1998–2019: Early life and career beginnings Muharremaj was born in
Saanen,
Bern, Switzerland to a
Kosovo Albanian father from
Gjinoc, part of
Suharekë municipality in Kosovo, and an
Albanian mother from
Tirana, Albania. His father, Hysni, is a crane operator and mason. His mother, Elda, has worked in the
Cailler chocolate factory after the family moved to
Broc in 2000. He also has an older brother, Ardit. He grew up in
Broc, where he played
football and did
karate. When he was 7 years old, he discovered his passion for music during music class. Two years later he acquired his stage name after moving his grandfather to tears when he performed
Elvis Presley's "
Can't Help Falling in Love". In 2011, at the age of 12, he competed in the
first season of the talent show
Albanians Got Talent, placing third in the final. One year later, he reached the semi-final of Die grössten Schweizer Talente, the Swiss version of
Got Talent. In 2018, he started his band Gjon’s Tears and the Weeping Willows, consisting of himself and Gaëtan Guélat (drummer), Martino Lepori (guitarist), Pascal Stoll (guitarist) and Samuel Riedo (bassist).
2019: The Voice: la plus belle voix In 2019, he auditioned for the
eighth season of the French singing competition
The Voice: and reached the semi-finals with Team
Mika. In the summer of 2019, the band performed at Swiss music festivals following Gjon’s
The Voice participation, including the
Montreux Jazz Festival, Les Georges, and Les Francomanias.
2020–2022: Eurovision Song Contest In March 2020, Gjon's Tears was announced by the Swiss national broadcaster,
Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), as the
country's representative at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "
Répondez-moi". However, following the contest's cancellation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the broadcaster announced that he would
represent the country at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with a new song. His 2021 entry, "
Tout l'univers" was released on 10 March 2021. "Tout l'univers" placed first in its semi-final. In the final, it won the jury vote and came sixth in the televote. Switzerland placed third overall, behind
France and eventual winner
Italy. Gjon's Tears, along with the song's producers, won the Composer Award in the 2021 edition of the
Marcel Bezençon Awards, voted on by a panel of participating composers in the 2021 contest. In 2021, he gave an interview for
Vanity Teen magazine, talking about his success, the origin of his stage name and his result in the Eurovision Song Contest. In late 2021, he participated in
The Voice All Stars France, but was eliminated in the semi-final. In November 2021, Muharremaj was announced as Best Swiss Act at the
MTV Europe Music Awards in
Budapest. In March 2022, he moved from Switzerland to
Paris, but moved back to Switzerland in May 2024 and became an independent artist, after parting ways with his
Paris-based label, Jo & Co. In March 2022, he was one of the 10 juries for the
French national final for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2022, called; Eurovision France: C’est vous qui décidez!”. He released his sixth single, "Pure" on 28 October 2022, with the music video being released the following month. This music video includes 11 art-inspired scenes and a short appearance of
Geraldine Chaplin.
2023–present: The Game His debut album
The Game was released on 28 April 2023. Gjon was present at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in
Basel, performing his 2020 Eurovision entry "Répondez-moi" as a part of the interval act in the second semi-final of the
2025 contest, alongside other 2020 contestants
Destiny Chukunyere,
the Roop, and
Samira Efendi, who also performed their respective songs of 2020. Additionally, Gjon also performed his 2021 entry "Tout l'univers" as a part of the interval act in the final, alongside other previous Swiss representatives
Luca Hänni,
Paola and
Peter, Sue and Marc. == Discography ==