Albania

Albanian Fairytale

goodeveningeurope 1 Comment

Albania was one of the first countries to pick their entry and one of the last ones to submit the final rearranged version of it. Business as usual in other words.

The seasoned Eurovision follower knows that the Festivali i Këngës winner selected around Christmas time at best can be considered to be a draft of what we’ll end up with in May. Usually what the Albanians think is a pretty swell tune goes through a metamorphosis to adjust to the European taste buds, whatever that is. Continue reading

OMG! The first semi-final is today!

goodeveningeurope 0 comment
– Here’s a sneak peak of Mr. Putin’s expansion plans. Go ahead and vote for us, suckers!

Sadly you won’t find your favorite Eurovision bloggers reporting live from the press center and from premier VIP seating inside the arena this year. Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, which we won’t bore you with the details. But we promise to be back on location next year when it’s Italy’s turn to host Eurovision again!

Continue reading

The Voice of Albania

goodeveningeurope 3 Comments

So here’s the thing. We really didn’t get why Elhaida Dani’s I’m Alive received that amount of accolade when it replaced Diell as Albania’s entry for Vienna virtually seconds before the submission deadline expired. We were rather pleased with the inaccessible yet strangely captivating Festivali i Këngës winner, which would have been fine with a solid revamp. It had the potential to stand out, and it was an entry that would further consolidate Albania’s image of being the unpredictable oddball in this competition. We have loved them for daring to unleash Suus on us and present stagings and promo videos so disturbingly weird we wonder whose socks they have been smoking over the years.

Continue reading

First rehearsals. Impressions and fun facts

goodeveningeurope 2 Comments
In case of emergency, please unfold the parachute. Photo: Andres Putting (EBU)
In case of emergency, please unfold your own parachute first, then help your children. Photo: Andres Putting (EBU)

So. First semi final is no more than a week away and rehearsals are well on their way. Here are some of the most important facts we have picked up on this far:

  • Georgia is way funnier than first anticipated.How unbelievably cool is it to bring a parachute onstage? If you are to dance around high as a kite onstage, why not bring your kite, we say. And there is a slight possibility Israel’s lady might blow us all up, so security equipment is welcomed.
  • Speaking of Israel, we have an announcement to make: Three pair of pants have been found lurking around the airport looking for their owners. Mei and choir chicks can report to the information desk in order to get fully dressed for next week.

Continue reading

Albania lost in translation

goodeveningeurope 4 Comments

It’s impossible to review Albania’s entry this year without commenting on the preview video they have made to promote it. We know, it will make no impact whatsoever on the night of the semi-final, as no one outside the diehard fan base of ESC would have paid any particular attention to it, and the stage presentation may bear no resemblance to it. But wow, just wow. How is it even possible to put together a more visually unattractive, messy, and completely meaningless video? Continue reading

Red carpet extravaganza!

goodeveningeurope 3 Comments

The official welcome party of Eurovision Song Contest 2011 went down on Saturday and since we were not there parading up the red carpet like we did last year, we have decided that it wasn’t half as good, and we probably didn’t miss out on anything. Most of the Eurovision celebs had thrown on their fanciest rags for the occasion, and let’s just say that some have a better sense of style than others…

Flipping through the pics from eurovision.tv we can at least point out a couple of observations. The EBU photographer is clearly no fashion photographer, in fact, we wonder if he has even held a camera in his hands ever before. And at times we wonder if this is even taken from the right event as it looks more like some random guy’s Facebook album from a Halloween party he attended in high school. Good grief! Very well, here’s some red carpet highlights and lowlights for you.

Continue reading

The eagle has landed

goodeveningeurope 1 Comment

Albania was second in line to select their entry, as usual the winner of Festivali i Këngës got a ticket to Eurovision. We kept half an eye on it for you when it all went down, but we suppose most people were too busy bingeing on unhealthy food and trying to cope with in-laws and long lost childhood friends to even notice. It doesn’t matter anyways because the Albanians are notoriously known for changing and revamping whatever entry they choose and what we got a preview of on Christmas Day in December can only be considered as a first draft of what we end up with in May.

Continue reading