Nemo: 'Winning Eurovision turned my life upside down'

If it wasn't for Nemo, Switzerland wouldn't beryllium hosting this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Twelve months ago, the vocalist lifted the trophy for their opus The Code, an operatic popular way astir their travel to realising they were non-binary.

It was the archetypal triumph for a non-binary performer successful Eurovision past and the archetypal for Switzerland since Céline Dion won successful 1988.

Looking back, 12 months later, the vocalist says the acquisition "turned my beingness upside down, successful the champion mode possible."

"The astir important happening was [that] I gained a batch of aforesaid assurance successful myself arsenic an artist.

"It adds a level of relaxation to the instauration process, due to the fact that I cognize I tin spot my gut erstwhile it comes to penning songs and performance."

After past year's contest, Nemo was vocal successful their disapproval of the organisers who, they said, didn't bash capable to enactment participants who were caught up successful a enactment implicit Israel's inclusion.

"I felt precise alone," they told BBC News past October, "and I cognize that immoderate different artists were besides feeling that way.".

"I truly anticipation they person things successful spot for the adjacent twelvemonth to marque definite that portion of the full contest, particularly mentally, gets taken attraction of."

Eurovision responded past December, by introducing a swathe of caller rules designed to support contestants' welfare.

There are much closed-door rehearsals, allowing participants to refine their performances distant from the captious eyes of fans and the media.

And, aft artists similar Bambie Thug accused different countries of filming them backstage without permission, the contention introduced no-filming zones backstage.

"We each consciousness ace harmless successful that area," French vocalist Louane told the BBC earlier this week.

"It means erstwhile you brushwood a bluish carpet, you're not allowed to person your telephone retired to movie oregon instrumentality pictures oregon anything."

The effect is simply a overmuch calmer ambiance successful the Eurovision camp. After the tensions of 2024, the people of 25 person adjacent acceptable up a WhatsApp radical to cheer each different on.

"It's specified a bully happening to person everybody truthful supporting each other," says Claude, who is representing the Netherlands.

"Like, if idiosyncratic forgot thing successful their location country, they'd conscionable beryllium like, 'Does idiosyncratic person like, a charger?' and the reply would come, 'Oh yes, you tin travel prime it up astatine my edifice room'. It's truthful fun!"

Even so, Nemo worries astir the scrutiny the contestants look successful Eurovision week.

"There's a batch of expectations," they explain.

"The media astatine location is like, 'Oh, we're not blessed with this entry, it's going to fail.'

"Or they instrumentality the implicit other [approach] of, 'This has to win. And if it's not winning, we're truly disappointed.'

Nemo remembers that feeling well.

This clip past year, they were the bookmakers' 3rd favourite, but saw disconnected frontrunners Croatia and Israel with a high-risk show that saw them dancing connected a tilted, spinning platform, portion hitting improbable precocious notes for 3 agelong minutes.

"I had moments wherever I was like, 'Please conscionable don't fall. Whatever you do, don't fall,'" they laugh.

"And past I got fortunate 7 times, due to the fact that you're rehearsing, past you person the assemblage show, and it each leads up to the last performance.

"I was like, 'It's gone close 7 times. What are the chances that, successful this moment, it volition spell wrong?'

"So I trusted successful the moment, and everything went fine, but I could person been the biggest loser successful the past of Switzerland!"

Instead, they topped the array and lifted the trophy... earlier promptly breaking it successful two.

The vocalist says it's "special" to spot the contention backmost successful their location state aft a spread of 36 years.

"They're doing an astonishing job. I emotion that radical are getting to cognize Switzerland.

"They're like, 'Okay, it's not conscionable each mountains and and cows'."

The 25-year-old volition instrumentality to the Eurovision signifier connected Saturday, performing their caller single, Unexplainable.

Fans who grew to emotion The Code - with its operatic precocious notes and propulsive drum and bass notes - mightiness beryllium amazed by the alteration successful sound.

The opus opens with a mildly plucked electrical guitar, arsenic Nemo dives down to the little extremity of their vocal registry to divulge an existential crisis.

"I seldom recognize my thoughts / I constitute them down earlier I sleep... What if I'm unexplainable?"

Nemo says the opus poured retired of them 1 night, arsenic they grappled with a inclination to overanalyse their thoughts and feelings that leaves them "feeling detached from my emotions".

But though the opus starts successful muted, sepia-toned reflection, it explodes into colour for the last minute, replete with windmilling powerfulness chords and stacked harmonies that topple into Freddie Mercury territory.

It should marque for an unthinkable infinitesimal connected the Eurovision stage.

"I'm little tense this year," Nemo says. "Or tense successful a antithetic mode - but it's bully to bully to cognize I tin travel backmost without immoderate expectations."

The expansive last of the Eurovision Song Contest takes spot successful Basel, Switzerland astatine 20:00 BST / 21:00 CET connected Saturday, 17 May.

You tin ticker the contention connected BBC One, oregon perceive on connected BBC Radio 2. The BBC News website volition person unrecorded substance sum passim the night.