Albania – Albina & Familja Kelmendi – Duje
I cant think of many things worse than going on a prime time national or international television show and singing a song surrounded by my, or indeed anyone elses, extended family but that is seemingly what we have here.
Albina is your typical Balkan woman singing a ballad, standard for Albania over the last few years it seems (with the notable exception of the moody Ronela who I am still laughing about), but it’s not about her – its about an equally but differently moody woman pouring he heart and soul out on the stage of FiK
And therein, for me, lies its problem. Yes, it’s what the audience will perceive as being “Typically Albanian” but unlike in previous years, this won’t have the help of the muso juries in the Semi final to lift it to a higher plane. I doubt that the Albanian diaspora is wide enough to get this through to the final in anything other than 9th or 10th place. The final, would be a different matter, of course, but I just think that the whole emoting woman thing is bang average and has been done to death and it’s been done better.
Phil’s score – 3 Points