All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 43 entries in random order. We are half way through and part thirty-seven of the series is dedicated to the Albanian entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Aurela Gaçe
Song:	Feel the passion
Language:	English
Music:	Shpetim Saraci
Lyrics:	Sokol Marsi
Draw:	3rd in the first semi final

The song

Feel the passion is an up-tempo pop rock song. The lyrics are a declaration of love:

And wherever I go
I just want you to know
You're the blood in my veins
And the love in my soul

Let me share my song with you
Just feel the passion
Love the message shining through
A chain reaction

The performer

Aurela Gaçe is best known for her participations in many music festivals in Albania since she was a child. In 1993, she competed in the Festivali i Këngës for the first time. In 1995 she took part the second time and she wouldn't miss a single edition of the contest until 1999, when she won for the first time with S'jam tribu. A second victory followed only two years later with the song Ndjej. The same year she moved to New York where she has been living since. Over the years, she has released four studio albums.

In 2009, the singer appeared in the duets night of the Festivali i Këngës performing the song Jehonë with West Side Family. However, she was not actually taking part in the competition. In December 2010, she returned to the competition as a contestant. With Kënga ime she won the festival for the third time and also became the Albanian representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. In Düsseldorf she will perform the English version of the song entitled Feel the passion.

The songwriters

Feel the passion was written by Shpetim Saraci (music) and Sokol Marsi (lyrics). Shpetim Saraçi is a frequent contestant in the Festivali i Këngës. Among others, he wrote the music to the runner-up entry Një jetë (performed by Juliana Pasha and Luiz Ejlli) in 2008. Sokol Marsi is the man behind Në pasqyrë, Anjeza Shahini's entry in the 2009 festival.

The national selection

As every year since the country's debut, the winning entry of the Festivali i Këngës, held in December 2010, was also selected to become the Albanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. The show consisted of two semi finals and a grand final, which 18 artists competed in.

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Albania joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and achieved its only top ten placing in a final to date that year. 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 finishing 16th twice and 17th once.

Statistics

This will be Albania's eighth participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. For the sixth time overall and for the fourth time in a row the country is represented by a female solo performer. Feel the passion is the sixth Albanian entry in total and the third one in a row to be performed mainly in English. However, it also includes two lines in Albanian.

Feel the passion is the third song to be performed in the first semi final. It is preceeded by the afro-fusion pop song from Norway and it is followed by the dance pop song from Armenia. A disadvantage might be the fact that the Albanian entry is performed in the middle of a streak of no less than seven energetic songs at the beginning of the first semi final. Along with number two, number three has been considered one of the worst positions in the draw since televoting was introduced. In fact, only two songs ever managed to qualify from a semi final from the position: The Turkish entry in 2008 and the Israeli entry last year. However, Milim would have not qualified based on televoting alone.

I deshirojme Shqiperise dhe Aurela Gaçes shume fat dhe nje rezultat shume te mire ne Düsseldorf!

Videos

Live performance in the national final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r5cWoZFIw0

The preview video:

S'jam tribu (1999):

Ndjej (2001):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI0OB6k3t4g

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Slovene entry.

Previous parts of the series:

1. Estonia
2. Italy
3. Croatia
4. Slovakia
5. Lithuania
6. Finland
7. Switzerland
   
8. Ukraine
9. Norway
10. Moldova
11. Belgium
12. Azerbaijan
13. Ireland
14. Portugal
    
15. Austria
16. Latvia
17. France
18. Bosnia & Herzegovina
19. Romania
20. Sweden
21. Bulgaria
22. Armenia
23. Denmark
24. Cyprus
25. Spain
    
26. Belarus
27. San Marino
28. Malta
    
29. Germany
    
30. Georgia
31. Greece
32. Iceland
    
33. Serbia
34. Turkey
35. Netherlands
36. Hungary