Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko will represent Albania at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö after their rock song “Identitet” won Festivali i Kënges 51, which once again functioned as the country’s national final.

The favourite of the #esc ChatVote, Kejsi Tola, came 4th.

It was the 51st Festivali i Këngës, held in Pallati i Kongreseve, Tirana. In between the songs, the 11th Festivali i Këngës (1972) was commemorated by current Albanian stars singing old songs. Yesterday also saw the appearance of the 1972 hosts on stage, which prompted standing ovations throughout the audience in the hall. It was the 40th anniversary of that particular edition and the tragic happenings surrounding it.

Now on to the actual 2012 contest, which saw a small international contingent in the jury. But with or without it, the winner was quite clear: Adrian Lulgjuraj, born in Montenegro, and Bledar Sejko, guitar-licker extraordinaire, delivered a banging rock song with folkloristic elements. If you didn’t see it yet, you might be worried that this sounds like the Slovenian “Narodnozabavni Rock“, but no: this is a whole different kettle of fish. You could probably describe it as somewhere between Ansambel Roka Žlindre & Kalamari and MaNga, spiced with a touch of Fomins & Kleins – but in appearance, it’s more like Nana Mouskouri gone male, featuring a surprise guest.

But now honestly: Despite many of us having hoped for Kejsi, Rezarta, Anjeza, Adrian (Bujupi) or Hersi, speaking in my editorial role I personally think Albania’s choice is a very good one.

I don’t love the song, but even though I think it’s too early to say for sure, it might very well be a qualifier. It works really well on stage and on TV, and it will surely be even more effective on the big Eurovision stage. After all, it finished 6th out of 17 songs in the voting in the chat, with an average score of 5.53. At second sight, Albania has made the right choice, and will probably stick out and surprise enough in the context of Eurovision to become a love at-first-sight entry for a sufficient number of televoters and jury members.

Last but not least, it is to be hoped that the victory of “Identitet” might open the doors for more diversity in future editions of Festivali i Këngës. We’ll see in about 365 days from now!

ChatVote results – thanks to Tommy:

1. Kejsi Tola – S’jemi më atje 8.12
2. Rezarta Smaja – Ti? 7.25
3. Anjeza Shahini – Love 6.09
4. Adrian Bujupi – I çmendur për ty 6.04
5. Hersi Matmuja – Kush ta dha këtë emër 5.63
6. Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko – Identitet 5.53
7. Merland Kademi – Këtu fillon parajsa 5.28
8. Vesa Luma – S’jam perfekt 5.22
9. Xheni & Enxhi Kumrija – Arti i një fundi 4.70
10. Dr Flori & Fabi – Jam ti! 4.06
11. Flaka Krelani – Labirinti i zemrës 3.91
12. Rosela Gjylbegu – Dëshirë 3.68
13. Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko – Identitet 3.58
14. Selami Kolonja – Ku je? 3.37
15. Bojken Lako – Lot… Jetë? Dashuri 3.22
16. Kelly – Ylli im polar 2.94
17. Lynx – Si ty askush 2.75

Kush ta dha këtë emër