She’s won some of the world’s most prestigious singing contests from Romania’s Golden Stag to Russia’s New Wave Festival. And now Inis Neziri has her eyes set on Albania’s Festivali i Këngës 59.
On Monday night, during the first show of FiK 59, she gave a stirring performance of “Pendesë”. The title may mean “penance”, but this lady-in-white had absolutely nothing to apologise for as she glided through her song as effortlessly as a swan through water. With her jet black, slicked-back hair and dark grey eye shadow, she cut a high-fashion figure against the columns and lights of Italia Square.
Three minutes after she nailed every verse, every note, fans were left mumbling one word: FLAWLESS! And yes, she woke up like that.
Inis spoke with our Erdi prior to the filming of the grand final, which airs on Wednesday.
“I had two songs that were ready — an uptempo one and a ballad,” she says of her song selection process. “This year has not been really gentle to me and I said I have to do something for myself, a good thing. And Festivali i Këngës 59 was the best thing I could do.”
What tipped the balance for the ballad? Well it has to do with the magic of her last FiK entry three years ago.
“I thought that ‘Pendesë’ was the right one after ‘Piedestal’. It was a ballad that had a lot of potential. Since the first moment it was like BOOM. And I said okay, this is the one, I have to do that.”
For Inis, FiK isn’t just another competition with another crown for growing set of hardware. No. It’s about celebrating Albanian talent on a global stage.
“This is what I’ve been working for. Eurovision has always been my dream. And it’s a responsibility to me. I will go there to represent myself but also my whole country. I hope I make everyone proud if I go there.”
Are you loving this humble queen as much as we are? Shout it out down below!
We can’t be too picky. This year most of the songs at FIK are not fit for ESC. Her’s however does have a chance to make it to the final “if she wins”. Good luck!
She is so talented and has a beautiful voice, but in my opinion, she deserves a better entry than Pendesë.
Inis is amazing and I really like Pendese as a song. Both Pendese and Karma would be really good choices for Albania. My *only* concern is a potential major revamp, which would most certainly include a translation to English. If they avoid that, this is likely a song with a big potential for a high place in the competition. Good luck, Inis!
she already said that she’ll translate the song in english if she wins..
Inis is a great talent. I hope she doesn’t win FiK this year because she deserves so much better than a song like Pendese.