Introducing 2013: Albania

by Edward Montebello 313 views

Thirty-nine countries are competing with the aim to lift the trophy in Malmö. The ninth country to be introduced is Albania. The country debuted in 2004 and is still awaiting victory. This year Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko will fly the Albania flag in Sweden.

Basic information

Performers: Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko
Song: Identitet
Language: Albanian
Music: Bledar Sejko
Lyrics: Eda Sejko

The song

This year’s Albanian entry is a heavy rock song. It presents the concept of nationalism. The duo sings about everything that forms part of the Albanian identity.

Kam ardhur nga larg
Nën pluhurin e kohës gjeta ré edhe mallkim
U gjenda unë shumë pranë
E preka veç flakë e zjarr
Unë fola veç në heshtje
Desha pak jetë, lavdi
Dhe kur ndava ëndrrën
Gjeta një rreze dritë, pak frymë si ti (2x)

I ardhur nga larg, ke etje, ke mall
Kur sheh çdo gjë që ndryshon
Vetë jeta ikën shkon
Ti te kjo gjuhë po kërkon
Eshtë vendi ku u linde, rrite, ndave trimërinë,
E fale dashurinë ndër vite,
Vrapove ti gjete lirinë (2x)

The performers

Adrian Lulgjuraj and Bledar Sejko are the representatives for Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest. Adrian is an Albanian singer from Montenegro. Although raised in an Albanian-majority city, Lulgjuraj was always involved in projects and festivals all over Montenegro. He is known for his charity work and the original genre in music. Lulgjuraj entered the Albanian music industry in early 2010, participating in various TV shows and music festivals such as Top Fest. He entered the competition twice, both times entering the finals, and receiving numerous awards. Lulgjuraj was also a helping-coach in the The Voice of Albania, the Albanian version of The Voice of Holland. Bledar Sejko is an Albanian guitar player, composer, and singer. Sejko’s first group, which included Redon Makashi and Elton Deda was one of the first pop groups of Albania created clandestinely in the late 1980s as Communist Albania did not allow pop music to be recorded, performed or broadcast. Sejko’s last participation to the Festivali i Këngës before Identitet had been in 1992 with his group Thunder Way.

The songwriters

Bledar together with Eda Sejko wrote this year’s Albanian entry. The Sejkos collaborate a lot in many songs. In 2011, Bledar Sejko supported Aurela Gaçe as a backing artist in the Eurovision Song Contest, playing the guitar.

The national selection

As every year since the country’s debut, the winning entry of the Festivali i Këngës, held in December, was also selected to become the Albanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. The show consisted of two semi-finals and a grand final.

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Albania joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and achieved a top ten placing in the final. The country was less successful since finishing 16th in 2005 and being eliminated in the 2006 and 2007 semi-finals. Since then, Albania has always made it to the final with the exception of 2011. Last year Rona Nishliu got the best ever result to date for the country in the contest. Nishliu came second in the semi-final and fifth in the final

Statistics

This will be Albania’s tenth participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. For the first time the country is represented by a duo. The male duo is the first time in six years that the country is sending a male singers.

Albanian vote in Eurovision

Throughout its short history in the Eurovision Song Contest, Albania gave its most points to Greece while the Balkan country received its most points from FYR Macedonia.

The betting odds

According to oddschecker.com, Albania is currently standing at number 34 to win the Eurovision Song Contest. According to the odds, Albania is at number 14 to qualify from semi-final two.

I deshirojme Shqiperise dhe Adrian Lulgjuraj dhe Bledar Sejko shume fat dhe nje rezultat shume te mire ne Malmö!

Videos

Preview clip

National final performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEy5n_eANwA

Tomorrow another country will be introduced (hint – a lot of fans, journalists and delegations are flying there before arriving to their final destination in May!)

Have your say

You can rate the Albanian entry by voting in our poll

[polldaddy poll=7010002]

You can view previous parts of this series by clicking here