ALBANIA

Christmas Day saw the final of the "Festivali i Këngës 2010" heldat at the Palace of Congress in Tirana, which saw the second entry of Eurovision 2011 chosen.

Aurela Gaçe won the festival with her song "Kënga ime" (My Song). It is very likely that the song will eventually be re-scored and re-written into English. The song is a mid-tempo song, where the verses are sang slowly and lightly and chorus is sung at a faster cadence with more power. The song has a very Middle Eastern feel to it and one might be forgiven by listening to the intro that you were hearing the Turkish entry. The first verse of the song certainly seems dark and mysterious, it starts to build at the bridge and leads into an explosive chorus which brings out it's rockier tones. The second verse is a little more rockier and the chorus definately has its hooks in the melody and instruments in the backing track.

I do however have some reservations about the song. The chorus to me is a bit shouty, a bit strained and can sound a little bit forced at times. I can imagine on a bad day this could sound very screechy and even off key. The song does have a middle eastern feel and although this may appeal to the eastern european countries, this kind 'arabian ballad' may not have reaching appeal.

Also Aurela has a very strange bowl head haircut going on and her dressmaker obviously thought she had very long arms...

I will be very intersted to know if this will be translated as this may affect the appeal of the song. So - not bad, but with some reservations.

SINGER - Aurela Gaçe
SONG - Kënga ime (My Song)
MUSIC- Shpëtim Saraçi
WORDS - Sokol Marsi

SWITZERLAND

So the first full entry has now been chosen by Switzerland !

The Swiss Final was held on December 11th at the Bodensee Arena in Kreuzlingen and Anna Rossinelli sings “In love for a while”.
A very laid back pop song with lots of memorable parts, including what I am hoping to be this year's must have accessory –the ukulele. The song and the singer are reminiscent of “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat, as well as that slightly Hawaiian sound of Jack Johnson about it. In that way it already sounds familiar, which can be no bad thing in terms of Eurovision. I am not to sure about the 'na-na-na' bit in the middle, it could do with a bit more ooomph, action or dancing and interaction during that bit. Shame there is no key change either.

But let’s get down to the nitty gritty - would it get out of the semifinal and into the final? Well that is a bit difficult as I have nothing to compare it too, but I have to say this is a good opening gambit by the Swiss and they seem to have come up with something that is at least half decent. My only reservation is that it is sooooo laid back and quiet and does not have that much of a stage presence that it might get lost with more up-tempo and busy tracks around them. But as Tom Dice proved last year sometimes the minimalist approach works.

What do you think?


SINGER - Anna Rossinelli
SONG - In Love For A While
MUSIC -David Klein
WORDS - David Klein