Albania ALBANIA 2016 - Eneda Tarifa - Fairytale
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Brandt
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- December 27, 2014
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I guess Albania was blown up after Belgium's performance. In an ordinary contest year such as 2015, 2014 or 2012, I'd mind seeing Albania qualifing to the final but in such a weak semi final, Albania was reasonable to qualify especially instead of some others.
Nicholas123
Well-known member
You are not alone....
Updated
My mum watched both semifinals and gave me her favorites
From the 2nd semi her most fave song was(wtf?
) and
PeterLPZ
Well-known member
Perhaps Albania won´t change the language next year, this was the biggest fault.
musicfan
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Same. Definite top 8 in semi. Well, I don't predict what the audience will do, I always expect disappointments.
JimmyJump
Member
The amount of Serbian people who dislike the song on youtube is too damn high !
Vulgarnost
Member
...and that's why I loveeee it xD
GermanBango
Well-known member
I forgot that this was even there. 
1
1
Dull as pond water. It was dull in Albanian to begin with, but the English version was uninspired. Sandwiched with the well-staged Georgia and Belgium, this was run down by a bus, train, taxi, whale and a concorde plane at one go!
Simon87
Well-known member
My friends were laughing so hard when she sang that ah uh ih ah yes I love you moment
RainyWoods
Croak-kay
I actually really like how this was staged. I thought it looked beautiful and Eneda was stunning. Any chances this may have had were unfortunately killed by the revamp. In the end I warmed to the new version and gave it a vote last night, but the impact of the original version was completely stripped away. It's a shame because it would have had a fighting chance if they kept it as a Bond-esque power ballad. The entry still kept it's very Albanian feel though, even in English. Melodically complex and all over the place. Never stop please Albania being interesting. Just make more careful decisions in the future.
Time for me to review this year's Albanian entry
Eneda Tarifa - Fairytale
Status: Meh
Song: Albania is one of my favourite countries in Eurovision because they almost always come up with authentic songs that have a soul: it didn't really work for me in 2013 but apart from that year, I truly appreciated their songs and generally clever revamps (2010, 2012, 2015), I'm aware that is an unpopular opinion but I also like the final versions of "Feel The Passion" (2011) and "One Night's Anger" (2014) a lot: I understand they might have lost their original uniqueness and potential, yet I think they were still strong efforts. Even without listening to this year's entry, when I read "Përrallë" became "Fairytale Love" (and later "Fairytale"), I started doubting about Albania's chances. Why? Just a feeling, the song title foretold cheesiness and lack of originality, but I didn't want to draw hasty conclusions: maybe it would positively surprise me.
I discovered the song during the second semi final and I have to say that I remembered absolutely NOTHING at first listen, some parts here and there were nice but I wouldn't have voted for them as they failed to leave an impression on me. When re-listening to the song carefully, it grew on me to some extent because the musicality of Albanian entries is very rich, and this effort, despite not having been revamped the way it should have been, is not an exception. "Fairytale" is a song about love that's all I can say since I don't understand some lines of the lyrics: Eneda loves someone she would even die for, she says love is a concept that is too grand to fathom throughout a lifetime, however she knows it is a cure for pain and negative attitudes. In the second verse, she seems to suggest all one could give to someone is sometimes not sufficient and moving on is the only way to find true love again, since that's what we "crave" basically. On the musical aspect, the song starts off with an electric guitar intro of a few seconds before Eneda begins to sing: it's actually a loop of 4 notes with added longer electric guitar notes in the background. It is actually quite interesting and intriguing, at first I was expecting a rock-inspired entry, but the instrumentation changes and expands later on. Then comes a light but "busy" Rnb-ish beat, thus giving more groove to the singer's vocal low register. During the pre-chorus, Eneda uses her high register while the arrangements change once again: now one can hear real drums, long and soft electric guitar notes, discreet strings and some hints of xylophone (I'm not sure about that one though). That part is my favourite because I can feel the song "take space", like a curtain that opens and progressively lets me discover new musical elements, if that makes sense. And Eneda's vocals are a delight at that point. The chorus finally starts with a new drum pattern and dramatic (but too discreet) "stormy-sounding" strings, while the xylophone (?) and backing vocals appear towards the "and I'd fight for you" part. After the second verse, they included an extra sequence where both backing vocalists and Eneda perform some vocalizes, which was unexpected imo and made the song structure less predictable and formulaic. Afterwards, the chorus is repeated two times and the last lines one more time. The composition per se is interesting, but I feel like its full potential has not been unleashed. First they translated the song (wrong idea if you ask me, Albanian language is so lovely and melodious) into English, which already made it sound more ordinary, and second it's like they toned down the openly dramatic flavour of the former arrangements for some reason. The issue is that the melody remains intrinsically dramatic and it feel weird to me to have such "shy" arrangements, there is a contradiction between both imo. It's totally ok for me to re-invent music and make it live in unexpected forms, however I don't believe that particular revamp was appropriate for Eurovision. The song simply didn't stand out anymore.
Voice: Eneda's voice is good, she can deliver and her vocal work there is noteworthy: her "oh-oh" during the chorus and the way she sings some staccato notes (during the verses) is rather unusual in pop music (it's rather reminiscent of jazz music), her quick transitions from low to high register during the pre-chorus is also not that common (I find that beautiful tbh). Besides, her vocal modulations at the end of the choruses ("my heaaart") add some originality and dynamism to that part. Vocally, she was on point during the semi, as usual, and seemed inhabited by the mood of the song. I think she made the most out of the song.
Staging: the Albanian delegation opted for a simple stage, maybe partly because the song demanded it: it was probably a tricky one to stage and, as it wasn't strong to stand on its own imo, it might have been overshadowed by a "busier" presentation. First thing that comes to mind: from backdrops to dress and hair, they went for an orangey-yellowy-golden colour scheme for most of the performance, which - you know - is already an interesting decision as most stages are either entirely blue or red, other predominant colours are refreshing. So, Eneda started singing at the centre of the stage with a series of white lights at the back, while the floor displayed blue water patterns and stairs appeared behind her. The white lights began to move during the pre-chorus, making the stage look less static. What amazed me is the almost unnoticeable transition of the floor from blue to gold, which reminded me of a creased gold foil. It looked expensive, glamourous and wonderful, I loved it, it's almost like - after looking like a mermaid walking on water - she turned into a gold statue standing on heaps of gold coins Strobe lights were used during the second chorus, adding more shine to the already glittery background. But the real star was the dress itself, living a life on its own and almost screaming: "look at me, betches!". It was a long close-fitting golden dress with a little slit from knee to toe, a long train and an big asymmetrical geometrical ornament. I thought it was kinda out there at first, but I ended up loving it, it's classy and Eneda looked precious. Overall, the stage was simple but not random or anonymous, the colours and patterns were a delight to look at imo and allowed the viewers to focus on the song and performance, which was the right thing to do in this case.
Outcome: Albania failed to qualify as they placed last (together with Denmark) with juries and 12th with televoters (surprisingly), overall finishing 16th. I expected their non-qualification tbh: while I don't think the original song wasn't that solid to begin with, the revamp indeed killed any chance of doing well imo, however they could have made something decent out of it had they gone unhesitatingly for the dramatic mood that shows through the melody. As they were, the arrangements were nice but not really suitable for Eurovision: they lacked that very needed "oomph" to me. "Fairytale" is 22nd (out of 42) in my personal ranking, which roughly corresponds to the meh category. Sometimes I do enjoy the song, sometimes I just find it flat, it definitely won't join my favourite Albanian entries. Guys, please be careful when revamping your future songs: don't translate the lyrics anymore in the first place because Albanian is amazing and isn't an impediment to success (Suus was your best result ever, so think about it), and keep as much as possible the original soul of the song you want to send. You can modernize it, tweak it and improve it but take care to respect the mood of the melody, otherwise it won't work. I'm looking forward to your next entry, please blow me away like you did lately! Do not bowdlerize yourselves!
Eneda Tarifa - Fairytale
Status: Meh
Song: Albania is one of my favourite countries in Eurovision because they almost always come up with authentic songs that have a soul: it didn't really work for me in 2013 but apart from that year, I truly appreciated their songs and generally clever revamps (2010, 2012, 2015), I'm aware that is an unpopular opinion but I also like the final versions of "Feel The Passion" (2011) and "One Night's Anger" (2014) a lot: I understand they might have lost their original uniqueness and potential, yet I think they were still strong efforts. Even without listening to this year's entry, when I read "Përrallë" became "Fairytale Love" (and later "Fairytale"), I started doubting about Albania's chances. Why? Just a feeling, the song title foretold cheesiness and lack of originality, but I didn't want to draw hasty conclusions: maybe it would positively surprise me.
I discovered the song during the second semi final and I have to say that I remembered absolutely NOTHING at first listen, some parts here and there were nice but I wouldn't have voted for them as they failed to leave an impression on me. When re-listening to the song carefully, it grew on me to some extent because the musicality of Albanian entries is very rich, and this effort, despite not having been revamped the way it should have been, is not an exception. "Fairytale" is a song about love that's all I can say since I don't understand some lines of the lyrics: Eneda loves someone she would even die for, she says love is a concept that is too grand to fathom throughout a lifetime, however she knows it is a cure for pain and negative attitudes. In the second verse, she seems to suggest all one could give to someone is sometimes not sufficient and moving on is the only way to find true love again, since that's what we "crave" basically. On the musical aspect, the song starts off with an electric guitar intro of a few seconds before Eneda begins to sing: it's actually a loop of 4 notes with added longer electric guitar notes in the background. It is actually quite interesting and intriguing, at first I was expecting a rock-inspired entry, but the instrumentation changes and expands later on. Then comes a light but "busy" Rnb-ish beat, thus giving more groove to the singer's vocal low register. During the pre-chorus, Eneda uses her high register while the arrangements change once again: now one can hear real drums, long and soft electric guitar notes, discreet strings and some hints of xylophone (I'm not sure about that one though). That part is my favourite because I can feel the song "take space", like a curtain that opens and progressively lets me discover new musical elements, if that makes sense. And Eneda's vocals are a delight at that point. The chorus finally starts with a new drum pattern and dramatic (but too discreet) "stormy-sounding" strings, while the xylophone (?) and backing vocals appear towards the "and I'd fight for you" part. After the second verse, they included an extra sequence where both backing vocalists and Eneda perform some vocalizes, which was unexpected imo and made the song structure less predictable and formulaic. Afterwards, the chorus is repeated two times and the last lines one more time. The composition per se is interesting, but I feel like its full potential has not been unleashed. First they translated the song (wrong idea if you ask me, Albanian language is so lovely and melodious) into English, which already made it sound more ordinary, and second it's like they toned down the openly dramatic flavour of the former arrangements for some reason. The issue is that the melody remains intrinsically dramatic and it feel weird to me to have such "shy" arrangements, there is a contradiction between both imo. It's totally ok for me to re-invent music and make it live in unexpected forms, however I don't believe that particular revamp was appropriate for Eurovision. The song simply didn't stand out anymore.Voice: Eneda's voice is good, she can deliver and her vocal work there is noteworthy: her "oh-oh" during the chorus and the way she sings some staccato notes (during the verses) is rather unusual in pop music (it's rather reminiscent of jazz music), her quick transitions from low to high register during the pre-chorus is also not that common (I find that beautiful tbh). Besides, her vocal modulations at the end of the choruses ("my heaaart") add some originality and dynamism to that part. Vocally, she was on point during the semi, as usual, and seemed inhabited by the mood of the song. I think she made the most out of the song.
Staging: the Albanian delegation opted for a simple stage, maybe partly because the song demanded it: it was probably a tricky one to stage and, as it wasn't strong to stand on its own imo, it might have been overshadowed by a "busier" presentation. First thing that comes to mind: from backdrops to dress and hair, they went for an orangey-yellowy-golden colour scheme for most of the performance, which - you know - is already an interesting decision as most stages are either entirely blue or red, other predominant colours are refreshing. So, Eneda started singing at the centre of the stage with a series of white lights at the back, while the floor displayed blue water patterns and stairs appeared behind her. The white lights began to move during the pre-chorus, making the stage look less static. What amazed me is the almost unnoticeable transition of the floor from blue to gold, which reminded me of a creased gold foil. It looked expensive, glamourous and wonderful, I loved it, it's almost like - after looking like a mermaid walking on water - she turned into a gold statue standing on heaps of gold coins
Strobe lights were used during the second chorus, adding more shine to the already glittery background. But the real star was the dress itself, living a life on its own and almost screaming: "look at me, betches!". It was a long close-fitting golden dress with a little slit from knee to toe, a long train and an big asymmetrical geometrical ornament. I thought it was kinda out there at first, but I ended up loving it, it's classy and Eneda looked precious. Overall, the stage was simple but not random or anonymous, the colours and patterns were a delight to look at imo and allowed the viewers to focus on the song and performance, which was the right thing to do in this case.Outcome: Albania failed to qualify as they placed last (together with Denmark) with juries and 12th with televoters (surprisingly), overall finishing 16th. I expected their non-qualification tbh: while I don't think the original song wasn't that solid to begin with, the revamp indeed killed any chance of doing well imo, however they could have made something decent out of it had they gone unhesitatingly for the dramatic mood that shows through the melody. As they were, the arrangements were nice but not really suitable for Eurovision: they lacked that very needed "oomph" to me. "Fairytale" is 22nd (out of 42) in my personal ranking, which roughly corresponds to the meh category. Sometimes I do enjoy the song, sometimes I just find it flat, it definitely won't join my favourite Albanian entries. Guys, please be careful when revamping your future songs: don't translate the lyrics anymore in the first place because Albanian is amazing and isn't an impediment to success (Suus was your best result ever, so think about it), and keep as much as possible the original soul of the song you want to send. You can modernize it, tweak it and improve it but take care to respect the mood of the melody, otherwise it won't work.
I'm looking forward to your next entry, please blow me away like you did lately! Do not bowdlerize yourselves!
RomanFromRussia
Well-known member
Entry no one cares about. She has made a huge mistake revamping the song.
Johnn
Member
- Joined
- April 14, 2014
- Posts
- 132
It was the delegation (I think she mentioned in one interview that it was specifically the writer) who wanted the revamp done. Albania always revamps their entries and they just never are as good as the originals, idk why they bother doing anything other than shortening it.