Albania: Jonida Maliqi – Ktheju tokës

Shi: Every year I have that one entry I’m really not sure what to do with. This year, it’s Albania. Don’t get me wrong: I like it a lot. But it also sounds like something that would have been my favorite in the last Eurovision I attended, which was a whopping 14 years ago.

I find Jonida incredibly captivating as a performer and she’s a great vocalist too, but I also feel like very little actually ever happens in this track, and I don’t know if there’s enough in it for her to be able to hold the audience’s attention for three minutes.

And then there’s the little issue of her position in the line-up. Right after Sergey, right before the Norwegian joiking and two songs before a certain Dutch entry that is currently leading the betting odds – and it’s not even that far from Azerbaijan, which might be a different type of song but also brings a bit of that Eastern ethno into the mix.

My main concern is that, with not much going in the song and so much else to get the attention of the audience and the juries in the vicinity, “Ktheju tokës” is going to become more of a pleasant soundtrack in between other entries than something that stands out on its own merits.

Felix: Everyone who knows me knows that Albania is my #1 pet country in Eurovision. I anticipate Festivali i Këngës more than I anticipate Melodifestivalen, but as so often, the most recent edition didn’t exactly end with a great choice for Eurovision. Nevertheless, I still have a few points for “Ktheju tokës”.

Martin: Maybe I’m the most optimistic of all of us, then – not only do I actively like this, I even think it could do all right in the voting if the winds are fair. It’s certainly less hopeless than a lot of the “angry Albanian woman sings dark song” entries they’ve tried.

video and title image source: eurovision.tv