Hello world, hello Albania, hello Europe! FiKmas season is over and that means we have the 1st Eurovision 2019 entry and it's the song "Ktheju Tokës" by Jonida Maliqi:
It's been a couple of days since the FiK 57 finale and I just rewatched the performance and I like it more than I did back then. It's a pretty decent song and if they work on finding a good visual performance I think it could end up being a great entry.
Last night we got our first entry for Eurovision 2018, Eugent Bushpepa was the winner of Festivali I Këngës 56 and here the song that got him the right to represent Albania in Lisbon:
I'll start by saying that I really like Eugent, he and Rovena were my favorites in my first FiK experience back them in 2008 and I fell in love with his voice once again this year when I heard "Mall" for the first time. Everything about this entry is pretty good and I hope he gets to be the 1st Albanian male artist to qualify to the final. Go Eugent.
Shout out to my other FiK 56 favorites:
Orgesa Zaimi
She came back with a banger and she did a phenomenal performance!
Mariza Ikonomi
Mariza has such an special voice and the song grew on me so much that I think it might end up as my fav from this years FiK.
Inis Neziri
Woah! What a talented girl, Im sure we will see her back in FiK for a revenge!
Hello everybody, the 2018 NF season will officially start this week with the Albanian "Festivali I Këngës" and what better way to celebrate this than by posting an interview with one of its participants. Here are Orgesa's answers:
Name: Orgesa Zaimi
Birthday: 25 July 1985
Height: 1.56 m
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite food: Sushi
Where are you right now? I am on the studio, ready to go on air on my radio show.
3 things that make you happy: My kids, My Parents and My Husband
What’s your strangest talent? My strangest talent is my laugh; it’s so different and weird that all the time I laugh by heart people only by hearing it they laugh too.
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? In a little jar I have my teeth, the ones my dentist took from 9 years old to 14 years old, I used to keep them since I was a kid, it was fun for me having them in a jar, now I think is pretty weird….
What are you really good at? I think that I am able to know that I have the gift to perform and sing. I can recognize this to myself; I am good at what I do
What are you really bad at? I am bad at painting or drawing, kids ask me all the time to draw something but I can’t… this is a talent I don’t have
Childhood idol: Elvis Presley
Childhood memory: I was 6 years old and I won the first prize award for the song “Little ballerina” in the kids festival.
Celebrity crush: Leonardo Di Caprio (And still is as a grown up too ha ha ha)
Tell me something no one knows about you: I am afraid, really afraid of snakes
What would you do if you were invisible? I would listen to people I know to hear what they think about me…
Favorite movie: I have a loooot of favorite movies, but I’ll choose “Shindler’s list” cause it makes me sad and think about humanity.
Favorite TV series: Game Of Thrones
What is your guilty pleasure? Ice Cream
If you were a boy for a day, what would you do? I’d play soccer
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Bohemian Rhapsody from QUEEN
Can you teach me some interesting words in Albanian? TE DUA means I love You SHQIPERI means Albania, MIRESEVINI means welcome, Also I can teach you: DASHURI which means Love
Hello Orgesa! Welcome back to FiK! How are you? HELLO, I’m feeling excited this year.
How would you describe yourself as an artist? The last 11 years I’ve been in the Albanian scene, with my own vision of me as an artist, I have done a lot of music, singles, festivals, competitions and one album in English produced in Switzerland, also I have made my own vision of videos, I have brought some social themes in my songs too, and all of this makes me happy and passionate, cause singing is something I do by heart, I see myself grown and very focused after 11 years, I know exactly what I am, what I want and I have so much more to give.
This is your second time participating in FiK, what did you learn from your experience in 2015? I enjoyed it cause it was my first time in the FIK, a very memorable experience, the song was about all the people who died all around Europe as immigrants, trying to escape for a better life in Europe, so it was pretty big in emotions and interpretation, I learned and grown with that song.
You went to Eurovision with the Albanian delegation in 2009, how was it and what do you remember the most from that journey? I was the backing vocalist for Kejsi Tola back in 2009 in Moscow, it was great, I learned so much from that, I made a lot of friends, I was on that big stage representing Albania, so it was something to remember, my very great memory was meeting Patricia Kaas in person, it was such a joy, cause I love her.
Now let’s talk about your participation in FiK 56. How did it all begin? It was something very spontaneous, the song came 3 or 4 hours later in the studio, after I met with this amazing and talented producer, we thought about something new, fresh and modern, drum n bass UK inspired.
“Ngrije zërin” is the title of your song, what’s the story behind it? It’s a powerful message from Olti Curri who wrote the lyrics, people should speak up and raise their voice every day for their needs and rights. Cause we only got one life, embrace it and never let fear rule.
Describe the song with 4 words: Energetic, powerful, driving and unique.
What can we expect to see on stage for the performance? I am more focused on my vocals, I don’t want to make a ballet show or something like that, I want to be the voice of all this project, hear me now.
Have you heard any of the other songs in the competition (FiK 56)? Anyfavorite? I have a lot of friends and a lot of favorites.
Do you know what you are going to wear for the shows? Can you give me a hint? The only hint is black and white.
What do you like about Eurovision? I like the spirit of Eurovision, a lot of artists from all over Europe sharing their cultures and bringing joy and dynamics with their performances, a lot of colors or in one word a RAINBOW.
What do you dislike about Eurovision? I don’t like the voting at all, why should we vote? Let a jury do that :D
Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
Orchestra: Actually my grandpa used to call me ORCHESTRA (Very near as word with ORGESA) and he really thought that was my real name.
Hair: I love the musical HAIR, I know all the songs, it’s pretty educational
Simply the best: Tina Turner is simply the best singer that’s all
Nightmare: Sometimes I have a lot of nightmares, I am human
Watermelon: I love it, one of my favorite fruits, I like the green one
Dreams: I am very dreamy
Is there anything you want to say to close the interview? I loved this interview, now you know everything about me, but hey did you know that I am a mommy? I have a 5 year old daughter named BORA (It means Snow) and a nearly 3 year old son named KRONI (It means Source). I am a proud Mom or as I call myself a COOL MOM :D
Thanks to Orgesa for this lovely interview! Wish her all the best in FIK!
Hello everyone! Im back! Finally there's a good reason to start posting again. Its time for me to FiK you all. We didnt get the results from the semifinal so Im just going to post the songs I liked the most. Here they are:
Sigi Bastri - Engjëll i lirë
The orchestra did a good job with this song, it sounded very powerful and what can I say? I love me some dramatic FiK song. I think Sigi wasnt the right singer for this song, I liked her but there were parts that got me a little nervous. Overall I think she did a nice performance but I want to bring her A game for the final.
Dilan Reka - Buzëqesh
There are like 3 different music styles in the song but I kinda like it and I think he did a nice job on stage. I would like him to control his voice a bit next time cause he is a good singer and he doesnt need to show off his voice with all those vocal gymnastics.
Luiz Ejlli - Pa mbarim
This is a pretty decent song with a solid performance by Luiz.
Nilsa Hysi - Asaj
This is one of the most modern songs in FiK and I really appreciate that but the performance was a bit meh. I still liked it but girl you better bring some energy next time.
Orgesa Zaimi - Një shishe në oqean
Im not a fan of this song but Orgesa sold it very well. I want her to come back next year with a good song!
Erga Halilaj - Monolog
Erga was one of my favorites from last year so its great to see her in FiK again. Her song isnt as good as the one she sang in 2014 but its still a pretty nice song, not a winner though.
Florent Abrashi - Të ndjek çdo hap
I really like his voice and his presence on stage but even if I think the song is ok, I cant see it doing well in Eurovision so I will add him to my "comeback next year with a great song" list.
Teuta Kurti - Në sytë e mi
This was probably my favorite performance of the night. Her vocal performance was great and the orchestra did a nice job with the song. I would like to see her with a softer look. That make up she wore today made her look like a villain.
Aslajdon Zaimaj - Merrmë që sot
This is a really nice modern song and he is very good on stage. Lets hope he gets into the final. Dont fuck it up juries!
