The Swiss Nemo Mettler has been crowned winner of Eurovision 2024 in one of the most disputed and controversial finals of the festival. His victory comes in a context in which they wanted to avoid at all costs the victory of Israel, which swept the televoting, and the strong competition from countries like Croatia and France.
From Biel, his hometown, Nemo has cultivated a career that has led him to be recognized not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany. He is known for his musical versatility, as he masters the violin, drums and piano, and for his way of understanding genres such as rap and pop. Not in vain, he has five Swiss Awards in his possession.
Mettler’s career in music began to stand out from the age of 16, when he participated in the program Switzerland’s Greatest Talents. There she demonstrated her prowess in rapping and improvisation, skills she has honed over the years. More recently, her participation in Switzerland’s Masked Singer program cemented her popularity.
The Code, the song with which Nemo won Eurovision, is an exploration of his non-binary identity through a fusion of lyrics and rap: “Somewhere between 0 and 1/ That’s where I found my kingdom.”
The Swiss artist’s lyrics often incorporate deep and personal messages in which he addresses topics such as gender acceptance and mental health, reflecting his commitment to the representation and visibility of the LGTBI community. “I, I went to hell and back / To find myself on the road / I broke the code,” he says in his song.
In his performance at Eurovision, the biggest showcase of his career, Nemo not only stood out for his voice and musical ability, but also for his spectacular staging. The setup included a rotating platform and an impressive set of lights, complemented by costumes that broke gender barriers.
In this way, with an overwhelming victory at the professional and popular level, Nemo has become a symbol of change and diversity in current music that, in addition, gives visibility to an even more minority and little understood group such as non-binary people. “I had to sneak my non-binary gender flag because Eurovision told me I couldn’t take it out,” he lamented after winning.
