On the first night of Festivali i Këngës, Anxhela Peristeri was a goddess in gold. The winner of Kënga Magjike 2017, she strutted onto the stage with the confidence of a contender. She stood tall in a floor-sweeping gown with a neckline cut dramatically to her stunning décolletage, and her shoulder pads seemed to give her added strength for the battle ahead. If “Karma” is a judgment on our past deeds, it looks like Anxhela has been very good indeed.
“I’m very happy — I’m so happy,” Anxhela told our Erdi backstage in Tirana. “My composer wanted to come together in this festival. I was very excited because I wasn’t here a lot of years. It was a great opportunity for me.”
So what’s the song about?
“We did the song especially for me….after he did the lyrics we decided on the title. We think that ‘Karma’ is a very good title for this song because the song speaks about the things that you do and the things that come back to you.”
Albania has quite the history when it comes to revamps — and language swaps. Does she have any plans to perform in English if she makes it to Eurovision?
“I like Eurovision very much — I’m here for this reason. But I haven’t thought about it. My thoughts were in FiK. I wanted to be good here first. If I win I will decide the next steps.”
What did you think of Anxhela’s performance on night 1? Do you think this is hers for the taking? Let us know down below!
Anxhela has one of the most unique voices in the Albanian music industry, and that is very impressive considering the country is full of great singers. Her voice is very clear and powerful, definitely deserves the big win tonight!
She must be the winner, what a voice! Like an angel on the stage, she stands out and the best singer in the Albanian competition this year
she’s too arrogant, no genuine emotion, expressionless on stage at times, it doesn’t sound too desperate enough, just dull and lame her song