BLICK reporter Karin Frautschi met Eli Graf in Lucerne.
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Karin Frautschi
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3/17
Graf’s heart beats for music, and she recently released her first song “Only One”.
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Sarah Bachmann
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16/17
At the end of the shoot, Graf even jumped into the pool with his clothes on for the video.
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Karin Frautschi
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17/17
Your team: the music producers Chris Geissler (left) and Alexander Stratigenas.
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Eli Graf (18) from the Zurich Oberland is one of the few of her age who cannot have a say on topics like Netflix. The 18-year-old is very busy: As a top athlete, she is on the football field almost every day: She is the captain of the U19 women’s team at FC Zurich.
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Professionally, she lets her creativity run free in the kitchen – as head chef in a startup sushi restaurant in Zurich-Oerlikon. And now she’s also making music: the young singer released her first song in mid-November.
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Graf started singing two years ago
Bringing everything under one roof is challenging. But: “It’s fun and my family supports me a lot.” She also has tact in her blood from her. Her father sings in a choir and one of her brothers studied music.
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Graf kept her musical talent a secret for a long time. As a child she played Schwyzerörgeli, the courage to sing in front of others, but only found it around two years ago. At that time, she published a video on the Instagram platform in which she sang. After her friends encouraged her to keep going, she started writing her own song. “I put my thoughts on paper that I wasn’t ready to express.”
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Last month the time had finally come: on November 11th at 11:11 am her song «Only One» came out. “The song is about that every person should be aware that you don’t need anyone else to be someone,” says Graf.
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Song appeared on the anniversary of her grandma’s death
She deliberately chose the date of publication. “It is the day of death and the approximate time of death of my grandmother.” The number 11 has always closely linked them. It all started in her childhood: Graf, who is half Swiss and half Serb, learned to count from her grandmother. “I always forgot what 11 means in Serbian,” she says with a smile. She later wore the number on her soccer jersey for a long time.
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Through playing football, she met her best friend Larissa Cremona (18). In addition to top-class sport, the two of them also share their common passion for music. Cremona accompanies Eli Graf on all appearances with the guitar or piano and also participated in the shooting of the «Only One» music video.
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“In mid-August we shot all night long in the Lido Luzern lido,” says Eli Graf. A total of around 40 people were on the set. When it got light again the next day, the 18-year-old had no time to rest, she had to go straight to a football match. “In the cabin my eyes almost closed. During the game, I even scored a goal, ”she recalls and laughs.
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Corona crisis benefited her music
Due to her busy everyday life, the singer generally doesn’t have much time for sleep: “I start to work at 5:45 am. After work I go to training and when I get home I devote myself to music. ”
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At the beginning of the Corona period, however, it also became a little quieter for her. Football training was interrupted for three months. However, Graf put up with this well: “I was able to concentrate fully on the music and successfully completed my apprenticeship as a cook in the summer.” She has also been able to drive a car for around three months and is out on the streets in an old VW Beetle.
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Eli Graf adds: “It was just a shame that some of my concerts were canceled. Hopefully this will be possible again soon. ” After all, football training is now taking place regularly again.