Shaj

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shaj
Arilena Macaw
publication 20th December 2019
length 2:57
Genre (s) pop
text Lindon Berisha
music Darko Dimitrov, Lazar Cvetkovski

Shaj ( Albanian for scream or insult ) is the winning song of the 58th Festivali i Këngës . The title was presented by Arilena Ara . The music is by Darko Dimitrov and Lazar Cvetkovski, the Albanian text by Lindon Berisha. The English re-recording titled Fall From The Sky ( English for falling from the sky ) was published in March 2020th With this version, Ara should represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam . The competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .

Festivali i Këngës and background

On December 9, 2019, the responsible television broadcaster RTSH published all contributions to the Festivali i Këngës on YouTube . A week later it was announced that Ara would appear in the second semifinals. This took place on December 20th, from which Ara qualified for the final. She won this on December 22, 2019 with 67 points, three points ahead of Elvana Gjata . Her song was conducted by Gridi Kraja on both appearances.

Ara's victory at the festival caused strong reactions nationally and in fan circles. Rita Petro, member of the jury, later defended her decision.

Immediately after the festival, Ara announced that the title had originally been brought to her in an English version and remained open about whether the title should be sung in English at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Content

The piece is held at a tempo of 145 beats per minute . The violin solo plays a prominent role at the beginning and during the song. The beat begins with the second verse. The music comes from Darko Dimitrov and Lazar Cvetkovski. The fact that composers outside Albania were allowed to take part in the Festivali i Këngës for the very first time caused criticism. Dimitrov previously wrote music for performers predominantly from the ex-Yugoslav region. The copywriter Lindon Berisha is also from North Macedonia and took part in the Top Fest in 2009 .

The English language version was published in March. The text here comes from Michael Blue, Robert Stevenson and Sam Schummer. The title has also been rearranged. Ara is initially only accompanied by the piano. In the new version, the violin solo moves significantly into the background, the instrumental intermezzo is completely missing in the last third. The last part of the title is sung in a different key . The Albanian version is 2:57 minutes long, while the English version is 3:08 minutes.

publication

Although the title was released before the festival in December, it was not available as a digital download or stream, but only appeared on YouTube . It wasn't until March 17, 2020 that Shaj appeared as a digital download on various platforms. Nevertheless, the publication date is sometimes given as December 20, 2019. On March 9 and 10, 2020, Fall from the Sky was released both as a download and as a video with lyrics.

Shaj 
No. title length
1. Shaj 2:57
Overall length: 2:57
Fall from the Sky 
No. title length
1. Fall from the Sky 3:08
2. Fall from the Sky (Karaoke Version) 3:08
Overall length: 6:16

reception

As already mentioned, the victory of the title and the interpreters at the Festivali i Këngës was not without controversy. Edmond Zhulali, the composer of several winning entries, accused the organizers of having violated the interests of Albanian identity and spoke of "rape". He criticized the fact that the long-standing tradition of only allowing Albanian composers had been broken. This regulation has been present since the very first festival, but has never been questioned. Nevertheless, he believes that Arilena is a worthy representative of Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest. Irving Wolther describes Shaj as a "melancholy power ballad" and described the victory at the festival as a "Christmas fairy tale ".

At the Eurovision Song Contest

With the victory of the song at the Festivali i Këngës, it should represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in May 2020. The competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Costa Christou: Listen to the 20 entries of Festivali i Këngës 58. In: ESCXtra. December 9, 2019, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ eurovisionalbania: picture with the starting order. In: Instagram . December 15, 2019, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Stefano Casellini: Albania: The final line-up of Festivali i Këngës 58 is complete! In: ESCToday. December 21, 2019, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Vincent Mazoyer: FiK 58 full results out: Shaj won with a three-point margin. In: ESCXtra. December 23, 2019, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  5. ↑ RTSH: Second semi-final on Facebook. In: Facebook . December 20, 2019, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Padraig Muldoon: Elvana Gjata on Festivali i Këngës 58 result. In: Wiwibloggs. December 24, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Padraig Muldoon: Festivali i Këngës 58 host Alketa Vejsiu speaks out amidst social media controversy. In: Wiwibloggs. December 23, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  8. ↑ I “rrëmbeu” fitoren Elvanës / Arilena Ara falenderon bashkëpunëtorët, po Alketën dhe Verën i përmend? In: FaxWeb. December 25, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Rita Petro flet pas polemikave të në Festivalit RTSH. In: ABC News. December 24, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  10. ↑ William Lee Adams: A “Shaj” revamp? Albania's Arilena Ara discusses potential changes including English lyrics. In: Wiwibloggs. December 23, 2019, accessed March 31, 2020 .
  11. ^ Key and BPM for Fall from the Sky by Arilena Ara. In: Tunebat. Accessed March 31, 2020 (English).
  12. ↑ a b Edmond Zhulali "irritohet" me organizatorët: Shkelën Rende interesat Kombëtare të muzikës shqiptare. In: Balkanweb. December 24, 2019, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Lindon Berisha: Biography. In: Tekste Shqip. Retrieved January 18, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Arilena Ara - Albania - Rotterdam 2020. In: eurovision.tv. Retrieved March 10, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Luis Fuster: Fall from the sky! Arilena Ara drops the final version of her Eurovision 2020 entry. In: Wiwibloggs. March 10, 2020, accessed on March 10, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Shaj by Arilena Ara on Amazon Music - Amazon.de. In: Amazon . March 17, 2020, accessed March 31, 2020 .
  17. ↑ "Shaj - Single" by Arilena Ara on Apple Music. In: iTunes . Accessed March 31, 2020 .
  18. ↑ "Fall from the Sky - Single" by Arilena Ara on Apple Music. In: Apple Music . Accessed March 31, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest: Arilena Ara - Fall From The Sky - Albania - Official Lyric Video. In: YouTube . March 10, 2020, accessed on March 31, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Dr. Irving Wolther: Arilena Ara will sing for Albania in 2020. In: eurovision.de. Accessed March 31, 2020 .
predecessor Office successor
Ktheju tokës
( Jonida Maliqi )		 EuroAlbania.svg
Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest
2020 		-