ALBANIA 2023

The Albanian final "Festivali i Këngës" was held on December 22nd at the Palace of Congress in Tirana, hosted by Arbana Osmani. In the days before the final there were two semi-finals which whittled down the field of 26 to 21. In a change to previous editions, although the winner of the festival was determined by the jury vote, the act going to Eurovision would be chosen solely by the SMS voting during the show. Going to Liverpool will be Albina and Familja Kelmendi with the song "Duje"(To Love)

Albina Kelmendi was born in Kosovo and performed with her family from a young ages and came to prominence during the 2014 edition of The Voice Albania where she was the runner up. She has released many songs as had collaborated with numerous Albanian artists over the years but it was only until 2022 when she released her first solo album. It was then announced that Albina, backed by five of her family members, would be participating in Festivali i Këngës

The song begins with Albina centre stage dressed in a black cloak and starts with what seems like a good 30 seconds of familial Albanian wailing. Underneath this the guitar starts revving up and the song finally starts proper. The drum beat keeps the song going through the verse which doesn't really go anywhere. However, the songs changes as the two older members of the family, dressed in white, start on the chorus - a much more memorable part of the song. There is then a brief instrumental accompanied by some simplistic shimmying before another rendition of the verse. We then have an elongated final chorus with Albina becoming very impassioned and finishing the song knelt down on the floor.

This entry caters very well for the home-based FiK audience but as an outsider this song is rather impenetrable. For me, the song only gets going during the repetition of the chorus and that is far too late. The song is on the cusp of the 3 minute mark - rather short compared to many entries chosen from FiK -  so this bodes well for a sympathetic glow up. It needs a clearer direction musically although the use of the orchestra during the festival can give songs a different sound compared to the studio version. It also needs to be much more striking visually with more made of the family aspect of the act and the song, Many of the other members on stage looked scared and unsure on stage and maybe more definite staging would help e.g. the hand movement during the chorus really makes the group look and feel like a cohesive unit. It has already been confirmed the song will stay in Albanian which is a smart move. This song has hints of promise but right now lacks clear direction and personality. 

For me this song is all about that chorus. Shorten the warbling at the start and make the second verse shorter, there might be more space to add more parts of the chorus and make a bigger feature at the end. Unfortunately Albania has a habit of ruining its Eurovision songs either in the revamp/shortening process or by making the stage show more complicated. This song is currently too muddled and takes too many listens to become familiar enough to remember. That all said, there is something charming and lovely about a family performing together. I hope it can be pulled together to make something more notable.

ARTIST - Albina and Familja Kelmendi

SONG - Duje (To Love)

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Enis Mullaj, Eriona Rushiti