Festivali I Këngës 61, Albania’s favourite live music show and artist selection for Eurovision, held their final on December 22nd, 2022. I sat down to watch the telecast retrospectively, for what was almost a 4 hour event. Here is a brief recap:
A eternity of waiting to get to the arena where a drawn out opening number was followed by a fast-talking host in a dress that shouldn’t look good on anyone, but she managed to pull it off.
Please Note: The single host, Arbana Osmani, was extremely good throughout the show!
I could comment on each song, however that would make this article extremely long, and almost unreadable… So I will put through my lowlights and highlights:
Vocally Challenged:
· Gent Hoxha (sweetheart with the pearl necklace looked good, but that’s it)
· Vanessa Sono (love a good stand and deliver ballad… key word here being ”good”)
· Fabian Basha (sat woefully under the music the entire time to tell if he was singing)
· Urban Band (rocker with curls was far too quiet to matter)
Rest assured, it was… okay:
· Sergio Hajdini (Mr. Man-bun and his funk/soul effort)
· Gjergj Kaçinari (pseudo rocker missing and oomph to stand out)
· Rovena Dilo (terrifying to watch, but not altogether terrible to hear)
· Lynx (imagine following the hometown favourites, and final song of the evening)
Standouts:
· Elsa Lila (Severe look, significant talent. She was lost (in the best way) in this “Suus” inspired track)
· Erma Mici (okay to start, elevates, screeches and all in tune with some power)
· Franc Koruni (Vlad the Impaler and his Yin-Yang pendant served up an excellent murder ballad in true Nick Cave Style adding some big band moments)
· Evi Reçi (I simply just really liked this)
· Fifi (Strong presence and vocal, engaging but lacking song-wise)
· Enxhi Nasufi (serves us up some fantastic slapper-pop, with a good sound, outfit and attitude to boot!)
· Albina & Familja Kelmendi (a war cry with Fuelln vibes, totally engaging)
Outliers:
· Dull and Unremarkable:
o Petrit Çarkaxhiu
o Rezarta Smaja
o Melodajn Mancaku
· Camp Fun:
o Manjola Nallbani
· Good, but…:
o 2 Farm (just made 3 minutes seem far too long)
o Alban Kondi & Lore (She was excellent – he was not)
And after all was said and done, the Jury placed these acts as their top 3:
3. 2 Farm
2. Albina & Familja Kelemendi
1. Elsa Lila
However, when it came to who would represent Albania at Eurovision, the power was in the hands of the televoting public, which saw the Jury’s second place take the mantle as the nation’s representative in Liverpool!
There were too many interludes, one with a geriatric poet which was far too much to bear, but the female non-drag-queen had the audience, the band, the host and me laughing (even if I couldn’t understand the joke)!
WAYYYYY too long, but somewhat entertaining nonetheless.