impact on the night. Swiss TV owes it to Nemo to not waste this potential gold dust!
Fingers crossed..
Switzerland for the win! I don’t even like rap, but I love this song as a whole. It’s utterly incredible, to combine so many genres into one song and make it sound cohesive, absolutely brilliant. Heard it for the first time, and I’m already hooked. All the best Switzerland!
I usually also don’t like rap, but for some strange reason I really love it in this song!
I love that now whenever a song doesn’t sound ‘traditional’ it’s automatically deemed as Top 5 and brilliant…this song will come down to how his voice sounds live and the staging. I imagine it can be a a complex song to stage so that it comes across as a cohesive entry. There’s so much love for many entries this year that we’ve only seen music videos for and live performances can change everything.
Probably not a contender, but I quite like how chaotic it is!
And I got to give it to Switzerland that they’re going for something other than a ballad for once 🙂
Not my thing. Sorry
What a masterpiece! The blending of genres is seamless and adds up to an amazing song. Switzerland is fighting for the top spot in May.
Yes, yes, could be the case! Bravo Switzerland!
I really enjoyed the song and the video has a subtle sense of humour running through it too. It will be interesting to see how it transfers to the live stage. Catchy and entertaining, a great choice from Switzerland.
There’s something of Austria and Serbia from last year in this and I mean that in a good way. I think the more I listen to it the more ire I will appreciate it. A very different choice from Switzerland this year.
I just heard it and thought exactly the same thing!
Are there any women in Switzerland? Or we never see them back to Eurovision?
Silly comment
Also no male representatives from Albania and Armenia since 2018, so what’s your point?
We want pop girls, we don’t care if a country sends no dudes!
First 20 seconds in i thought oh! and then the explosion. Totally gripped can’t wait to see how this translates to the stage performance.
I like it, it’s unqiue and will stand out. Definite qualifier
I find this quite interesting and unique and that’s not a bad thing. Nemo has a very dinstict style and this will probably help them to stand out. I’m not sure how it will look and sound live so I’m not gonna make any predictions yet but I’m rather on the positive side with this one. Good luck Switzerland!
Like this entry.
Think it will do good if translated well live on stage.
FINALLY. We really needed more songs this year that have a sound that’s actually very distinct. Congrats to Switzerland on giving us a song that doesn’t sound generic while also not being dogwater in quality. The real question is whether Nemo can sing well live or not. Because this song seems a bit hard vocally and if those notes don’t hit, their chance just flies out the window.
Nemo’s not the first artist to do that this year, not even the first non-binary one!
Distinct songs shouldnt mean trash songs
wowwww the transphobia in these comments is NOT CUTE! nemo is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns and if you refuse to respect that you are transphobic! and you suck!
anyway, this song is so fun and i’m sure it’ll grow on me a lot between now and the competition.
this is a great entry, good luck from israel
Thank you from Switzerland but we don’t want Israel at the ESC this year
Oh yes we do
no?
He’s not a man or a woman people. He’s a fish
For all the humourless out there that’s a finding nemo joke
8And what are you? A donkey?
He’s obviously a monkey