This coming Thursday, 19 December, Albania‘s Festivali i Këngës 58 will begin. Over three nights, the competing artists will perform their songs and one will be chosen to represent Albania at Eurovision 2020. But do YouTube view counts already give us an idea of who might be stepping onto the Rotterdam stage in May?
As of Saturday morning, there’s one video that has been seriously clocking up view counts. Since being uploaded on Monday 9 December, Elvana Gjata’s video for “Me tana” has had over 1.67 million views.
That already makes it the most popular video uploaded to broadcaster RTSH’s YouTube channel. In second place with 1.25 million views is Enida Tarifa’s “Fairytale” music video. In third place is a how-to video for making delicious Albanian baklava, with 1.22 million views.
Elvana has a substantial fanbase who have her on replay. The Albanian diva’s 2018 music video “Mike” has previously clocked up over 74 million views, showing her popularity.
But it’s not just Albanian fans who have been watching the “Me tana” video. The clip has been trending in neighbouring North Macedonia (No.10) and Greece (No.45). The video has also been spotting in trending in Switzerland.
The other 19 competing songs of Festivali i Këngës 58 don’t come close to the view counts of “Me tana”. Second on the list is Arilena Ara’s clip for “Shaj”. It has over 400,000 views but that’s only one-quarter of the 1.67 million that “Me tana” has. In third place, Eli Fara & Stresi’s “Bohemë” has over 249,000 views.
Does Elvana Gjata’s YouTube popularity predict a Festivali i Këngës win?
In contests that have a televote component, it’s reasonable to see a correlation between YouTube views and contest success. In both national finals and Eurovision itself, acts that have popular music videos have gone on to place well. It suggests that existing fans of a song are inspired to vote.
But there’s another factor to consider with Festivale i Këngës 58: there’s no televote.
The winner of the contest will be decided by jury vote alone, which is standard for Festivali i Këngës. And while Elvana’s fans may be loving her song, the members of the jury could have other ideas.
Eurovision Fun reports that Greek maestro Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the experts who will serve on the FiK58 jury.
But the man knows his bops. The frequent Eurovision song composer has previously been behind such uptempo entries as “Shady Lady”, “This Is Our Night” and “You Are the Only One”. If Elvana’s “Me tana” is staged and performed well, it might be just the sort of thing that would appeal to Kontopoulos’ tastes.
Or could another song come alive at the FiK58 grand final and win over the jury?
Festivali i Këngës 58 begins on Thursday night (December 19), continues on Friday, with the grand final this Sunday, December 22.
What do you think? Do the “Me tana” YouTube views predict a win for Elvana? Or will another act win? Tell us your thoughts below!
Love this song
From Germany
Love this Song ????
I hope Era Rusi wins..
Boy, Albania surely can do better than choosing this repetitive shawarma song . Though I kinda dig that guitar intro.
uh, the intro is more a violin i think first of all
and this song is in the typical upbeat music of Albania’s current pop scene
and i think she can sell it better live than studio, more authentic and real
Robyn I love you but are articles like this really necessary?
“Does a song being streamed a lot correlate to them being a possible winner?” is a very empty prediction criteria that has almost never worked when it comes to national finals, especially ones that do not work on a 50/50 vote system.
Stop promoting this song already Albania has better songs there and I hope they win
I think is CRAZY that Me Tana got 2 million views in a week, but i think she won’t win… Maybe to five, or what happened last year, i don’t remember his name
in 2018, the fan favourite also won
but stop comparing this edition to any previous edition, this one has no albanian juries, just foreign jury members, and me tana for sure has appeal, but elvana needs to work hard like anyone else for her live performance, and she knows that herself too
This.
Lol Eurovision fans are so ridiculous. Just because a song has a drop, doesn’t mean a song is automatically a Fuego rip-off. Like seriously, when listening to Me tana for the first time Fuego didn’t even come to mind.
Not to mention that for the millionth time, FiK does NOT serve as a Eurovision selection, it is its own independent festival. If Elvana created the song specifically for Eurovision, it wouldn’t have crossed the 3 minute mark. Stop being so cynical.
Elvana can cut the song down to 3 minutes though, anyone can whoever hasn’t got a song there within 3 minutes
but she won’t have to, since i am 100% sure she won’t win, this overhype has made it a flop
You are severely misguided if you think that the Eurovision fandom is going to have any effect on the Albanian public’s/jury’s perception.
I’ve had enough of Fuego rip offs.
Carry Me in Your Dreams is shaking.
I actually think it’s a better bop than most of the fandom obsessions in the last few years. Though the parts without lyrics sound too obvious for my ears. And they’re quite long. Nothing that a revamp couldn’t fix, but I fear they would get rid of the good intro instead. Anyway, as long Elvana gives a great performance, it wouldn’t be a bad winner. But in terms of quality, I don’t see this or any other entry playing in a different league from the others. There are a few tracks that so far interested me more than “Me Tana”.
It’s really not that great in my opinion. Repititive song.
I really think that the overhyping of “Me Tana” unjustly overshadows the other acts who are so good this year, and don’t get nearly as much attention.
Yes, it’s a great song, and will deserve to win, but I honestly prefer “era Merre” as the upbeat song of the selection, and also the ballads ( “Ankth”, “Shaj” and more) are great this year and also deserve to win.
I just hope that the judges are fair and open minded.
agree, and the views make it seem me tana is the only good song, bit condescending to other entries in this years FiK, it is a very strong selection of songs
Valon gets underappreciated, while his intro bit of his good 80’s retro rock is very special, and also from a former esc alumni in composer team, Eugent Bushpepa
A voting were the winner is probably already decided by some corrupt forces behind the scenes is utterly despicable. And yet I’m still excited about finding out who wins the Albanian voting charade. If it’s true that it is only three people deciding the winner (albeit an international jury this time), I’m not sure if that’s a step forward or backwards in terms of fairness and democracy. A curious thought: maybe whoever is in charge implemented this international jury BECAUSE they want the fan favorite to win? This jury is highly unusual for FiK.
comparing Elvana to Adele LOL, Adele is a real music artist, Elvana is just another Tamta, Eleni, Ivi, Beyonce, Shakira
i am predicting Elvana to be quite static, still on stage with dancers around her, so underwhelming performance i expect, and i predict her to not even survive the semi in FiK but flopping due to there being better live performances from others than her
So Beyonce and Shakira are not real artists but only Adele is? Tell me how you like to cry like a baby over her music 😀
Sorry to disappoint you.. I’ve already seen their rehearsal and she IS dancing. The choreography is amazing , it’s very ‘Albanian’. .. Aaand faster than my wifi
Sorry, but rooting for Arilena here. She will be the best live
Being the public’s favourite is the one sure way to NOT win the vote of the Albanian Jury, such a corrupt regime
uh luckily Elvana is more aware of that her live performance is what counts, of course she appreciates people liking her song but she is a true artist (for 18 years now honestly, she has been performing since age of 14 in 2001)
and your comment about the Jury, also not very nice to say
Albanian Jury?
Only three international juries are gonna be involved in FiK 58.
I’m still having a hard time believing only 3 people to decide the outcome of a song contest let them be all foreigners outside the albanian music scene. This would be the most ridiculous FIK.
There will be albanian juries of course, we just don’t know how many If we go with 9 like last year this could be 6+3
It is still unknown if that’s the case, however. A source has stated it might possibly only use these three international juries for the whole result.
what really ? i get it they might not be the most advanced country but not having televoting at the dawn of 2020 is ridiculous ! the public wants to have a say in the decisions, not three random foreigners lmao
Different perspective here: Yll’s ballad is still in my top 10 of NF songs of 2017, while Lindita’s ballad didn’t break my ESC top 20.
Anyway, giving 1/13 is an illusion of importance. Either give the people at least 25% of the vote or make it 100% jury.
I still think 50/50 voting between jury and televote is the best way to proceed, but there are other things they could try. Not a fan of superfinals, but there could be one just to decide between the top jury entries. In any case, giving that much of a power to only 3 people is ask for trouble.
they should try giving televoters a 50% importance, of course they won’t think it’s worth voting if they only decide 8% of the vote
Cutting to the chase, no. Youtube views mean little in a contest decided by a jury vote.
When you give too much (or in this case, ALL the) power to the juries, they literally can go in any unpopular direction they want and completely disregard the most popular or indeed, the best, song (think Romania 2019, people).
My favorite is Era Rusi :s
Very good song
#18 in Greek trendings, #6 in North Macedonia, the most viewed video of FiK ever and yet the jury might decide to send a ballad cause people cant vote. Well, this voting system is quite questionable.
now also in switzerland apparently 🙂
you don’t know what jury thinks either so have faith
If they dont send the first entry of FiK that has so much buzz then i dont know what to say. With a small revamp the song is a bop, elvana has an amazing voice, i dont get why they should send another ballad
Remember when Poland in 2014 had millions of views before and they came 14th in ESC so i dont believe in views. I believe in results on the night 🙂
Well, Cleo&Donatan came 5th with the televote. With the new voting system Poland would have finished 8th.
Song ruined by an awful mid-english revamp. I hope Albania will not do the same mistake with “Me Tana”. You want an ethnic bop and you’re gonna sing it in english after all WTF!
true, but Elvana sounds so good in own language, her english has a annoying accent
if anything needs to be changed, just the instrumentals in some places but she gotta cut it down by 35 seconds anyway to fit the 3 minute length requirement more
Albania has learned from that ”english” mistake twice now (with Mall, and last time Ktheju Tokes)
Really would love to see Elvana in Rotterdam, but don’t want to get my hopes up because of the jury vote. Still, Juliana Pasha won Festivali i Këngës with an upbeat song, so I think it’s possible.
I always think: a good song is a good song, regardless of the genre (pop, ballad, rock). And I don’t think the jury won’t vote for her simply because it’s an upbeat song. But, of course, everyone has a different opinion on what is ‘good’.
Juliana’s composer is a powerful man.
This song gives me Sirusho vibes… And that is great!
It’s #6* on trending in Macedonia.
not in Northmacedonia ;)?
a country with 1/3 albanian population so
*North Macedonia
I hope for Arilena
*fingers crossed
another time for Arilena pls, she ain’t even best of ballads here, because best ballad belongs to Alberie
Speaking of (female) ballads, I have three favorites – Arilena, Wendi and Kanita. I’d say that each song has it’s assets. Shaj is probably the most polished one, Ende has the most interesting structure, while Ankth is the best written one.
Shaj i find surprisingly underwhelming coming from ”Proud” composer Darko Dimitrov
Wendi’s belongs in the 00’s she would’ve been a contender in a ESC that decade for sure, good voice just outdated
Kanita well, yes ankth is best written, but doesn’t drag you in immediately
I wouldn’t say that Ende is any more old-fashioned than the majority of FiK songs. I don’t mind it. Balkan music ages differently and songs like Besidoj me serenaten or Ajer are something that could be heard in local festivals. A good song is a good song. What Ende needs is an even better ende-ing. If it gets shortened for ESC, it would need a more epic finish.
As for Ankth, I do agree there is something in verses that needs a higher impact to go along with the chorus.
The more I listen to it, the more I like Ankth, it’s well written and perfomed. But yeah, it unfortunately lacks some impact, thinking about being competitive in Eurovision. I feel the same about Ende, by the way. From the ballads, I guess Arilena, Sara and Tiri seem to have songs that could bring an extra emotional push with a live performance.
Still, you never know. December 22nd is the moment where this question is gonna be answered.
Albania will be a thunderstorm if she doesn’t win. But usually the best or most popular song never wins @ FiK.
she’s the most famous act but with 100% jury vote u never kno. i don’t think she’s the runaway winner based on the song
I agree. Me tana is a decent song, but so are many others. Based on recent FiK winners, I expect an artist who has previously participated in FiK and who has a flawless live vocals. Olta Boka, Tiri Gjoci, Bojken Lako, Genc Tukici come to mind as examples. But I believe that Elvana will be up there for the win. It’s a catchy song of genre renowned amongst ESC fans in the last 2 years. However, this in not a case of a runaway winner. Not even close.
I can’t see Bojken Lako winning ._.
I think the winner might be Elvana, Arilena or Valon (such a rich voice and a great rock song and just 2 years ago we saw Eugent – who also composed Valon’s entry – achieving an impressive 11th place with a rock song and a great voice)
I believe that’s also my top 3 🙂
Another act I believe juries would love is Kamela, as her entry sounds like a James Bond theme song :3 High quality entry
Maybe Ankth as well
Valon with that song is capable of production, staging a hard rock champion like Lordi in 2006
I found this rehearsal for Me Tana on youtube – it sounds great so far!
https://youtu.be/eGLGDfrvccI
very much agree with you
Idk, I still don’t buy it …
I hope the jury will get translations and study these songs. I have read the lyrics of many of them (Me tana, Me goten bosh, Ende, Shaj, Loja, Kutia e Pandores, Eja merre, Melodi, Ju flet Tirana, Ankth, Bohem, Ajer and Bote per dy) and I have to admit they are mostly all pretty solid! Yes, even dance songs like Melodi and Eja merre have fine lyrics. Some songs are truly poetic. I think that Ankth and Loja are exceptionally well written. I am really putting some things into perspective now. Apparently, those who speak Albanian say that Asaj also… Read more »
Eja Merre is too dated to appeal to juries
i can see Me Tana, Melodi being in top 3 as most mainstream (what juries normally look for what is easily appealing, current)
Valon’s Kutia e Pandores is 80’s rock but it sounds quite timeless, it could be a dark horse, but juries might think differently idk
Kontopoulos definitely knows his bops, he won 2 artistry awards at eurovision too, so if Elvana has right staging, performance for Me Tana yes she could win
As said, live shows will be crucial
How ever, I feel like this song is a bit too hyped
It’s a great song and all but I feel it lacks some power
There are several entries I liked from first listening and they are (in random order): Shaj, Melodi (cute), Me Tana, Më Ngjyros, Ankth, Kutia e Pandorës, Ajër and Ende
Mostly: Shaj, Me Tana, Më Ngjyros, Ankth and Kutia e Pandorës
I’ll be listening to them more times and wait for the live shows to determine my winner :3
A live performance will make or break the hype. We’ve seen this before in a lot of hyped up national selection entries in the past. Elvana will need to do good to score well with the international jurors especially if she can manage to translate her song seamlessly with the FIK orchestra.
maybe Orchestra gives it that more authenticity appeal, who knows
(“Cool Me Down” starts playing in the distance…)
don’t compare a true artist Elvana to a Margaret pls
the difference is, Margaret never deserved hype for her entries, Elvana does
many many positivity from people who know her for a longer time than most of us
she also has some experience, collab with david guetta for ”forever is over” for example