Switzerland ain’t playin’: Remo Forrer is armed with a song

At only 21-years-old, Remo was selected to represent his country by a panel of judges and 100 members of the public. Shortly afterwards, his song Watergun was announced as the entry that will be representing Switzerland at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.

Remo might be young, but he smashed his first rehearsal on Sunday 30 April with some impressive confidence. He took to the stage dressed in dark shades, showered with spotlights and with dancers in tow. But the main draw of Remo’s performance are his powerful vocals, and he did not disappoint on this first run through, giving it his all. What has Remo become? A superstar.

The official Eurovision Live Blog was front and centre for Remo’s rehearsal, writing: "By any measure, this is quite special. Watergun is a heartfelt and haunting ballad about the tragedy of war, and a universal call for peace. It’s clear that Remo feels a real connection to these lyrics, and his vocal is beautiful."

Remo is from a small and extremely picturesque Swiss village called Hemberg; being surrounded by all those mountains might be what inspired his love of snowboarding. Watching from home will be Remo’s 17-year-old Jack Russell, Luis. Remo is such a dog person that he thinks cats probably only get angry, because they’d rather be dogs. Miaow.

With a big voice like Remo’s, some of his favourite songs were bound to be from top vocal talents. He’s inspired by songs like September by James Arthur, When We Were Young by Adele, and Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. But if you want to get Remo dancing (which he might not be able to resist at Eurovision), get Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on the speakers.

“It was definitely a surprise,” Remo told the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast, as he remembered finding out that he’d been chosen to represent Switzerland. “I think in September last year, everything started. They started to choose the Swiss act for 2023, so from September to January I was working for it. When I got the call in the middle of January it was mind-blowing. It was a big dream coming true.”

There’s more from Remo on Episode 11 of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.

You can learn more about Remo Forrer from Switzerland right here.