The first night of Albania’s Festivali i Kenges 60 has come and gone. Monday served as a sort of introduction to each of the contestants with frequently emotional postcards discussing their backgrounds and musical journeys. The seven-person jury was in attendance and taking careful notes, which will feed into their ultimate decision on Wednesday night of who will represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin.
Tonight had particularly high stakes for the six so-called “newcomers”, who displayed talent well beyond their fame. Only three of these acts could advance to Night Three on Wednesday, which serves as the grand final.
The three acts going through are…
Eldis Arrnjeti – “Refuzoj”
Ester Zahiri – “Hijena”
Olimpia Smajlaj – “Dua”
That means the remaining newcomers are out of the competition: Kesjti Rrusta, Viola Xhemali and Xhuliana Pjetri.
Did your favourite newcomers make it through? Let us know in the comments box below!
View this post on Instagram
Rezarta Smaja was the biggest surprise of the night, she absolutely owned that stage and gave the best performance by far. Ronela and Alban both had good performances, imo the studio version of Theje sounds better, so at the moment for me Ronela has the edge Mirud’s performance demonstrates how if he wants to go Eurovision, the only way he’s getting there is as a composer. Per dreq is one of the best songs in the lineup but he is not a very good singer or performer Gjergj Kacinari and the Prifti brothers were both surprises, both had great performances… Read more »
Alban’s performance yesterday was a really pleasant surprise after hearing his KM performance. Far from flawless is a good assessment, but still, miles ahead of what I was expecting. And I agree about Rezarta – Not my type of song, but her performance was stunning!
”E jemja nuse” certainly isn’t a bad song. It feels a bit dated for modern audiences, and has that Balkan folksy vibe which is usually not my thing, but she definitely brought it to life. I honestly wouldn’t be upset if Albania picks Rezarta as their representative. I never had any issues with Mirud’s vocals myself, but I can see that he’s not the one who’ll cash-in on vocal acrobatics as a highlight of his performances (like some of the other FiK regulars). He’s still quite good, and Nene is a masterpiece as long as I’m concerned. I want to… Read more »
I agree with Sabrina, there are several similarly good choices for Albania, but we have to pick which element of song or performance we value the most. That is my conundrum with FiK 60 is general – the difference between the top and the middle, and between the middle and the bottom isn’t as staggering as in most other selections. After live, a lot has changed, as I expected. I’ll be sharing my picks soon enough. 🙂
Spoiler alert – Eldis, Rezarta, and Olimpia have profited from yesterday’s performances. 🙂
Actually the first night left me more confused than helped on picking a favorite. And it seems the second won’t help much either, since they’ll do duets with famous Albanian singers. So let’s see if someone has something special planned to tomorrow. In any case, I’m still underwhelmed by the level of FiK this year. It’s hard for me not to compare these entries with “Ktheju tokës”, “Mall”, “Ngrije zërin”, “Shaj”, “Me Tana!”, “Piedestal”, “Nënë”… I’m not even finding those entries I really like even if I knew they would never win, like Evi’s and Wendi’s entries from last year.
Same. Any among ”Do tja dal”, ”Me mbron”, and ”Vesi i shpirti tim” would’ve been my winner this year. I see giving a few songs around a 7/10, but likely nothing over an 8. Solid songs, but nothing I find outstanding. Also, Kuje was my last, but I’m not so sure anymore, as his performance was epic!
I’d likely go with Eldis, Ester, Alban or Ronela now. But Refuzoj would have to shorten the verses, Sekret revamp the breaks, and Theje / Hijena brush up the lives.
I don’t think my choice would be much different from yours. In any case, Albania has a lot of work to do until May. At least, they’re used with the process. And this is an advantage of picking something early.
Ronela winner.
Some thoughts regarding this first night:
* The decision of choosing Olimpia over Xhuliana irked me.
* Alban looks like he’s overdoing his performance a bit, he needs to chill.
* Ronela’s entry could sound better flowing without the breaks, but I’m sure it’ll get a revamp if she wins.
* I also liked Evi’s entry, sounds happy, sophisticated and outstanding.
Imo, any of the three of them could make an impact in Turin next year. Meanwhile, it looks like we’re in a “which entry do yo want for/from Albania” scenario.
Absolutely, Rezarta Smaja was the best first night! E jemja nuse is song without any esc potential, but Rezarta with her amazing voice made a song much better in live performance, maybe she is dark horse.
Ronela is the obvious choice and the only one that can make any impact in Torino
I can see arguments for it being a bit unfair on the newcomers considering that all of their songs had more to them and were better received than those of some of the non-competitive established artist entries. However, three places in the final is not that bad and honestly, there was a considerable drop-off from Eldis/Ester (who are both genuine contenders to win the whole thing for me) to the other four. Olimpia might’ve not been my choice for the third spot but I didn’t feel so strongly about the other newcomer entries that I’m genuinely irked by the decision.… Read more »
I understand why they don’t want to eliminate veterans, but this format is unfair to the newcomers. My favorite song in the competition is Ester’s, though she seems unexperienced to be a contender. I like Eldis, Evi, Janex and Mirud, but their songs aren’t memorable. Kastro Zizo had arguably the most remarkable performance of the night, but musically it’s definitely not my thing. So everything comes down to the favorites. Ronela was great on the stage, but “Sekret” could flow better without all those breaks (and half of those dancers). Alban is overperforming a little, sometimes even taking attention from… Read more »
Im happy for Ester Zahiri
I was beyond shocked that Olympia made it through over Xhuliana. Travesty.
Was I the only one who felt the newcomers seemed to perform better than the other artists?
Denis, Olimpia, and Endri/Stefi grew on me after their performances, and can we talk about Rezarta and Ester killing it on stage?
Both Ronela and Alban delivered but I think Ronela had too much going around her, and Alban’s vocals were subpar in the first half of his song.
Also 12 points to Kastro’s discount Joker look lol
RONELA should be the winner hands down. Alban would also be a good choice with a LOT of work to do.