ESC Etc.

I don’t mean to sound harsh – I do really respect and cherish Festivali i Këngës, which is one of those festivals that would exist regardless of Eurovision itself, because it functions as a great window into Albania’s culture and musical roots being and is, as such, indispensable. That said, I have historically had a harder time warming up to FiK’s various line-ups, even though I absolutely adored two of their recent entries (Eugent in 2018 and Jonida in 2019) and would have actually been OK with either/both winning ESC. I also do love me a good ‘ole Balkan ballad, and I generally find the cross-contamination between Italian and Albanian music fascinating if not always winning. Unfortunately, this year’s selection mostly sounds like a bunch of songs that didn’t make the cut at Sanremo in 1983, many mostly indistingushable from each other, making this roster of 30 (!!!) acts feel by large rather bloated and redundant. But…Albania has the song this year. They just need to actually select it, package it, and ship it off to Basel. As you might’ve guessed, I’m talking about…

Elvana Gjata – Karnaval

Elvana needs no introduction. She is the Diva of Albanian Music. She’s a singer/songwriter/dancer/actress/brand. She also tried to represent Albania once before – back in 2020 with Me Tana – finishing in second place in spite of being the odds-on favorite (and yes, she should have won). I wanted to label this entry as a potential ESC winner, I really did, but Eurovision is yet to prove me wrong when it comes to crowning flawless divas flawlessly doing their thing (see for reference Foureira, Eleni and Booty Hypnotic, Chanel). Karnaval is a disaster bop that, in lesser hands, would probably be DOA. It’s bold, noisy, messy, but Elvana is operating at a level of excellence that makes this automatically a contender. It also undeniably slaps, with that thumping, Latin-infused beat that just doesn’t let up, and it all feels like a huge party waiting to happen on stage. Albania, you have one job. Choose correctly.

P.S.: I have listened to all the Estonian entries and I am obsessed with several of them – one in particular – but I’ll be posting my review when the 16th song is released early next year and I can evaluate the full roster.