REACTING TO ALBANIA'S ENTRY

On last December, we witnessed the Final of Albania's National Final, Festivali i Këngës 57, from where the first song, and artist, got the ticket to Tel Aviv. The fortunate one was Jonida Maliqi with her song, "Ktheju Tokes". 

Here in our recent blog, we will be singularly reacting to this entry, and also evaluating it.

Hope each and every one of you can review yourselves in our opinions!

Francisco

As you probably have already read in the post's introduction, it was Jonida Maliqi who got the win at Festivali i Këngës with Ktheju Tokes. What can I say about this entry? I absolutely love it! To start with, I love how the song has that mysterious vibe surrounding it, Jonida is a great vocalist, something that Albania has accostumed us in the last few years. I really like how well produced it is, this instrumental is really ethnic, which is something that is always something you want in an Eurovision song, and I couldn't be any more enthusiasmed by it. The lyrics are about a situation that is very common in Albania, which is emmigration, and how it hurts to be away from your family and loved ones, so it's something that truly represents the country right. Going back to Jonida's voice, you can really see that pain that is being far away from who you love, and I can feel that while she sings, even when I didn't knew what the lyrics are about, I could feel that pain within her voice, and I find that great in a vocalist, besides that it's really important to have the ability to do so when you sing in a foreign language. The song has also a powerful chorus where Jonida shows us once again her vocal capacities, that's a plus, and also it comes to life when performed live, that's another good sign. Wrapping up, I think this song can have a good chance at bringing Albania it's first Eurovision victory, even though there are few songs known by the time I'm writing this. Overall, I give this song a 9,5 rating out of 10, I think it has even more potential in Eurovision than what was presented to us in Albania's national final. We'll have to wait till May to find out wheter it lives up to it's potential or flops!

SCORE: 9,5/10


Sérgio

When I heard this for the first time I didn't even care about the lyrics because I don't speak Albanian, instead I just focused in the music and her interpretation. You can see that there is a good conjugation between typical balkanic intruments and more typical pop sounds that you usually hear at Eurovision.
Even though I like how well the song is built, I do think Jonida's voice could be more imposing for this type of song. For that I will rate this song 8 out of 10.

SCORE: 8/10


Joana

Ktheju Tokes is a powerful song, altough it is a bit repetitive... I think Jonida's image could be improved, so it can help her performance be stronger and more atmospheric. It has all the components to be a strong and emotive performance at Tel Aviv, but I didn't feel that when the song was presented to us in the National Final. That being said, I will give this a 6 out of 10.

SCORE: 7/10


Nina

Despite its wonderful ethnic melody, this song is not my cup of tea. I think the lyrics are a bit repetitive, but on the other hand, the song's subject makes it strong. However, I think that it isn't necessary to show Jonida's vocal extension (which is quite good) so many times, and that bores me a bit. I don't know what to expect from this at Tel Aviv, but regarding the staging, I hope Jonida can stand out, and that the delegation can give vivacity to the scenario and work out the camera angles well. For me it's a 6 out of 10

SCORE: 6/10


Other ratings:

Martim: 6,5/10

Cano: 7/10

AVERAGE SCORE: 7,33

Do you think Albania's in for a shot at winning Eurovision? How well do you think this can go?
Let us know in the comments section!
Have an awesome day!