You and Me (Takasa song)

Background

In 2012, the Swiss Salvation Army started considering the idea to participate in the national selection of Eurovision Song Contest 2013. According to the project manager of the Salvation Army, Martin Künzi, competing in the Eurovision Song Contest was initially "just a crazy idea", but it was well received by many "enthusiastic supporters" within the Christian movement. An internal casting was therefore held among the members of the Salvation Army, resulting in the selection of the six musicians of the band, named Heilsarmee. The members of the band — Emil Ramsauer, Michael Sterckx, Katharina Hauri, Christoph Jakob, Sarah Breiter, Jonas Gygax — are amateur musicians between 20 and 94 years old. Ramsauer at 94 is the oldest ever Eurovision contestant, beating the record set in previous year by Natalya Pugacheva, one of the members of the Russian band Buranovskiye Babushki.

In early October 2012, it was announced that, after recording the song, Heilsarmee had submitted it to the SF regional selection through the official website of the German-language Swiss television. On 12 November 2012 the song was admitted the national final, after a voting process combining internet televotes and points awarded by a jury of industry experts. On 15 December 2012, "You and Me" was therefore performed during Die grosse Entscheidungs Show. Heilsarmee's entry was the most voted song, thus beating the remaining eight contestants and being chosen to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.

The selection of the song received some criticisms by German entertainer and LGBT rights activist Hella von Sinnen. According to von Sinnen, since the Salvation Army is a strict Christian organization with conservative opinions about LGBT rights, this could represent an obstacle for Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, which has a strong gay and lesbian fanbase.

Track list

• Digital download

1. "You and Me" – 2:54

Personnel

• Takasa
  • Emil Ramsauer – double bass
  • Michael Sterckx – trombone
  • Katharina Hauri – drum, backing vocals
  • Christoph Jakob – lead vocals, electric guitar
  • Sarah Breiter – vocals
  • Jonas Gygax – electric guitar

Chart performance

Release history

References

References

1. Baroni, Oliver. (4 October 2012). "Mit Heilsarmee zum Schweizer ESC-Erfolg?". [[20 Minuten]].
2. Repo, Juha. (12 November 2012). "The Swiss final line-up complete". ESCToday.com.
3. Brey, Marco. (15 December 2012). "It's Heilsarmee for Switzerland!". European Broadcasting Union.
4. (16 December 2012). "Découvrez le titre qui représentera la Suisse". [[20 Minuten]].
5. (16 December 2012). "Die Heilsarmee vertritt die Schweiz am Eurovision Song Contest". [[Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen]].
6. "Hella von Sinnen: Heilsarmee wird Gays vor den Kopf stossen". [[Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen]].
7. "Heilsarmee & Armée Du Salut / The Salvation Army Switzerland – You and Me". [[Allmusic]].
8. (4 October 2012). "Heilsarmee rockt für einen guten Zweck". Presse Portal.
9. "You And Me – Single by The Salvation Army Switzerland". [[iTunes Store]] (Switzerland). [[Apple Inc.]].
10. "You and Me – The Salvation Army Switzerland, Heilsarmee & Armée du Salut". [[Amazon.com.