It has been just over a month since Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin Italy. Today the Live-On-Tape performances that were recorded in the event an artist could not perform in Turin have started to be released. The 1st performance that was released was Ronela Hajati’s performance of her song “SEKRET”.
About Ronela Hajati
Ronela has been making music from a young age, and rose to prominence in Albania during the early 2010s. Her appearances on shows such as Top Fest and Kënga Magjike helped to propel her into the limelight, and she saw chart success in Albania with songs including “Mala Gata”, “Mos ma lsho” and “Marre”.
Despite this success, her first studio album, “RRON” was not released until 2021. However, it was worth the wait, with singles “Prologue” and “Aventura” reaching numbers 2 and 3 on the Albanian charts respectively. It was following this that she was selected to participate in the 60th edition of Festivali i Këngës – and the rest from there is history!
What is a Live-On-Tape?
A Live-On Tape performance is essentially a backup performance. Last year they were used in the event that a delegation could not travel to Rotterdam. This proved to be the case for the Australian delegation in 2021, due to the strict travel restrictions in place in the country at the time. Iceland also had to use a backup performance, however instead of the one they recorded in Iceland they used rehearsal footage, recorded in Rotterdam. Iceland had to use a Live-On tape due to the fact several members of Daði & Gagnamagnið tested positive for Covid-19 during Eurovision 2021.
Watch the Other Live-On-Tape Performances
At the time of writing, you can now watch the Live-On-Tape performances for Vladana (Montenegro), and Ochman (Poland).
Albania’s Eurovision Journey
In 2004, Albania made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest with Anjeza Shahini with “Image of You” which managed to place 7th in the final. Since their debut, Albania has participated 18 times, and made the final 10 times, with their best result in 2012 where Rona Nishliu placed 5th with “Suus”.
In 2022, Ronela Hajati represented Albania with “Sekret”. However, despite being a fan favorite, Albania did not manage to make the final, placing 12th with 58 points from both the juries and televoters.
What are your thoughts on Ronela’s Live-On-Tape performance? Do you prefer it to her Eurovision 2022 performance? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as we prepare for Eurovision 2023.
News Source: EBU/RTSH
Photo Credit: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett
