escYOUnited
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Switzerland SWITZERLAND 2021 - Gjon's Tears - Tout l’univers
- Thread starter escYOUnited
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Sometimes it comes across as "too competitive" / "too insincere" / "too predictable" / "too distant" / "too calculated" etc.
However, a lot depends on the taste itself. But i do tend to give more authentic songs the advantage over polished ones even if it's just a battle for 21st place on my list.
(I'm not talking about swiss staging or switzerland here at all, i'm talking in general. Gjon's staging is actually fine. )
GermanBango
Well-known member
I smell a big win. 
Decayingbooks
Well-known member
Hard to believe that the same Sacha Jean-Baptiste that created Destiny's staging came up with this high concept minimalist piece of art.
Well done Switzerland, this and Ukraine's staging are the only ones, so far, that I could see winning the contest.
Well done Switzerland, this and Ukraine's staging are the only ones, so far, that I could see winning the contest.
apasionata
Veteran
As we say in Serbia "As much as money - as much as music"
Decayingbooks
Well-known member
From what I understand the song originally was about the 9/11 and the theme was expanded to a more wide and universal theme of surviving a trauma, the structures will fall mid song and that destruction represent the trauma.
It may be to much conceptual to eurovision, a thing I learn from binging Drag Race for the last months is that if a concept doesn't translate visually and the creator needs to explain it so that others will understand you already lost, but the staging looks great and I'm confident that people will get something out it
Gjon is a great performer but I'm not a fan of that staging, if anything it makes the song look far more pretentious than it is. What's wrong with a galaxy / planets aesthetics? It would look far more wondrous and it would fit the song's theme far more than amorphic black substance wiggling in the background that looks like it's straight outta Terminator, not to mention that huge Ikea chair. It screams pretentious movie scene made to win some Academy awards. Far too depressive, cold and dark for this song tbh.
Shadowfuxcs
Well-known member
The concept is the same as in the music video, given in a different interpretation. It is about the circle of birth-deconstruction and rebirth. The structure on which he is standing on is assembled throughout the performance only to eventually be deconstructed, but from the hopeful perspective this reconstruction can be the beggining of a new even better cycle. Personally I connect with this concept from the viewpoint of an immigrant, of alternating career directions or by being queer and having to go through different stages of acceptance withing myself and from others. It is a very universal theme that can be generalized to each viewer's individual experiences and therefore I believe it can cut across all demographics. It is also a very hopeful song and performance in its core as it closes with beggining of a new cycle (Gjon choosing to save himself in the music video, I guess we can have a similar moment with the structure starting to reform in the esc performance).
These are the conclusions I have made on my own from watching the snippet and a couple of reviews. If I can easily identify the message of the staging without seeing the full thing and without having an artistic background I believe a lot of people will be able to do so. Even if this is not that case, impressive staging in itself does not require to be conceptually understood by the viewer to attract votes. Sergey Lazarev got one of the best televoting results ever with a staging that was made to look impressive but had no deeper meaning.
Finally I totally disagree with the notion that the staging should have been simpler with piano and/or the universe in the background. If there was ever a year for taking risks it is this one. Allessia Michelle made a great point in her review about people consuming much more media than usual during the quarantine so they will need something extra to get impressed. I also approve the styling a lot, it would have been so boring if he dressed like he was going to the pub like a certain recent Dutch winner. It's eurovision, it's supposed to be a little extra. xD
The staging is very Melodifestivalen.
Because it's only a 15 sec snippet I can't really make anything out of it, but my first impressions are neither good nor bad. I'm more interested to see what happens once they move away the platforms and he's left standing on the one platform left.
The interpretative movements look questionable, but might work since not many (incl me) understand French and really know what he's singing about, so I'm assuming the choreo somehow matches the lyrics/vibes.
Because it's only a 15 sec snippet I can't really make anything out of it, but my first impressions are neither good nor bad. I'm more interested to see what happens once they move away the platforms and he's left standing on the one platform left.
The interpretative movements look questionable, but might work since not many (incl me) understand French and really know what he's singing about, so I'm assuming the choreo somehow matches the lyrics/vibes.
crashworld
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But let's face it, your casual viewers are not going to care if there is a meaning to the staging concept.
When it all comes down to how they vote, it's most likely whether they can connect to the vibe of the song/singer.
I believe your casual viewers will struggle to connect with performances that look way too cold/dark/sterile.
I don't know how the full performance of the Swiss entry looks like. Hopefully Gjon will be able to bring some warmth from his voices in order for him to score well with the televotes for the win as he shouldn't have a problem with getting high scores with the juries.
When it all comes down to how they vote, it's most likely whether they can connect to the vibe of the song/singer.
I believe your casual viewers will struggle to connect with performances that look way too cold/dark/sterile.
I don't know how the full performance of the Swiss entry looks like. Hopefully Gjon will be able to bring some warmth from his voices in order for him to score well with the televotes for the win as he shouldn't have a problem with getting high scores with the juries.
FoxOfShadows
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It's very "Beautiful Mess" which can only be a good thing for its chances. It's a shame to see it go in a more "style over substance" route than I would've liked but I'd still be very happy with Gjon winning next week
RainyWoods
Croak-kay
You're right I think but then I've already felt quite a waft of pretentiousness coming from the entry itself. One for the ever strong, at times challenging this is real art and a masterpiece brigade. The staging has lead it further down that direction. It's just a single apple atop one of those white boxes away from being a Yoko Ono art show which should mean that I actually like it. Problem is it's a cold and sterile setting for a song that despite offering some different shades throughout its 3 minutes (which I appreciate) is overall quite steely in tone to begin with. Avant-garde staging for a sound here that's anything but. It won't matter much in the grand scheme of things because art but it's going to push me further away from an entry I was already struggling to connect with, and I have been trying. It's not awful but it's not working too well for me at this point. My gut tells me that viewers at home will connect more with Victoria's simpler but incredibly striking staging. I'm excited that the race this year seems to be really opening up. It's almost anyone's game.
I was about to say the exact same thing. Like, it does sound emotional, but it'd be far too edgy (in contrast to Malta or France) for casual viewers.
This staging, as it currently stands, doesn't do Gjon's entry any justice.
I get what you mean, even if I liked his entry a lot as a whole package, I definitely see how the broadcaster and a good chunk community alike are pushing him as this highbrow music-is-not-fireworks persona. The music video had a sense of wonder and genuine grandeur that worked really well for me. But now, with this staging, it's like the curtain fell and it revealed yet another far too pretentious for its own good act, just like I feel about France actually. Other than Roxen, who at this point I'm done with and I'm looking forward to our 2022 entry, this might be the biggest disappointment yet.
RainyWoods
Croak-kay
Yes, the music video is great. It combined with the song had me like "ok, come on now! Let's give this a chance." The imagery is wonderful and it's one of the best done videos this year. I like how they haven't gone the predictable route, plonking Gjon's Tears in front of a piano with a nice background and then calling it a day. At the same time though what they have done feels both too simple and too much. And the interpretive dancing... eeeek. I get what you mean about France too as I feel exactly the same way about their entry, even if I think the composition is gorgeous. When things (particularly ballads) are so calculated I find it challenging at times to make that personal connection with them.
SwissKung
Active member
It's so strange to see people praise the music video when the delegation and Gjon did say that they lost about 2/3 footage of it.
It has beautiful moments but it does feel unfinished and a little bit amateur to me.
It has beautiful moments but it does feel unfinished and a little bit amateur to me.
midnightsun
Veteran
I should have read here first; I just wrote in the rehearsal thread it looks a lot like Beautiful Mess. Funnily, Beautiful Mess was my #1 that year (together with Belgium) and has been remaining one of my favourite ESC songs ever. So does Gjon. Not with Tout L'Univers but with Répondez-moi. I wish, if he‘s gonna win, he did it with Repondéz-Moi but hey, he deserves it anyway, even with Tout L'Univers.