Way back in December 2019, Arilena Ara won Albania’s Festivali i Këngës 58 with the song “Shaj”. Earlier this week, the singer revealed the revamped version of the track that she will be taking to Eurovision 2020, “Fall From The Sky”.

Albania has a history of revamping their Eurovision songs after Festivali i Këngës takes place. But, we want to know if you think this is a good revamp year, or a bad revamp year for the Balkan nation.

You can listen to both versions of the song below and identify what the major changes are between “Shaj” and “Fall From The Sky”. Then vote in our poll. Be aware that you can only vote once, so make sure you’re certain of you’re decision before submitting your vote.

What are the differences between “Shaj” and “Fall From The Sky”?

While the original was in Arilena’s native Albanian, the revamp sees the star switch to the English language.

The first verses are more high-pitched now. While in “Shaj” Arilena began almost whispering, in “Fall From The Sky” she enters the song in a manner more consistent with what follows.

The violin has been the biggest loser in the revamp: the one at the beginning has been transformed into a piano and the song has lost the epic string interlude before the final chorus.

In exchange, there’s a little section in which Arilena sings: “You think I’m better without a way to speak my mind, you think I don’t wanna shout and that I’m terrified, screaming inside with nowhere to hide”, right before belting out the sentence “You won’t let me fly”.

After that comes a key change that leads into a powerful final chorus which becomes a wall of sound as Arilena nails one note after the other.

Arilena Ara – “Shaj”

Arilena Ara – “Fall From The Sky”

Poll: Do you prefer Arilena Ara’s revamped “Fall From The Sky” or original song “Shaj”?

[crowdsignal poll=10519106]

What do you think? Are you #TeamShaj or #TeamFallFromTheSky? Sound off in the comments below!

Read more Albania Eurovision news here

75 Comments
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Malo
Malo
4 years ago

Not a fan of either version, but you should really open your mind and accept other musical styles, instead of only Western Pop Ballads in English.

Jago
Jago
4 years ago

Arilena is fantastic.
If Albanians are not happy with the revamp they should complain, not anyone else. Just stop it.

notyourtoy
notyourtoy
4 years ago

Shaj is better as a song, though Fall From The Sky suits Arilena better than the first one. By the way, Shaj was originally made so that she could sing it in English, but she should have an Albanian version to be able to sing in Festivali i Kenges

ALEX
ALEX
4 years ago

She has a lot of fans. However, this song is UNDEFENDABLE. It’s boring, uninspiring and she in WAY over her head to think this is good.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
4 years ago
Reply to  ALEX

So, what is she supposed to do then?

Jago
Jago
4 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Arilena won. She will sing Fall from the sky. She will represent ALBANIA. End of discussion. LOL
Me Tana studio was great, live was not great. Move on lol It has been a couple months now.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
4 years ago

Just to annoy some of you, I could write an unnecessarily detailed musical analysis. 😛
Instead, I will just say “good luck” to Arilena and the Albanian team with whichever version of the song they go with.

Serafina
Serafina
4 years ago

Fall from the sky’s production but the Albanian lyrics = 10/10

Marseille
Marseille
4 years ago

Why on earth did they get rid of the strings?? They made the song! The English lyrics are fine, not cringy like other years but I wonder why Albanians seem to think songs in English are just automatically better? Specially since they did so well the past two years sticking with Albanian.

Logical Person
Logical Person
4 years ago

They are both snooze, but I prefer Shaj.

Timi
Timi
4 years ago

Me Tana fans are annoying, get over it! She didn’t win, it’s done. About the song, I prefer Shaj, but Fall it’s not bad at all. The revamp it’s good. It’s almost as if Arilena is singing to Me Tana fans, if you ask me. Let her fly and stop blaming her, for Rona Nishliu’s sake! She’s good and extremely talented. It won’t get lost between other ballads because Arilena is one of the best vocalists of semi two. Juries will love her and a lot of people will enjoy the plus that her voice gives to the song. I… Read more »

Malo
Malo
4 years ago
Reply to  Timi

I guess it doesn’t matter now.

Albert
Albert
4 years ago

Me tana.

Timi
Timi
4 years ago
Reply to  Albert

Oh God get over it!!!

Tommy
Tommy
4 years ago
Reply to  Albert

No Europe wants arilena

Jago
Jago
4 years ago
Reply to  Albert

Ridiculous lol
Arilena was the winner.

Andrei
Andrei
4 years ago

She doesn’t deserve to qualify with either of these versions, both are simply bad. The song is really weak, a bland ballad among other ballads that will cancel each other…

Mr X
Mr X
4 years ago

I´m screaming inside – no, thanks…..

Metalvision Song Contest
Reply to  Mr X

You mean “Hvala, ne?” 😉

(“Faleminderit, jo” doesn’t fit the rhythm… ^^)

Chloé
Chloé
4 years ago

What does “hvala ne” means? Is that Slovenia’s entry of 2018? Whichever the case, that is completely irrelevant and doesn’t make any sense in Albanian nor in this context, whatsoever!

Mr X
Mr X
4 years ago

An absolute unecessary english Version from Albania, just like always…. Now sounds too similar to the polish scream song there are still hardly any difference. I don´t like Arilenas voice in it and the lyrics are grammaticly ridicolous.

This should be forbidden !

Metalvision Song Contest
Reply to  Mr X

I think the main reason revamps should be forbidden is because they make national selections pointless… this is not the song that the Albanian public and jury voted for. The most ridiculous cases were in 2016, when Israel completely overhauled “Made of Stars”, and Malta just swapped out their entire song. With internal selections, sure, the public has no say anyway, so the producers might as well go nuts with their entry – or even improve it based on fan feedback. But I do think there should be a conditional rule stating “if you use a national final to determine… Read more »

Tommy
Tommy
4 years ago
Reply to  Mr X

Omg stop you people make a huge scandal about Albania sending English songs but if your going to do that then get mad at other countries for doing the same thing. Why is Sweden in English Why is Greece in English Cyprus, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, Norway, Azerbaijan, France, etc WHY ARENT ALL THOSE COUNTRIES SONGS IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE. Why is it such a big deal when Albania literally does the same thing everyone else does, if your going to harrase Albania every year about the language they sing in, do it to every other country too

Ant
Ant
4 years ago

I don’t mind English lyrics too much (though I would’ve preferred the Albanian version) but it just sounds empty without the violin part, like something is missing. The original version was my top-5.

Ant
Ant
4 years ago
Reply to  Ant

The original had this warm and soulful (Balkan?) quality to it which is lacking now. I much prefer that “oh ooh ooh ooh” interlude to the new “spoken” bridge but now that motif is entirely gone 🙁

Eurovision
Eurovision
4 years ago

Comapring the audio in albaniana and in english it is more beautiful in English! We have an amazing live performance in albanian and we have to wait for a better performance in English for sure. This gonna be epic in May. Till then people can complain as muchh as the can ahahhahahaha

Mr X
Mr X
4 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision

No, it will fail – Albania in English doesn´t fit.

Malo
Malo
4 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision

Well it won’t happen now so us haters won XD

mei international
mei international
4 years ago

i like “me tana” by elvana gjata the best. PERIOD

ESCFan2009
ESCFan2009
4 years ago

I didn’t connect with the Albanian version in December, it felt somehow aggressive and unmemorable. And now I am singing “fall from the skyyyyyyy” everyday 😀 I also hope that she will perform in a white outfit and not in black. I like the new concept more 🙂

Metalvision Song Contest
Reply to  ESCFan2009

To be honest, white actually makes it more generic to me… that choice of outfit didn’t work particularly well for either Lindita Halimi nor Tijana Bogi?evi? in 2017… :/ Sure, that tight leather outfit Arilena was wearing at FiK looked a bit like what a domina would wear, but at least that’s something memorable that gets people talking… ^^

elizabeth
elizabeth
4 years ago

Lol, neither, I hate this song so much :/

Ria van de Velde
Ria van de Velde
4 years ago

I like the new version but I prefer the Albanian version more

Zen
Zen
4 years ago

English lyrics doesn’t sound natural at all and musically it conveys zero emotions now. Feels almost plastic. I won’t be surprised if she ends up sharing Lindita’s faith.

Puff
Puff
4 years ago

English ruined it. Like if your song is originally in another language, keep it that way. Making it English only damages the song.

Héctor
Héctor
4 years ago

None.

Mena
Mena
4 years ago

Albanian version !

...
...
4 years ago

My big issue is the language, they should’ve kept the song in Albanian.

Jake
Jake
4 years ago

New version sounds so generic and soulless.

Nicky91
Nicky91
4 years ago
Reply to  Jake

yeah so, fall from the sky can make Arilena more internationally famous than Shaj what was just for a minor show like esc

Adam
Adam
4 years ago
Reply to  Nicky91

A minor show like esc ?

Polliu
Polliu
4 years ago

Don’t care. She’s lucky in semi 2.

Andy
Andy
4 years ago

Arilena die beste

chris
chris
4 years ago

just ME TANA, this is boring

Marco
Marco
4 years ago

Just another screaming song, both of them are boring ??

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

They screwed up they’re chances this year THE MOST.

...
...
4 years ago
Reply to  Alex

I don’t think so… Semi 2 is wide open.

Malo
Malo
4 years ago
Reply to  Alex

It doesn’t matter anymore.

Aplk
Aplk
4 years ago

Shaj works better with the orchestra but i think FFTS is better for eurovision

Karworld
Karworld
4 years ago

Always local languages! English sounds impersonal

Karworld
Karworld
4 years ago
Reply to  Karworld

And the English is under my opinion worse. I confess I’m not a big fan of this entry anyway

Polkka
Polkka
4 years ago

Why they have to translate the songs? Be proud of your own language! Juries should encourage songs with own languages. (*cicciolina*)

Zheng
Zheng
4 years ago

I don’t like this song anyway

N.G.
N.G.
4 years ago

Shaj had more personality. And Albanian is beautiful. So that.

Indiana07
Indiana07
4 years ago

English sounds better. So Fall From the Sky.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

Of course, I pick ‘Fall from the Sky’. I instantly connected with this great revamp, whereas ‘Shaj’ left me rather cold. Arilena’s powerful vocals really come through in English, so much so that I believe every word she’s singing. I’m happy that I’ll be able to vote for her in the semi final, as well as in the final. The only thing that the revamp lacks are the violins of the original, but her vocals are so powerful on their own that I can deal with it. Arilena, don’t read the internet. The real world will come through for you.

Stavros
Stavros
4 years ago

Shaj off course. First of all the depth of the sound of albanian language. Its more impactfull when you don’t understand every single word but get the feeling from the expressions. Second the string session. It matches perfectly with Arilena’s incredible vocals. Third Shaj overall has more identity and authedicity to me.

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

The artist should choose what she likes best. That’s why. Also, this song is nothing like Albania 2019, whose whole identity was rooted in the Albanian language.

Nils
Nils
4 years ago

First I was not that unhappy about her winning the Festival.
But now I notice that even the Albanian Version really does not stand out enough.
The English version is without soul.
Me Tana 🙁

Roy Moreno
Roy Moreno
4 years ago

Shaj was unique in Albanian and that piano part
But overall, I do like Fall From The Sky

Luxe
Luxe
4 years ago

Now im very happy that Arilena won Festivali i Kënges (and of course my other non-favourites in the other national finals) .. Eurovision will be canceled for sure because of the Coronavirus .. i can tolerate it.

Phantom632
Phantom632
4 years ago
Reply to  Luxe

it actually won’t be cancelled.. they will probably postpone it for later or it will just happen without a crowd.

Malo
Malo
4 years ago
Reply to  Phantom632

Well guess again Phantom632

Vrede
Vrede
4 years ago

Fall from the Shaj.

Alo
Alo
4 years ago

100% shaj..
Unfortunately now its just a random ballad without any special identity.
Arilena is a great vocalist, but I am not sure if this will help their chances.

Fiore
Fiore
4 years ago

She basically shot herself in the foot with that revamp. The original version at least had some ethnic touch to it and now it’s just a standard ESC ballad with cliché lyrics.

EuroSluuuuuutty
EuroSluuuuuutty
4 years ago

The original was better. It could at least reach top 15 with an impactful staging

Michael Malone
Michael Malone
4 years ago

Epic fail! Why oh why did they strip away all the soul and spirit of this diamond only to force banal trite English lyrics upon us. What a shame. One of the greatest crimes of ESC20!

MiskyDisky
MiskyDisky
4 years ago

Oh Albania, why won’t you learn?

noone
noone
4 years ago

Shaj was better, the English lyrics are somewhat clumsy and awkward, and at some points don’t even go with the melody. Another question: when do we get the Armenian revamp? That song can only get better.

EuroSluuuuuutty
EuroSluuuuuutty
4 years ago
Reply to  noone

Armenia’s revamp is tomorrow

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
4 years ago

shaj of course. the revamp sounds like a random outdated eurovision ballad, the original at least was a charming song.