Albania: Details about Albina & Familja Kelmendi’s stage performance revealed!

The composer of “Duje”, gave an interview to RTSH, the public broadcaster of Albania, and revealed some first details about the stafing of the Alba nnian entry for Eurovision 2023.

Eriona Rushiti, who is the composer behind the Albanian song, talking about “Duje” and its staging, explained that the live performance that we are going to see on Liverpool isbeing made with great interest:

“This year, they are working very well for the stage. Especially since there are six people on stage, everything must be correct, the message must be conveyed clearly. I hope that the live song will have a lot of impact.”

Also, talking about this year’s stage director, Sacha Jean-Baptiste, she stated that:

“Sacha has been with her group in Pristina for a week. They work with every frame … how we will move the cameras and the lights. She worked with the choreography for all six members. I believe it will be very nice.”

Eriona Rushiti, also talked a bit about the revamp of the song and the reason it took place in Istanbul:

“That particular studio was chosen due to the fact that it was possible to use the “live” string orchestra and many instruments that were needed for the song. Especially since they know our culture. We couldn’t choose a studio from another country that doesn’t know our beat and the culture we have. The song took on a more modern spirit. We stayed true to the version that was presented at the RTSH Festival, but some other elements were strengthened.”

Albina & Familja Kelmendi are going to perform in the seconf half of the second semi-final of Eurovision 2023 in May 11.

Below you can watch our reaction video to “Duje”:

Source: festivali.rtsh.al

Albania: Listen to the revamped version of “Duje” for Eurovision 2023!

Albina & Familja Kelmendi, the Albanian entrants for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, have released the revamp of their Fik61 winning song and the official music video.

As for the revamp of “Duje”, this was done with the participation of live musical instruments including 60 strings in a studio in Istanbul. The song will be performed entirely in the Albanian language and does not differ much from the version heard at Festivali i Këngës.

Listen to “Duje” below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp8OG4ApocI

Albina & Familja Kelmendi will perform in the second half of the second semi-final on May 11.

Stay tuned on Eurovision Fun for all the updates regarding the Albanian entry in the upcoming 2023 Eurovision Song Contest!

 

San Marino: Ronela Hajati will participate in UVPSM with “SALVAJE”!

Earlier today, Ronela Hajati released the audio version of her new song called “SALVAJE” on her YouTube channel. Alongside with the song release, the previous representative of Albania in Eurovision 2022 will try to claim again to represent San Marino in Eurovision 2023 through the national final “Una Voce Per San Marino”. 

Down bellow you will find her new song on YouTube:

The Albanian singer will compete at the fourth semi final of “Una Voce Per San Marino” at Thursday 23 of February claiming one of the four tickets that will take her to the final.

Unlikely in 2022, the former Festivali i Kenges winner didn’t managed to qualify in the Grand Final of Eurovision conquering the 12th place in the first semi final with her song “SEKRET”.

Here is her live performance from Turin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jWXmo0-ZjI

 

What do you think about Ronela’s second attempt in the contest? Would you like to see her in Liverpool this year? Tell us in the comments down bellow!

 

Albania: With the assistance of Sacha Jean-Baptiste in Liverpool!

Earlier tonight it was announced that the well-known in the Eurovision world choreographer and director Sacha Jean-Baptiste will undertake the set-up of Albania’s participation, namely Albina & Familja Kelmendi with the song “Duje”, on the Eurovision 2023 stage .

This will not be the first time that Sacha Jean-Baptiste undertakes the direction of the Balkan country as the same thing happened in 2021 with the participation of Anxhela Peristeri “Karma” 

As far as the revamp of the song Duje is concerned, it took place with the participation of live musical instruments including 60 bows in a studio in Istanbul. The song will be performed entirely in the Albanian language and will not differ from the version heard at Festivali i Këngës. In addition, in March and April, there is going to be a promotion of the entry in events at Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam and Warsaw.

Below you can watch again the Albanian entry as it was performed in the National Final, Festivali i Këngës.

Stay tuned on Eurovision Fun for all the updates regarding the Albanian entry in the upcoming 2023 Eurovision Song Contest!

Eurovision 2023: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw Results!

Liverpool’s Saint George’s Hall with a very nice event hosted a few minutes ago the draw for the semi-finals of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

The analyzes of the fans and not only, have been on fire for a few minutes now. Since the theories based on the pre-history of the countries in the competition, it is a first insight into how passable the qualification to the final is or not. In other words, it’s time to make our predictions, about who will go through to the final and who are the favorites to say goodbye to Liverpool early…

The presenters and the handover ceremony

The Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw was hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. Both are on the staff of the BBC, being some of the most loved faces of British public broadcasting.

During the draw, the ceremony of handing over and accepting the emblem of the contest took place. The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, formally handed over the “keys to the event” to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Draw Procedure

The 31 countries competing in the semi-finals were divided into five pots, based on the scores they have exchanged in recent years with each other. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances that appear every year in the voting.

Big 5 and Ukraine

With the big winner of last year’s competition, Ukraine, directly in the final, along with the Big 5 (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semi-final that the direct finalists would vote for.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Ukraine
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom

In the semi-final that the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote for, the video from their dress rehearsal will also be shown. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal exposure of the countries directly in the final and the countries that qualify from the semi-finals. Essentially, viewers see each entry twice during the shows.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The allocation draw for the two semi-finals had two parts. In the first part the 31 countries participating in the semi-finals were drawn in which of the two they will compete in. Fifteen countries will compete in the first/second semi-final and sixteen in the first/second semi-final.

In the second part, each country learned whether it will appear in the first or second half of the semi-final in which it will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the show’s producers at a later date.

1st Semi-final (9 May):

1st Half

  • Serbia
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Sweden
  • Moldova
  • Switzerland
  • Israel
  • Netherlands
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • Czech Republic

2nd Semi-Final (11 May):

1st Half

  • Armenia
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Iceland
  • Greece
  • Estonia

2nd Half

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Lithuania
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
  • Georgia
  • Poland

Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest from 9 to 13 May at the Liverpool Arena. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “United by Music“.

You can see the draw again through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Today the semi-final draw!

At 20:00 CET and live from Saint George’s Hall in Liverpool, the Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw will take place.

During today’s event, there will also be the delivery-receipt of the emblem of the organization from the city of Turin to that of Liverpool. For this reason, today’s draw will be attended by both the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Presenters

The draw is expected to be hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan, both BBC presenters.

Draw Procedure

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that each of the six countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine) will broadcast and vote for.

The second part of the draw will determine which semi-final and which half the other 31 participating countries will compete in. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the event’s producers at a later date.

The 31 countries have been divided into five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by official TV partner Digame.

Pot 1
  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Pot 2
  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Pot 3
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
Pot 4
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
Pot 5
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Netherlands
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

In the evening, therefore, we all tune in for the draw of the semi-finals of our favorite competition. You can watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Semi-final allocation draw scheduled for the end of January!

In the latest episode of ” The Euro Trip podcast”, Councilor and Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Harry Doyle was a guest and spoke among others things, about the preparations for Eurovision 2023.

The allocation draw for the semi finals is any important date, since it marks the official start of the Eurovision season. During the event, the draw to determine in which semi finals countries will perform and which out of the two semis Big Five must broadcast and vote takes place, as well as the host city insignia exchange.

Mr Doyle revealed that preparations are underway for the ceremony which is gonna take place at the end of January. Furthermore, meetings with representatives of local and Ukrainian communities of Liverpool will also take place, to explore ways of collaboration. We remind you that as part of the agreement of BBC to host Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, is to include Ukrainians and Ukraine culture as part of the shows.

Even though Mr Doyle did not reveal the exact date of this years allocation draw, it is expected that it will be at the last Tuesday of January, as it happened the two previous years, meaning January 31st.

Below you can listen the full episode of the podcast:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on Eurovision 2023!

Source: The Euro Trip Podcast

Eurovision 2022: These are the 50 most-watched performances on YouTube!

For yet another year, just some hours before the New Year, Eurovision TV reveales the 50 songs that got the most views throught the year, on the contest’s official YouTube channel.

On the list, there are 13 winning songs, while 23 more from the 40 songs that took part in Eurovision 2022.

Let’s see the songs that the TOP 50: Most watched in 2022 is consisted of:

50) 🇱🇻 Citi Zēni – “Eat Your Salad” – Latvia 2022 

49) 🇦🇿 Efendi – “Mata Hari” – Azerbaijan 2021

48) 🇫🇮 Blind Channel – “Dark Side” – Finland 2021

47) 🇦🇿 Nadir Rustamli – “Fade To Black” – Azerbaijan 2022

46) 🇬🇷 Helena Paparizou – “My Number One” – Greece 2005

45) 🇹🇷 Mor ve Ötesi – “Deli” – Turkey 2008

44) 🇫🇮 The Rasmus – “Jezebel” – Finland 2022

43) 🇷🇸 Marija Šerifović – “Molitva”– Serbia 2007

42) 🇩🇪 Lena – “Satellite” – Germany 2010

41) 🇸🇪 Måns Zelmerlöw – “Heroes”– Sweden 2015

40. 🇲🇩 Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira – “Run Away” – Moldova 2010

39) 🇮🇹 Mahmood – “Soldi” – Italy 2019

38) 🇬🇷 Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together” – Greece 2022

37) 🇧🇪 Jérémie Makiese – “Miss You” – Belgium 2022 

36) 🇺🇦 Ruslana – “Wild Dances” – Ukraine  2004

35) 🇷🇺 Sergey Lazarev – “You Are The Only One” – Russia 2016

34) 🇦🇿 Aysel and Arash – “Always” – Azerbaijan 2009

33) 🇺🇦 Jamala – “1944” – Ukraine 2016

32) 🇷🇺 Manizha – “Russian Woman” – Russia 2021

31) 🇵🇹 MARO – “saudade, saudade” – Portugal 2022

30) 🇩🇪 Malik Harris – “Rockstars” – Germany 2022

29) 🇫🇷 Barbara Pravi – “Voilà” – France 2021

28) 🇵🇱 Ochman – “River” – Poland 2022

27) 🇫🇮 Lordi – “Hard Rock Hallelujah” – Finland 2006

26) 🇸🇪 Loreen – “Euphoria” – Sweden 2012

25) 🇨🇾 Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” – Cyprus 2018

24) 🇨🇾 Andromache – “Ela” – Cyprus 2022

23) 🇫🇷 Alvan & Ahez – “Fulenn” – France 2022

22) 🇹🇷 maNga – “We Could Be The Same” – Turkey 2010

21) 🇳🇱 Duncan Laurence – “Arcade” – Netherlands 2019

20) 🇸🇪 Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer” – Sweden 2022

19) 🇺🇦 Verka Serduchka – “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” – Ukraine 2007

18) 🇹🇷 Hadise – “Düm Tek Tek” – Turkey 2009

17) 🇦🇹 LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – “Halo” – Austria 2022

16) 🇲🇩 Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – “Trenulețul” – Moldova 2022

15) 🇳🇱 S10 – “De Diepte” – Netherlands 2022

14) 🇮🇹 Mahmood & BLANCO – “Brividi” – Italy 2022

13) 🇦🇱 Ronela Hajati –“Sekret” – Albania 2022

12) 🇮🇱 Netta – “TOY” – Israel 2018

11) 🇦🇲 Rosa Linn – “Snap” – Armenia 2022

10)🇷🇸 Konstrakta – ”In Corpore Sano” – Σερβία 2022

9)🇷🇴 WRS – ”Llámame” – Ρουμανία 2022

8)🇺🇦 Go_A – ”Shum” – Ουκρανία 2021

7)🇳🇴 Alexander Rybak – ”Fairytale” – Νορβηγία 2009

6) 🇮🇹 Måneskin – ”Zitti E Buoni’‘ – Ιταλία 2021

5) 🇳🇴 Subwoolfer – ”Give That Wolf A Banana” – Νορβηγία 2022

4)🇬🇧 Sam Ryder – ”SPACE MAN” – Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο 2022

3)🇷🇺 Little Big – ”Uno” – Ρωσία 2020

2)🇪🇸 Chanel – ”SloMo” – Ισπανία 2022

1)🇺🇦 Kalush Orchestra – ”Stefania” – Ουκρανία 2022

 

What do you think of the TOP 50, do you agree with the results? Write us in the comments below!

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest!

Albania: “Duje” to remain in Albanian for Eurovision 2023!

A few days ago, Festivali i Këngës 61 ended with Albina & Familja Kelmendi being the ones who received the ticket to represent Albania in the Eurovision 2023 contest, with the song “Duje“.

Speaking to RTSH, Albina made revelations about the song “Duje” in Eurovision 2023. In an interview with Albania’s public broadcaster, Albina confirmed that “Duje” will remain in Albanian, meaning that Albania is one of the countries that chooses its own language in Eurovision every year since 2018.

However, one more tradition of the country that will continue in 2023 is that the song will be revamped ahead of the competition this May in Liverpool as she revealed.

Below, watch the winning performance of Albina & Familja Kelmendi, with the song “Duje” that will represent Albania at Eurovision 2023:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZxe3Ce6yEI

Watch the Eurovisionfun team react to Albina & Familja Kelmendi with the song  “Duje”, Albania’s entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: Eurovision Albania

What do you think will be the fate of Albania in Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Albania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Albania: Eurovisionfun Reacts to Eurovision 2023 Entry ”Duje” (video)

For one more year, the Public Television of Albania (RTSH) chose to participate in Eurovision through FiK. The grand final took place at Pallati i Kongreseve in Tirana, with Albina & Familja Kelmendi receiving at the end of the night the ticket to Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

The Eurovisionfun team couldn’t help but see and comment on “Duje”, the country’s entry for the upcoming Eurovision contest! Enjoy Bogiannos Apostolos, Matamis Apostolis and Gialetzi Stella in a delightful reaction video with detailed commentary for the second entry for the 2023 edition of Eurovision!

Below, watch the winning performance of Albina & Familja Kelmendi, with the song “Duje” that will represent Albania at Eurovision 2023:

What do you think will be the fate of Albania in Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Albania’s participation in Eurovision 2023!