Swiss act Nemo walked away victorious at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday night.
The show, which was deemed the most politically charged in history, saw Nemo become the competition’s first non-binary winner, after they scored 365 points with the juries and 226 from the public for a total of 591 with their song The Code.
Nemo announced they are non-binary in November and revealed The Code is a nod to their identity, while they also detailed their pride over representing anyone out there who is non-binary, gender-fluid, transgender
Their appearance on Eurovision comes after a eight years in the spotlight and an appearance on Switzerland’s Masked Singer in 2021.
So who is the winner of the show?
Swiss act Nemo walked away victorious at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday night – but who is the non-binary singer?
Their appearance on Eurovision comes after a eight years in the spotlight and an appearance on Switzerland’s Masked Singer in 2021
Nemo said the song is about them realising their own non-binary identity and they hope they can stand up for ‘the entire LGBTQIA+ community’ by enterting the contest
Nemo Mettler is a Swiss rapper and multi-instrumentalist, who uses the mononym Nemo. He is versed in the violin, piano and drums.
They were born in Biel/Bienne, a bilingual city in the canton of Bern. The city possesses two official languages: French and German.
He has been active in the charts since 2015, with their 2017’s single Du reaching number four in the Swiss charts.
In November 2023, in an article for SonntagsZeitung Nemo announced theu identify as non-binary, expressing their preference to be referred to by their name or by neutral pronouns they/them.
They later revealed entry song The Code reflects their identity as non-binary. In a press release about their Eurovision song, Nemo stated: ‘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.’
The star has also taken part in The Masked Singer Switzerland – after which they were unmasked as a panda. They appeared in the second season in 2021-2022, They ultimately finished in fifth place after being unmasked.
‘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’
Their Eurovision entry The Code has been lauded, with a blend of rap, opera, pop and drum and bass making for a winning combination.
The winning song The Code was written by Nemo alongside co-written by Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann and Linda Dale.
The song has been likened to James Bond anthem and riffs Habanera aria from Georges Bizet’s 1985 opera Carmen.
Speaking about the song, he said in a pre-show interview: ‘People have been saying The Code reminds them of James Bond, or if Freddie Mercury came back and decided to do K-Pop, which I love…
‘There are so many influences in the song. I went to youth opera when I was nine in my hometown, and I think that’s shaped a lot of my work as a musician, hearing those very classical melodies…
‘It’s definitely a performance piece; it’s made for the stage, to keep you on your toes. It’s definitely challenging, but it’s also a lot of fun to sing live because I get to do a lot of things in a short space of time. It’s just fun to show different sides…
‘I love performing because it reminds me of singing back when I was at the opera.’
They explained the song is an extention of ‘who they are’.
Speaking about the song, he said in a pre-show interview: ‘People have been saying The Code reminds them of James Bond, or if Freddie Mercury came back and decided to do K-Pop, which I love’
They said: ‘It feels like me and the song are the same, we’re one. It’s amazing to get to perform something you truly feel you are, it makes this experience so much more genuine for me.’
After the show, Nemo spoke of their pride over representing the non-binary, gender-fluid and transgender with the history making win.
They said: ‘I feel incredibly proud, not just for me but for our whole community, for anyone out there who is non-binary, gender-fluid, transgender, just people that are daring to be themselves and people that need to be heard and to be understood…
‘We need more compassion, we need more empathy, we need to listen to each other, we need to try and understand each other instead of talking about each other, we need to talk with each other and I think that is really important and I hope that tonight can be a way of remembering that.’
On how they came to be Eurovision’s Swiss entry, Nemo admitted they never saw the appearance in their career plan.
They said: ‘It’s funny, because I never expected to end up at Eurovision really, but I got invited to this songwriting camp years ago, and I never had the chance to make it because there was always something else going on…
‘But then for the first time, in 2023, I was able to go. I thought they were inviting me as a songwriter, but I got put together with Teya (of Austria’s Teya & Selena from 2023), and I was like… wait. Who are we writing for?’
On how they came to be Eurovision’s Swiss entry, Nemo admitted they never saw the appearance in their career plan
