My Switzerland National Final 2012

Switzerland decided to continue it's successful (by Swiss Eurovision standards that is) format from last year of having an early televised national final. The only difference was that this year, the Italian Swiss broadcaster decided to put their song choices in the hands of the Public. They held a Semi Final of Seven songs and a Televote chose the Two advancing songs.

In the Final, 14 Songs will compete for the Swiss Ticket to Baku. The Final will take place on December 10th. The 14 Artists will sing abridged 2 Minute versions of their songs and a Televote will decide the Winner.

Semi Final -
Songs -
Number - Title (Translation) - Artist
01 - It's Your Love - Vittoria Hyde
02 - Giro Intorno (Turn Around) - Gianluca Solci
03 - Here I Am - Rossella
04 - The Big Picture - Laetitia
05 - Unbreakable - Sinplus
06 - Anima Nuova (New Soul) - Chiara Dubey
07 - Masquerade - Scilla

Final -
01 - Real Love - Patric Scott Feat. Fabienne Louves
02 - She - Emel
03 - Anima Nuova - Chiara Dubey
04 - Baby Baby Baby - Guillermo Sorya
05 - Shining - Macy
06 - Quand Je Ferme Les Yeux (When I Close My Eyes) - Sosofluo
07 - Black Symphony - Atomic Angels
08 - Peace And Freedom - Ivo
09 - L'Autre (The Other) - Ze Flying Zézettes Orchestra
10 - The Song In My Head - Raphael Jeger
11 - Fragile - I Quattro
12 - Unbreakable - Sinplus
13 - C'Était Ma Vie (It Was My Life) - Lys Assia
14 - Wrong To Let You Go - Katherine St - Laurent

The biggest name in the Final is by leaps and bounds fan favorite, multiple Swiss representive in the 1950's and winner of the very first ESC ever, Lys Assia.

My Contest -

For my contest, I decided to stick to the general format of the actual National Final, with a few tweaks.
First, I had the Seven Italian songs compete in a Quarter Final, where I awarded "Televote" to select the 3 Advancing Songs.

01 - Quarter Final -
Number - Title - Televote - Place - Q
01 - It's Your Love - 25 846 Votes - 1st - Q
02 - Giro Intorno - 4 928 Votes - 7th - NQ
03 - Here I Am - 8 763 Votes - 6th - NQ
04 - The Big Picture - 11 257 Votes - 5th - NQ
05 - Unbreakable - 19 099 Votes - 3rd - Q
06 - Anima Nuova - 15 634 Votes - 4th - NQ
07 - Masquerade - 23 371 Votes - 2nd - Q

Comments -
01 - It's Your Love - Amazing, RnBish, dancey song! I became obsessed with it from it's first beat. I was up and dancing by the first verse. I adore the steady beat and catchy hook. This song is one of those songs that just gets stuck in your head and you couldn't be happier about it! 10 Stars out of 10!
02 - Giro Intorno - Eh boring Italian ballad...not special in any way. 2 Stars out of 10.
03 - Here I Am - A big song. Lots of sound and noise and "Music". It's not a terrible song and a pretty decent effort but there's just no soul or heart in it. 5 Stars out of 10.
04 - The Big Picture - A simple but powerful start (I love the bells!). A pretty nice mid tempo song that stays sincere and subtle (which is super unique in a Swiss song). The singers voice could be a little stronger on the bridge but overall works quite well with the song. Quite a pretty little ditty. 7 Stars out of 10.
05 - Unbreakable - A slow start with loads of potential. It has a pretty nice build and grows into a crazy, powerful and dancey bridge and a repetitive chorus. A song that I'm sure I will either grow to love or despise....i'm not sure yet....but it's pretty fun and i like it for right now. 8 Stars out of 10. 
06 - Anima Nuova -  A nice, simple, sweet song. It's very charismatic and adorable...not a bad effort at all. It might actually be a dark horse to win the final...i wouldn't count it out. 7 Stars out of 10.
07 - Masquerade - Another Big, Loud Song....but it has a ton of heart and soul. The singers voice was built for this song...it expression passion and emotion super well. As for the song itself, it's got a great heavy beat and comes out of the gate like a storm! Great bridge and pretty decent chorus. 9 Stars out of 10!

Second, I had the 15 Songs compete in a Semi Final. In the Semi Final, I award points a total of 5 Times. The First Three votes were given after my First, Second and Third listens to all the Songs. The Fourth vote (worth Double) was given after just listening to my favorites. The Fifth Vote (worth Triple) was given after a couple more listens of all the songs. The top 6 scoring songs advanced to the Final.

Songs To Download

Semi Final -
Number - Title - Vote 01 - Vote 02 - Vote 03 - Vote 04 - Vote 05 - Total - Place - Q?
01 - Real Love - 08 - 08 - 16 - 28 - 42 = 102 Points - 5th
02 - She - 02 - 05 - 09 - 08 - 21 = 45 Points - 9th
03 - Masquerade - 16 - 14 - 07 - 24 - 48 = 109 Points - 4th
04 - Baby Baby Baby - 10 - 01 - 01 - 06 - 12 = 30 Points - 13th
05 - Shining - 06 - 09 - 10 - 20 - 30 = 75 Points - 7th
06 - Quand Je Ferme Les Yeux - 14 - 16 - 04 - 16 - 24 = 74 Points - 8th
07 - Black Symphony- 20 - 18 - 12 - 36 - 54 = 140 Points - 2nd
08 - Peace And Freedom - 01 - 03 - 06 - 14 - 18 = 42 Point - 11th
09 - L'Autre - 04 - 04 - 02 - 04 - 06 = 20 Points - 14th
10 - The Song In My Head - 05 - 06 - 05 - 10 - 15 = 41 Points - 12th
11 - Fragile - 03 - 02 - 03 - 02 - 03 = 13 Points - 15th
12 - Unbreakable - 09 - 12 - 14 - 40 - 36 = 111 - 3rd
13 - C'Était Ma Vie - 07 - 10 - 08 - 12 - 09 = 46 Points - 10th

14 - Wrong To Let You Go - 12 - 07 - 20 - 18 - 27 = 84 Points - 6th

15 - It's Your Love - 18 - 20 - 18 - 32 - 60 = 148 Points - 1st

Third, I had the 6 Songs compete in a Final. In the Final, I selected my winner in Two Rounds of Voting. In the First Round, I listened to all 6 Songs Six times. I awarded points after the 3rd and 6th listen. The top 3 Songs advanced to the Second Round, where I awarded "Televotes" to select my winner.

Final - Round 01 -
Number - Title - Vote 01 - Vote 02 - Total - Place - Q?
01 - Real Love - 04 - 02 = 06 Points - 6th
02 - Masquerade - 06 - 04 = 10 Points - 4th

03 - Black Symphony - 12 - 10 = 22 Points - 1st =

04 - Unbreakable - 08 - 08 = 16 Points - 3rd
05 - Wrong To Let You Go - 02 - 06 = 08 Points - 5th
06 - It's Your Love - 10 - 12 = 22 Points - 1st =

Final - Round 02 -
Number - Title - Televote - Place
01 - Black Symphony - 69 452 Votes - 2nd
02 - Unbreakable - 62 157 Votes - 3rd
03 - It's Your Love - 72 895 Votes - 1st