Albina: I will always try to be true to myself as an artist

This year's Eurovision is quite interesting cause we got a mix of artists we loved last year and some new ones that we are starting to love now. Our next interview is from one of the biggest revelations of ESC 2021, she owns the stage like no other and I can't wait to see her shine in may, here are Albina's answers:

Name: Albina Grčić

Birthday: 06.02.1999

Height: 164 cm

Favorite color: blue

Whats your strangest talent? Not the strangest but photographic memory

What is the strangest thing you have in your room? Cervants bell

What are you really good at? Multitasking and pep talk

What are you really bad at? Cheating in school

Childhood memory: Summer days with grandma in her garden and driving an old Fiat through the village 

Celebrity crush: Matthew McCounaghey/ Martino Rivas

Who would you cast to play you in a movie about your life? Neslihan Atagul but as a blonde haha

What would the title of that movie be? Albina: Best From Both Worlds

Favorite movie: Schindlers list, Interstellar

Favorite TV series: Stranger Things, Game of Thrones

Dish/Snack/Beverage/Candy we should try if we ever visit Croatia: : Dorina chocolate with cookies, Kiki candy, White Linolada (our alternative for Nutella), Domaćica cookies, Ledo ice creams

What is your guilty pleasure? watching girly TV series that make no sense 😂

Can you recommend us a song (old or new) from a Croatian artist? Lipa Moja (Oliver Dragojević and 2Cellos)

Can you teach us some interesting words in Croatian? 

Zapozorje (Backstage), Uspornik (speed bump), Osjećajnik (emoji), Brzogriz (fast food)

Photo: Borna Hrzina

Hi Albina, welcome to the Eurovision universe. How are you doing? 

Hi, thanks for having me! Im quite well, very excited. 

How would you describe yourself as an artist?  

I would say that Im quite ambitious and eager for success, but not at every cost. Im also quite sympathetic and devoted to my family and loved ones. I will always try to keep the balance between those two worlds and will always try to be true to myself as an artist. Also, I love the possibility of transformation on the stage and the fact that I can combine singing, dancing and acting.

You were the winner of DORA 2021 and got the ticket to represent Croatia in Rotterdam, how did it all begin? 

Hard to say, since I started singing at a very early age. To wrap it in recent turn of events, Id say my producer actually noticed me at Dora 2020, where I was performing as a guest, not a participant, and as soon as we started working together on my first single “Imuna na strah” we already had ideas for the future steps and the ideas we had fit trying out for Dora 2021.

Photo: Mislav Zabarovic

"Tick-tock” is the title of your song, and it's written by Branimir Mihaljević Max Cinnamon and Tihana Buklijaš Bakić, how was it working with them?

Amazing, really. Tihana wrote the lyrics from my first single, already, and even though we have not met in person till we actually started working on Tick-Tock we clicked early on, she took time to understand who I am and managed to write the lyrics and message I want to bring out. Same with Max, hes such talented young person and yet modest. Im sure he'll go a long way and leave some milestones in his professional future.   

Can you describe for us the day you recorded the song? And what was your reaction when you heard the final result for the first time? 

For me the process was quite fast, Branimir called me up when he was ready to present the song, I immediately went to Zagreb (from Split), heard the song, loved it and I think minutes did not pass by till I already sang in the studio. I was a bit surprised of the tempo of the song since through my past experiences I was always connected with singing ballads, but it didnt take me long to feel very comfortable in the genre.  

Photo: Mislav Zabarovic

How do you feel about the reaction your song has been getting from the fans?

Very happy, very proud, Im getting so much support, from both local and international audiences, fans, its amazing and it gives me even more energy in my work.

What's the process of creating a performance for Eurovision like and what can we expect to see on stage in may?

We, my team and I, were preparing for Dora's performance quite intensely, and now we're bringing the performance to a higher level for ESC stage, of course. The team is the same except we're now working together with Marvin Dietmann, one of the best and most experienced artistic directors there are. You can expect the energy of the song brought very vividly, and I hope the audience will feel the fun and joy we're all bringing into the performance.

Photo: Borna Hrzina

What do you like about Eurovision?

It gives the opportunity to young artists who are just starting their careers to experience high level production and perform on such big stage

What do you dislike about Eurovision?

Maybe the fact that sometimes there are a lot of good songs in one semi final and just a few of them in other, which is why some great songs dont get the opportunity for the finals

Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:

The Voice: performance of Lovely, by Filip Rudan and I

Sea: My hometown Split

Ice cream: Pastry shop “Hajduk”

Moja stikla: Severina

Applause: Lady Gaga

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?

Take care of yourself and each other!

Thanks to Albina for the interview!

Facebook: official.albina

Instagram: albina.music