lavieenrose
Albania Superstar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIju1139rF0 I talk about judgment a lot as an underrated trait for successful Eurovision contestants, but I don't think I've ever fully explained what I mean. When you're up there with everybody else in talent, song quality, and performance, it really does come down to brass tax, and decision-making instincts can make or break you. Last year, for example, Molly was one of the favorites and probably would've stood a darn good chance of winning were it not for the fact that she was faced with the decision "to get drunk before my performance or not to get drunk before my performance" and chose the former. The year before, Moje 3 were faced with the decision "to keep the outfits from the national final or to ditch them for different, somehow more ridiculous ones," and they rode their choice of the latter all the way to victory…in the Barbara Dex Award and a so-close-but-so-far 11th place in the semi. This year, I've talked about judgment mostly in the context of Måns' foot-in-mouth syndrome, but Elhaida needs the judgment talk, too. "Quédate Conmigo" is a very demanding song, one that really strains the voice. It was clear from the rehearsal footage that her voice is very tired, and if I had sounded like that, I would've thought "vocal rest until I absolutely have to sing," but no, she decided to sing a song which tires out the exact part of her range that needs to be rested. She sang it well, but I didn't really notice because I spent most of the video screaming "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELF?" at my computer.
