A little bit of history...
Albania made their debut at Eurovision in 2004 with the wonderfully catchy Image of you. They managed
to make it through to the final quite comfortably where they secured another top ten placing. Unfortunately their beginner's
luck came to a halt last year, when Ledina Celo could only manage 16th place. This year they find themselves back in
the semi final and to advance to the final they'll need a belter of a song...
Singer & Song
Luiz Ejlli, Zjarr e Ftohte
Luiz himself is a rather weedy looking fellow, resembling something close to a skeleton... I personally think Albania
have had much better to offer in terms of looks and performers, but no doubt he'll do his song as much justice as he can on
the night. The song itself isn't great. Sure, they're the only country to bring bagpipes to Eurovision this year,
but I can't help thinking they've done better on their previous two attempts. I'd imagine Balkan neighbours will like
this, but I don't see many others going for it. I think the song should have been converted to english to open up some
more appeal and I would be very surprised to see this do well.
Prediction
Won't Qualify: 15th-17th place
I really doubt he can pull it off, and I really don't want him to. I think there are much better songs in the semi
final, more deserving of a place in the top ten. This is one of only two songs I really don't want to see qualify.
Albania will receive points no doubt, the French and Greeks have favoured them with points of late, not to mention their neighbours,
so I think 15th-17th is a reasonable expectation for Albania.
Prediction after Semi-Final
Albania failed to qualify.
Review of the Eurovision Performance
Luiz gave a sound performance of Zharr E Ftohte - better than many were expecting. It was one of the many songs
of the Contest that really benefitted from being performed live on stage. He looked well - though the presentation was
slightly awry - the presence of a boyband as his backing singers and two old men, playing instruments and doing some Balkan
chants didn't really help much. The song isn't great, and I'd suggest that's why it didn't qualify, rather than blaming
poor Luiz for his performance. Regarding my prediction, it turns out I was spot on, Luiz picked up enough votes from
neighbours not to be totally shamed, but it still wasn't enough to make the Final. Better luck next year Albania!
