Nemo Mettler (Swiss Standard German:[ˈneːmoˈmɛtlər]; born 3 August 1999), known mononymously as Nemo, is a Swiss musician and singer-rapper who plays the violin, piano and drums.[2] They were the first openly non-binary act to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest, and later won the 2024 contest with the song "The Code". They were the first openly non-binary musician to win the contest, and the third winner representing Switzerland (following the 1956 and 1988 competitions).[3][4]
Career
Nemo at the press conference following their Eurovision win in 2024
Nemo began their interest in music at the age of three, learning to play the violin, piano and drum machine. They studied opera singing from age nine to thirteen.[5] At the age of ten, they joined the Biel children's opera and performed in Mozart's The Magic Flute[6] which was later used as inspiration for "The Code".[7] At thirteen, they performed in the musical I've never been to New York.[8] They also began rapping at this age, competing in Swiss contests and performing songs they independently wrote.[9] They found early success in battle rap as a teenager[10] and performed on season three of the Swiss television show Die grössten Schweizer Talente [de], receiving praise from the judges.[11]
In 2015, Nemo released their first EP Clownfisch, under the name Nemo (CH), which peaked at number 95 in the Swiss charts.[12][13] In 2016, when they were seventeen, Nemo's single "Cypher" went viral.[8] In 2017, Nemo released the EPs Momänt-Kids[14] and Fundbüro under the name Nemo (CH).[15]Fundbüro contained the single "Du",[16] which reached number 4 in Switzerland.[17] "Ke Bock" and "Himalaya" also charted.[8] In the same year they studied solo singing in jazz and pop at Zurich University of the Arts,[9][18] won the SRF 3 Best Talent prize,[8] and later settled in Berlin to pursue their music career.[19] In 2018, Nemo won four Swiss Music Prizes, including best song of the year for Du and best concert performance of the year.[8]
After staying in Los Angeles in 2020, Nemo decided to switch from singing in Swiss German to English.[20][8] On the second season of The Masked Singer Switzerland in 2021, they were unmasked as a panda and finished in fifth place.[21] In 2022, they released their EP Whatever Feels Right, this time under the name Nemo.[22] On 29 February 2024, they were announced as the Swiss representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "The Code", and performed in the second semi-final of the contest, on 9 May.[23] They won the Eurovision final on 11 May with 591 points, becoming the first openly non-binary performer to win the contest; they also finished with the fourth highest amount of points in the final in the competition's history.[24][25]
Nemo Mettler was born in Biel/Bienne in the canton of Bern.[26] Their father, Markus Mettler, is an entrepreneur and inventor, and mother, Nadja Schnetzler, a journalist.[27] Nemo's sister, Ella, is a photographer.[28] She collaborates with Nemo in the artistic direction of their projects.[29] Nemo's first name means 'no one' in Latin. During a mission for the Swiss Red Cross in El Salvador in 2018, they said "my parents thought that if I was no-one, I could become anyone."[30][31]
In 2022, Nemo came out as pansexual via an Instagram story,[32] and as of 2024, they have been in a five-year relationship with their girlfriend, who was the first person they came out to (as non-binary).[33]
In November 2023, Nemo came out as non-binary in an article in the SonntagsZeitung,[34] after being closeted since around 2021.[10] In the article, Nemo also stated that they prefer to be referred to by their given name instead of pronouns in German,[34] and use they/them pronouns in English.[35][36][37]
Following their Eurovision win, Nemo called on the Swiss government to legally recognise a third gender, after this proposal was rejected in 2022.[39] When asked in an interview who they would call first after their win, they responded with Beat Jans, Switzerland's justice minister, stating that "we need to have the representation in our politics". A spokesperson for Jans later stated that the minister had responded and was willing to meet Nemo to discuss the rights of non-binary people in Switzerland.[40] In response to the topic, Green Party member of the National CouncilSibel Arslan wrote on social media that "a non-binary person who officially doesn't exist in Switzerland has won Eurovision 2024", and that the matter was "more relevant than ever", urging the Federal Council to act.[41]
^Brügger, Nadine A. (14 May 2024). "Nemo macht, was Nemo will". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
^Nemo (11 November 2023). "Czg2tCzIoZZ@nemothings". Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024 – via Instagram. My pronouns are they/them, and I'm equally comfortable if you simply use Nemo without any pronouns, especially in German.
^"Das war die Energy Star Night 2017" [That was Energy Star Night 2017]. energy.ch (in Swiss High German). NRJ. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
^"44. Prix Walo". prixwalo.ch (in Swiss High German). Prix Walo. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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