Wiwi Jury: Albania’s Mishela Rapo with “Dambaje”

Earlier this afternoon the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — flew to Tirana to soak in the nightlife at Mother Teresa Square. After getting our dose of Albanian culture we wound down by reviewing Mishela Rapo‘s JESC 2015 song “Dambaje”. Did we want to dance along to the beat of the song, or were we left racing to switch it off? Read on to find out…

ALBANIA’S JUNIOR EUROVISION 2015 SONG

“DAMBAJE” REVIEWS – ALBANIA AT JESC 2015

Angus: Omg LION KING VIBES. This is the stuff Junior Eurovision dreams are made of — no screaming children, no shrieking vocals, just pure effervescence. So they have to harmonize live — who cares! They can nail that in mixing with backing singers. This is the bomb. Team Albania yaaaas!

Score: 9/10

William: Sweet, catchy and memorable, this feel-good number reminds me of Shakira’s World Cup song “Waka, Waka”. Its charming Disney qualities will appeal to children, while the Bob Marley rhythms will remind many adult jury members of the freedom of their lost youth (and the mistakes they made on their honeymoon to the Carribbean). Mishela is a likeable character and I’m convinced this is one to watch.

Score: 9/10

Josh: I’ve always believed that Albania’s JESC 2015 entry was an underdog that deserved more attention. After the release of the official clip and the studio version I really hope this lives up to my very high expectations. The African-esque tribal sound is paired with an exceptionally catchy chorus, which makes for a mature yet child-friendly track. The message of the song is to share a “hello” with everyone, regardless of their background. Well, hello Mishela Rapo! Nice job!

Score: 8.5/10

Robyn: Albania is trying something quite different here with an African- and Jamaican-influenced song. Mishela has a rich, soulful voice which really suits this. Sometimes I’m reminded of the Lion King soundtrack, and “Dambaje” will surely bring a chilled-out summer groove to autumnal Sofia.

Score: 7/10

Deban: The elements I love about this track have little to do with Mishela Rapo. The pre-recorded ethnic refrain makes “Dambaje” stand out. However, it creates disharmony with wardrobe, styling and choreography too.

Score: 6/10

William C: This is easily my favourite entry from Albania! It is very energetic, with African beats that take me to Nairobi. Her voice is amazing, with some interesting quirks that make it memorable and original. I can listen to this for days on end — it is as addictive as sugar! But the dress needs to go. Thankfully there is plenty of time to change that.

Score: 9/10

George: Mishela serves up a distinctive voice and performance that made me stop and go, “Oh my god, what’s that?” This really grows on repeat listen, which will only help it during the voting recap.

Score: 6.5/10

Our jury consists of 21 people, but we only have room for 7 written reviews. Here are the remaining 14 scores.

Antranig: 7.5/10

Bernardo: 6.5/10

Diego: 7/10

Edd: 9/10

Jason: 6.5/10

Liam: 9.5/10

Luis: 9/10

Marek: 10/10

Mario: 6.5/10

Renske: 7/10

Rezo: 5/10

Sinan: 8/10

Sopon: 5/10

Zakaria: 9/10

The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 5 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.66/10

REVIEW THE LATEST WIWI JURY RANKINGS AND REVIEWS

SEE OUR LATEST JUNIOR EUROVISION 2015 COVERAGE