Armenia & Albania

Armenia

Walking out by Srbuk

If Billie Eilish were born in Armenia, she would probably be Srbuk in a few years. Srbuk’s voice promises a determined woman who does not take rubbish from anyone. Disturbingly, the lyrics and video quickly reveal that she surrounds herself with morons that push her about – I am sure Billie would not put up with that sort of shite. Watch out for the key change and crescendo, which Srbuk nails. A contender for the finals!

Review by Mariella Herberstein

Albania

Ktheju tokës by Jonida Maliqi

There is no doubt that this song is in the wrong contest. First of all, it’s in Albanian – amazing, isn’t it? Even France is starting to partially sing in English and that’s saying something! And then these sounds, what on earth is this? A wide variety of percussion, offbeats, vocals whose melody and intonations are classic Eastern Europe, not to mention the singer’s deep, warm and penetrating voice… Fortunately, the simplistic structure catches up a little bit: a single verse of three sentences and that’s it, after that we just have to repeat twice the sequence “pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus” and that was the game! Conclusion: obviously too good to win….

Review by Jean Bienvenu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *