It’s the Eurovision down season, and don’t you for a second think we’re going to stop speculating, arguing, and pushing our heated opinions. Our latest series will look at the national finals of Eurovision, and discussing how we would reform the national finals of Eurovision. Today we’re having a look at Festivali i Këngës.
In part thirteen of this series Angus, Kittens, and Euan discuss what changes they’d make to Albania’s national final.
What is Festivali i Këngës?
Albania’s Festivali i Këngës long predates Albania’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 1962, Albanian musicians perform for the broadcast audience in December. At inception, Festivali i Këngës focused on “light music”, a populist kind of classical music. Following the end of a period of censorship in the 1970s and 80s, performers chose from a variety of genres, and love songs, political entries, and rock music became more common; starting in the 1990s, diasporia Albanian singers were also allowed to participate. The entries at FiK have since then often reflected political and social issues prevalent in Albania, such as the transition away from communism, the rash of pyramid schemes in the mid-1990s, and the fragmentation of family units. As of 2004, the winner of Festivali i Këngës gains first refusal to represent Albania at Eurovision; however, beginning in 2022, the jury winner is separate from the televote winner, the latter of whom gets to go to Eurovision.
Do we like what the NF does so far, and do we think there’s a chance of it producing a winner?
Kittens
This feels like a hard one, because although FiK is certainly quite a show, I feel it might fit into the category of ‘Shows that pick good songs, but not good songs for Eurovision’. There’s no doubt there’s a lot of talent in Albania, and a lot of talent makes it to FiK, but their performance at Eurovision has generally not been good. As much as I applaud any country that wants to send music representative of themselves and make a break from the norm, I do think Albania in particular struggles to find a way to the hearts of the voters, and they are making the mistake of making a song for FiK and less a song for Eurovision. You only have to look at the number, and scale of revamps that have taken place to see the problem here.
Angus
I wish I loved FiK more than I do. The orchestra, the songs, the vocal ability on display (well, usually), and so on all tick some big important boxes for me. However, the show itself tends to feel a little lacklustre to me. But between the music, the variety in the music (yes, there actually is quite a bit of it on display), and the attempts at making it both a celebration of Albanian music and a good selection show for Eurovision, I think that RTSH is doing some good work. Albania will always face an uphill battle if they want to finish high, let alone win. But I do think that every year there are songs with breakout potential, even if some of them would be risky picks.
Euan
I don’t think Albania is within any shot of winning Eurovision any time soon, but I don’t feel that the result of FiK. It’s a geeat show at doing what it does, and produces some great songs. The main barrier I feel Albania faces at Eurovision is stripping back any authentic and great Albanian music with what is consistently the worst devamp of the year. FiK isn’t some cheap selection. There is greatness there and taking the winning song and making it into some dull sterile attempt at a commercialised, boring Europop that feels Eurovisiony isn’t the way to win or do well at Eurovision. Authenticity and brining Albanian culture is what they need to do.
What changes would we make to the National Final?
Kittens
I do think there’s an argument for separating FiK from a national selection in this case. FiK has a long history that long outdates their involvement in Eurovision, and it’s easy to see why it has such a pedigree in the country. However with that pedigree comes a certain lack of awareness as to what works for Eurovision. A spin-off show maybe, with a handful of entrants, with a more Eurovision-friendly offering, would maybe change their fortunes. But even if you couldn’t do this, maybe more of a focus on voting for a participant for Eurovision in particular. The split use between jury winner and televote winner makes no sense at all.
Angus
As Kittens says, a bit more separation between FiK as a festival and FiK as a national final might not be a bad idea. We are seeing the start of this already, with the winner of FiK and the winner of a Eurovision ticket no longer (necessarily) being the same. And while I appreciate this split, Kittens is right in it not making a lot of sense at the moment. I am unsure about what the best way to fix this is, because FiK is its own thing and I would want it to stay that way. A thing I definitely would like to see is an end to the complete overhauls of selected entries. A revamp or something is often necessary when going from an orchestral version (or the original studio version) to a Eurovision version. But these “revamps” just fully change the song half the time, and often to the track’s detriment.
Euan
I think they need to end the bifuricated winners. In the context of FiK this just doesn’t make sense. If the competitors were competing with Eurovision-ready songs then it wouldn’t be so bad, but songs in FiK bear little resemblance to what actually goes to ESC. The televote should remain to democratise the show, but it should be equally weighted to the jury in selecting the winner; and the Albanian act that goes to Eurovision. With the revamp required for Eurovision strictly made to reflect what actually won in Tirana.
Do we think any reforms are likely to happen to this NF?
Kittens
It’s refreshing to see new Artistic Director Elhaida Dani looking at making changes, and hopefully with her level of experience on the other side of the competition, some changes can be made that will impact on the future of Albania at Eurovision, because it’s not been a good run for them in the past few years. It really feels like it will need big changes to see Albania back as a real competitor at Eurovision, and given their powerhouse vocalists, they have the gusto, just not the songs and the production to really push through to that ever important semi-final public vote.
Angus
Changes are being looked at and, as far as I can tell, are quite likely too. The other Albanian-language music festival competition, Kënga Magjike, is also seeing some major changes. And on top of that Elhaida Dani is in control of FiK? Yes, I genuinely expect some changes, both in format and what songs get selected. Will it make FiK a better show, and what about the Eurovision results? We will have to wait and see.
Euan
I think there’s a strong possibility of reforms to the show. I do fear that the changes will be in the wrong direction. FiK is great because it’s something truly unique with regards to Eurovision. I would hate to see it lose its ancient charm in the drive modernise something that shouldn’t be.
Albania’s Eurovision Journey
In 2004, Albania made their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest with Anjeza Shahini with “Image of You”, which placed 7th in the final. Since their debut, Albania has participated 20 times, and made the final 10 times. They achieved their best result in 2012, where Rona Nishliu placed 5th with “Suus”.
Besa represented Albania in 2024 with the song “Titan”. “Titan” performed in the second semi-final, where it ultimately placed fifteenth out of sixteen, receiving 14 points from the televote.
What do you think about our reforms? As always, let us know what you think by commenting down below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all the latest Eurovision news!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Tim J