Nemo (singer)

Swiss singer (born 1999) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nemo (singer)

Nemo Mettler (Swiss Standard German: [ˈneːmo ˈmɛtlər]; 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]

Quick Facts Background information, Birth name ...
Nemo
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Nemo in 2024
Background information
Birth nameNemo Mettler
Born (1999-08-03) 3 August 1999 (age 25)
Biel, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • violin
  • piano
  • drums
LabelsBakara Music[1]
Websitenemothings.com
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Career

Summarize
Perspective
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Nemo at the press conference following their Eurovision win in 2024

Mettler 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, Mettler 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, Mettler's single "Cypher" went viral.[8] In 2017, they 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, Mettler 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, Mettler 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]

Personal life

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Perspective
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Nemo at Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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, Mettler 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 as non-binary to.[33]

In November 2023, Mettler publicly came out as non-binary in an article in the SonntagsZeitung,[34] after being closeted since around 2021.[10] In the article, Mettler also stated that they prefer to be referred to by their given name, Nemo, instead of pronouns in German,[34] and by they/them pronouns in English.[35][36][37]

Mettler currently lives in Berlin.[38]

Activism

Following their Eurovision win, Mettler 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 Council Sibel 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]

Discography

Extended plays

More information Title, Details ...
List of EPs, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
SWI
[17]
Clownfisch 95
Momänt-Kids
  • Released: 21 October 2017[14]
  • Label: Bakara Music
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
Fundbüro
  • Released: 17 November 2017[15]
  • Label: Bakara Music
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
Whatever Feels Right
  • Released: 9 September 2022[22]
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
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Singles

As lead artist

More information Title, Year ...
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP
SWI
[17]
FIN
[42]
GER
[43]
IRE
[44]
ITA
[45]
NLD
[46]
NOR
[47]
SWE
[48]
UK
[49]
WW
[50]
"Himalaya" 2016 27 Momänt-Kids
"Style"
(with Marc Amacher)
2017 Non-album single
"Du" 4 Fundbüro
"Usserirdisch" 64
"Crush uf di" 2018 77 Non-album singles
"5i uf de Uhr" 2019 31
"365"
"Girl us mire City"
"Dance with Me" 2020
"Video Games"
"Hailey"
(with Chelan)
2021 Orange & Blue
"Certified Pop Queen" Non-album singles
"Chleiderchäschtli"
(with KT Gorique [fr])
"Lonely AF" 2022 Whatever Feels Right
"Own Sh¡t"
"F*ck Love"
(with Anthony de la Torre)
"Be like You"
"This Body" 2023 Non-album singles
"Falling Again" 2024
"The Code" 1314561131351852
  • IFPI SWI: Platinum[51]
"Eurostar" 54
"Satellite"[a] 2025
"Casanova"
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
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More information Title, Year ...
Title Year Album or EP
"Sheriff"
(Visu featuring Nemo)
2016 Sex & Röschti
"Singer"
(Dodo [de] featuring Nemo)
2017 Pfingstweid
"Legend"
(Stress featuring Nemo)
2019 Sincèrement
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Other charted songs

More information Title, Year ...
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP
SWI
[17]
"Ke bock" 2017 31 Momänt-Kids
"Kunstwärch" 90 Fundbüro
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Awards and achievements

More information Year, Award ...
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017 Energy Star Night Energy Music Award Themself Won [52]
Prix Walo Best Newcomer Won [53]
Swiss Music Awards Best Talent Won [54]
2018 Best Male Solo Act Won [55][56]
Best Breaking Act Won
Best Live Act Won
Best Hit "Du" Won
2024 OUTmusic Award Eurovision Song of the Year "The Code" Won [57]
Eurostory Award Best Lyrics Won [58]
MTV Europe Music Awards Best Swiss Act Themself Won [59]
Eurovision Awards Best Artistic Vision Nominated [60][61]
Vocal Powerhouse Award Won
Style Icon Runner-up
Best Music Video "The Code" Runner-up
Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards Person of the Year Themself Won [62]
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Notes

  1. Released exclusively as a Spotify single.

References

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