ESC Etc.

Country: Albania
Artist: Shkodra Elektronike
Title: Zjerm
Songwriter(s): Beatriçe Gjergji, Kolë Laca
Tempo: 95 BPM Mode: Minor Key: C Duration: 3:04

Was I a bit harsh in reviewing FiK? Perhaps. It’s not so much that I thought all the songs were bad, but more that none of them stood out as competitive for Eurovision with the exception of Karnaval, which instead sounded like it was engineered specifically for Eurovision. Maybe that’s exactly what doomed it, relegating Elvana Gjata to yet another second place finish on her second attempt to represent Albania as the country’s biggest pop star. To be clear, it’s exactly Elvana‘s star power that allowed a song that is and aims to be nothing more than a straight up dance banger to do so well – in other hands, Karnaval would have likely gotten killed in the semis. Elvana brought a budget and a staging concept and a level of sophistication to the festival that made her look like the Super Bowl half-time show rather than a contestant and, amidst a sea of non-descript ballads and mostly dated productions, her entry didn’t sound like anything else in the competition, Maybe that was ultimately the issue – as good as it is, Karnaval lacks any distinct Albanianness or any quality that would set it apart from, say…a very competent MelFest entry.

So I will say this: at least Zjerm doesn’t blend in. It became obvious in the days leading up to the final that, in spite of Elvana’s almost prohibitive odds, Shkodra would and could be the only alternative – both songs were embraced by the fandom as a sonic departure from past, more traditional entries and, on the night of, Zjerm emerged as the jury and SMS winner (Karnaval won the online vote). First, the good: the strings that move the arrangement along feel cinematic and compelling, especially in the coda to the track, and Beatriçe’s vocals are bright and commanding. For the rest, this is a message song embracing an abstract anti-war sentiment with a long, spoken word bridge by a white guy, which generally spells death at ESC, and in spite of a competent, electronic-adjacent production, the track doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights it is so clearly striving for. Part of me hopes in a bit of a revamp, but the absolute lack of staging at FiK might be indicative of issues that expand beyond the track itself. I am a bit concerned.

Jury Potential: For an entry that feels more like a jury song, this one lacks a bit of a vocal/production moment, at least for now. The national juries clearly responded to the message, but will there be any meaningful staging to help out everyone else who doesn’t speak Albanian?
Televote Potential: Hard to say. The televote loves a foreign language track with a folksy/dancey vibe…when it feels like a party. Zjerm is everything but. In a strong year, I fear this might struggle to get votes.