Back in December 2023, Besa won the public televote in the 62nd edition of Festivali i Këngës, giving her the opportunity to represent Albania at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. In the months since then, Besa and her team decided to make some changes to her song, “Zemrën n’dorë”, which is now set to be called “TiTAN.”
While the emotions evoked by Besa’s voice remain intact, the song has undergone a transformation, featuring a new orchestration and new English lyrics.
Besa – “TiTAN” (Albania Eurovision 2024)
“TiTAN” was composed by Besa herself in collaboration with Kledi Bahiti — he also composed the track that represented Albania in Eurovision 2021, “Karma” (performed by Anxhela Peristeri). The lyricist of the song is Gia Koka.
It’s not uncommon for Albania to introduce revamps to their entries for Eurovision. It’s a practice that has been almost a tradition for them. In recent years, the edits have been small, with the lyrics remaining predominantly in Albanian. However, some songs over the years have undergone complete transformations into English. Following disappointments in 2016 and 2017, when Albania failed to qualify with songs revamped in English, fans have become somewhat hesitant about such changes.
Yet, Besa is prepared to take risks. From the very beginning, she made it clear that she intended to revamp her song. The revamp is entirely in English, aimed at conveying the message more effectively. Besa expressed on social media that the song has evolved significantly from its initial version, and she wants to ensure that everyone understands its poignant lyrics:
“I know it is way LESS risky to keep it in Albanian. I love Albanian too. But the song has GROWN, the revamp is bigger & I am proud of it. I want EVERYBODY who listens to the song to be able to understand & feel included. I am not afraid to fail as I know that i did MY BEST!”
I know it is way LESS risky to keep it in Albanian. I love Albanian too. But the song has GROWN, the revamp is bigger & I am proud of it. I want EVERYBODY who listens to the song to be able to understand & feel included. I am not afraid to fail as I know that i did MY BEST! ??
— BESA (@BesaOfficial) February 21, 2024
The revamp aims to enhance the song’s coherence, eliminating sudden transitions between different parts. By keeping the focus on Besa’s powerful vocals, the song gained depth and colour, making it easier to perform on the Eurovision stage. Unlike Festivali i Këngës, where there is a live orchestra, Besa will only have backing track and background singers at Eurovision; thus, it is likely that the revamp took this into consideration as well.
Besa’s voice delivers powerful moments that are likely to resonate with the jury. Importantly, the song still retains some authentic Albanian elements, preserving its authenticity while also appealing to a broader audience.
What do you think about Besa’s new revamp of “TiTAN”? Do you think it is going to qualify for the grand final at Eurovision 2024? Let us know in the comments.
Oh lord, talk about botched ? the original lyrics were EPIC. How did they go from “ Take the sea and bring it to me one day if you’re going to drown my soul” to “I won’t go down, I’ll never break, Like a titan, I’ll be brave”?
With the change to English, the song lost all culture…I can’t tell it’s an Albanian song at all which is sad since the language and traditional instruments are so beautiful 🙁
I think this revamp is on a similar level as their revamp in 2016. Sad.
Straight in at No 31 on my list
I think it’s a shame they changed it. I preferred it in Albanian and now that it’s in English, it doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out. It was quite a decent song at first, now it’s just something I’ve heard a thousand times before.
I loved the chorus of the original and thought only the production and the second verse needed fixing.This revamp is a desaster.
Idk whether it is bc of the original having grown on me or not, but this just doesn’t do it to me :/
This song was not to my taste.
The revamp is still not to my taste.
Oh dear.
Best of luck in the contest. 🙂
They took the only interesting thing in this song that was the albanian language… They also made quite a lot of changes regarding the rhythm of the song and I think it’s worse now. Until now I thought Albania could make it to the final through the small door but now it seems impossible to me.
Perhaps she will be great live and prove me wrong. I wish her the best of luck anyway.
I think its way better than the original version. Also, she’s working with Fredrik Benke Rydman, Reija Ware and Melissa Thompson, so maybe they are preparing something huge for the stage
Very cliche Eurovision. I mean if it works it works…
I wasn’t that into the original version, and I’m not that into this revamped version. It feels like they just didn’t know what they wanted with this song. Is it pop? Is it Balkan? Is it a ballad? Is it uptempo? Is it midtempo? In the end it just feels like an empty shell, tbh.
Nice vid, only in this year I have seen more simulair creations.
For me the revamp in english isnt a great attribution.
I liked the performance in the Albanian National Finals beter.
Albania mostly get a qualification spot in the Finals.
So I see that happening.
Congrats Besa and all the best of good luck.
This is NOT going to go over well. ?? They tried this 3 times before (2014, 2016, 2017) and failed to qualify.
4th time lucky 😉
Shhhhht
I would prefer it if Albania stuck to Albanian.
every albanian diva wants to be like Dua Lipa, i mean if Dua would sing in albanian she wouldn’t be as successful as she is now
Shhhhht !
Dua Lipa is overrated tho
Dua Lipa can’t sing tho.
Can they revamp back to the original?
I hoped they revamped it too mix of English with the original Albanian language in it as well, so the song is not gone intirely. For me the first 20 seconds I thought yes this fits Besa, outstanding song, and fresh new beat in the main chorus, only some parts are missing elements of the orginal song
Crazy that they thought this would go down better than the original
As a wise man once said, you gotta fill the lower rankings
What’s the opposite of “revamp”? I need to know the word to properly describe this failed attempt at… what, exactly??
Devamp, maybe? Idk.
They have indeed over corrected the song, hypervamped, from a song that was ok and had one very enjoyable and interresting hook it went down to a song that was re-written with the contest in mind and we all know that is not how it works in Eurovision. But who knows it might do well, so fingers crossend….
Nice layering in the music, good uptempo switch at the ending, but would be better to finish at this high point.
Didn’t hear the original BTW.
I like it – much prefer it to the original version!
Hmm. Yeah, a massive downgrade from the original, I’m afraid. My last place, sorry Albania :-/
What’s up with the Albanian chicks and their blown lips?
It’s not an Albanian thing, just check Melodifestivalen. haha
It’s a universal thing unfortunately.
Very very very popular in Eastern Europe too. Some people call them “carps”
The Albanian version was my last place, but that version at least could’ve been carried by the live performance to still be able to qualify. This English version can’t be saved whatsoever. NQ is pretty much a guarantee now. Maybe even Albania’s first ever last place.
Ughhh why did they make the same old mistake that destroys their songs… Albanian language is such a beautiful and melodic language that should be embraced. Eneda Tarifa, Ronela Hajati and now this. This kind of sounds like a meaningless mess now. I couldn’t even understand some English words from the song. They should’ve just made a better production and some minor changes for the Albanian version and they would still have a great song. The only time I’ve liked their English revamp was in 2020 when Arilena Ara was supposed to sing “Fall from the sky”.
When the vocals began on this revamp version i immediately thought of Sia! This sounds like a completely different song to Christmas 2023 when the Albanian version won. Interesting also to compare the similarities in the group choreo with the Israel video released just 24 hours earlier. I think this may qualify from semi just because of the Albania disporia across Europe but that said along with Israel and Portugal ballads nothing is connecting with me. The big ballad for me this year that still stands out song quality and vocally is France.
I don’t know if it’s intentional, but the first verse mentions “eye to eye,” “alive” and “flames,” which are all Sia song titles!
I didn’t feel anything listening to the Albanian version, I don’t feel anything with the English one, either. I think this will be one of my bottom ranked songs, it’s not because it’s bad but because it’s flavorless to me. And an NQ. In semi 2 there are at least 10 better entries. Sorry.
What a disappointing downgrade. Went from top 5 to last.
I wasn’t a fan of the song but the Albanian version was better, it just sounds familiar and nothing unique about it. I don’t see this making the final
No changes in my personal top after the release, Albania remains my last place this year, sorry..
It has improved, for sure. It feels more “western” than “balkan”, if you understand what I mean. An instant jump from 31st place to 17th in my personal top, which now goes as:
Your music taste is just frightening!!!
Aghwww, thanks, babe. I know it’s odd to see for you that fan-favourites like Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, or Sweden are so low in MY ranking, but not everybody here is to fill their ears with wax of craziness. This year, people think to get a “green card” for literally the most silly songs, labeling them “It’s crazy, it’s party”. For sheep, it will work, but being a copycat and trying to build your success on others’ heads is a no-no to some, including me. And let’s not start to dig into “It’s not like Chanel invented sexiness and… Read more »
If you don’t like crazy, you’d argue you would like Israel? Maybe give it a listen, it’s pretty good.
Not even Albanian diaspora will be voting for this mess.
To be fair, Ronella’s entry was a way bigger mess. :{
I didn’t particularly like the original version, but this one started off pretty well until the last 20-ish seconds. Probably unfortunately still my last place 🙁
I miss the guitar-driven revamps already. Come baaack!
*or heavy orchestral. that’s pretty much the reason why I’ve enjoyed Albania’s entries in the past
Australia needs a revmap like this. I need more Aboriginal and traditional instrument with fast strong beats, not the bland disco sound.
I feel the song has not improved in English. Being the only Albanian majority-speaking country in ESC, I’d wish it chose to send entries in Albanian (like Portugal does), and occasionally in English – which it somewhat does. But, since Albanian entries are chosen from a traditional music festival (and are not purposefully proposed for the ESC like some other national selections), they are never written to accommodate for English, and when translated I think the songs loose their magic.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with this. Everything flowed pretty nicely in the Albanian version, and the new one definitely feels like something is missing.
It is probably one of the best revamps Albania has done as Besa is definitely comfortable in the English language. It is not broken English as in many prevous revamps done by Albania. I like the lyrics and I think the song is going to connect with more people than before now. Good job Albania!
I still don’t like it and I also feel that what I hear is machine-made (voice, filters, etc). Comparing to her live performance, I can’t see how that came out. It’s like another person with a lot of autotuning is singing. Something is off.
Honestly, I think the song improved.
This song was only made remotely interesting by the fact that it was in Albanian… it has now been stripped of its only outstanding aspect. It was never going to qualify, now even less so. A shame.
I don’t understand the racist tendencies we have to face nowadays. There is nothing wrong about switching to English or any other language.
Yea not the best move… Now its just competing in the same category as Israel and Israel is doing it 1000 times better. There is some ethnic elements still in the instrumentation here, but yea it just falls flat now…
The song was a bit bland for me from the beginning, so adding English lyrics was a clever move. Unfortunately the lyrics doesn’t fit with the melody. In order to write good lyrics it’s not just about the content, you need to listen to the music when it comes to vowels and consonants so that it flows and creates a musical symbiosis. I don’t speak Albanian, but it feels like they have put the emphasis on translating the text verbatim rather than taking into account that it should flow beautifully from the mouth.
Previously was just a garbage, now is a complete garbage… 0.4/10
I like this! It’s a completely different song, but the original one was too bland for my tastes. People say it was “original” but as an Albanian, I can say there was nothing authentic of the country in that. This at least doesn’t pretend to be AutHentIC. Just a nice pop song.
Meh…..The original song wasn’t one of the best entries but it sounded more authentic, more Albanian. Now it’s more artificial and plastic and could represent any country. Portugal would never do something like that to their entry.
What a way to ruin a song. Destroying it by removing all that made it unique. From my top 10 to my bottom 5. Enjoy your NQ