Albania’s Eurovision 2011 Entry

It’s always hard to judge Albania’s Eurovision entry right after they decide what to send. The past couple of years, they’ve tweaked the arrangement and translated it into English, so the songs that appeared at Eurovision were different from the initial selection.

But, where would this blog be without rushing to judgement? So here’s Aurela Gaçe with “Kënga ime”:

The first thing Jen and I both picked up on independently is that the main riff sounds quite a bit like Sertab Erener’s “Every Way That I Can.” Moreover, Jen added that it had a definite Bond theme quality to it.

Once it gets going, it’s a perfectly serviceable pop tune, and Gaçe sings the hell out of it. It has a lot of potential, so we look forward to see where they go with this. One thing I hope they take care of is Gaçe’s haircut, because that bob is out of control.

UPDATED: As you might expect, the Albanians have done this properly. They hired some American music engineers to revamp “Kënga imd,” now called “Feel the Passion.” The title and new English lyrics are awesomely over the top, and also tie into the theme for this year’s contest, “Feel your heart beat.” They’ve revamped her look, giving her a Robyn-style do with a bright red dye. It is pretty danged spectacular. Did I mention she turns into an eagle in the new video?

The only issue I have is that Gaçe starts the song at the peak and keeps it up there the entire time. She seems like a pro, so I’m sure she can pull it off, but the lack of levels in “Feel the Passion” might hurt a little bit. It’s a minor quibble, though. This is the usual solid job from Albania.