Switzerland's Mélanie René is arguing it's her "Time to Shine" on the Eurovision stage - will the rest of Europe agree with her?
We haven't been the kindest to Switzerland on this site when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest - last year we even called them the "mom jeans" of the contest. For all that name-calling, however, Sebalter's "Hunter of Stars" did better than I expected, making it to the finals and placing 13th in the final competition. With their first actual entry in the final in years, it seems Switzerland may be making their first attempt at a win since 1988. Let's take a listen to this year's entry, Melanie Rene's "Time to Shine":
I'm not too sure about this one, you guys. It sounds like the first single an American Idol winner releases as part of their contract being played at the same time as another song with a different tempo. The general message behind the song, is pure Eurovision (and lyrically recalls Jade Ewen's "It's My Time" from 2009), but it's also suuuper generic. Melanie's vocal tone doesn't really the performance either, and this is a live performance video, so this is likely what we're going to get in a few months.
If Switzerland wants this song to succeed (which I could see it doing, giving the generally uplifting message that seems to do well in the ESC), they need to help Melanie build up her vocals and maybe simplify the instrumentals going on behind her so they're a little less discordant. Without a few tweaks (which they tend to not make), their time to shine in the finals likely won't happen again.