Albania
Oh, Albania. This country can be very disappointing as it can be very impressive. It's interesting, honestly. But it shouldn't be hard to cut really dreadful entries. We'll see how Albania places in my country top, but now, here's the Albanian non-qualifiers.
11th / 2007 - Frederik Ndoci & Aida - Hear My Plea
Mmmmmm well, the least we talk about this, the better it is.
10th / 2013 - Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko - Identitet
This entry is bad. I like the rock touch and the national language but it's mixed in a kind of messy way. I can see why it did not qualify.
9th / 2016 - Eneda Tarifa - Fairytale
Well, the Festivali i Kenges version (Përallë) was really a nice dramatic ballad with a kind of rocky touch added in the mix but the ESC version killed the chances of having a Tirana 2017. I find the staging dreadful. So, it's no wonder that I'm cutting off this entry.
8th / 2011 - Aurela Gaçe - Feel The Passion
Errrr, I don't know if someone will agree with me, but I find this awful. The staging kind of saves it a bit but it's not enough, I think. Well, sorry Aurela.
7th / 2006 - Luiz Ejlli - Zjarr e ftohtë
I'll be honest, I don't really like traditional songs and this won't be an exception. I find the melody a little little bit annoying but Luiz has fun and he shows it. Good for him and a good point for the song.
6th / 2008 - Olta Boka - Zemrën e lamë peng
The last Albanian song I kind of dislike is that entry. It has some good points but it's very forgettable. Albania improved then.
5th / 2010 - Juliana Pasha - It's All About You
The first Albanian song I like is this pleasant entry from 2010. Juliana's song is a typical ESC track, thus however it's not really unique neither unforgettable.
4th / 2009 - Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams
OOOooooh controversy time ! This is far from being a bad entry and it's really good, but I don't know, it lacks a "je ne sais quoi", something that really makes it great. The fact that there are limited places in the final top 200 is also playing, I guess.
3rd / 2012 - Rona Nishliu - Suus
OOOooooh even more controversy time ! Again, this is like Carry Me in Your Dreams. Suus was part of the best ballads of 2012 and the voice of Rona generates goosebumps. But again, I think it lacks something super-impressive that would make it stand out among the other ballads.
Qualifiers (2/11)
- Hersi - One Night's Anger (2014)
- Elhaida Dani - I'm Alive (2015)
So far, only 2 Albanian songs make it to the final top 200. One was criminally underrated while the other was underrated but not so much. The 2 songs are great rocky ballads that are standing out among the others. One barely made it through, however ! The next country is
Andorra. Will the record be the same ? With only 4 entries, it would need only one entry qualifying...
Andorra
Andorra is one of the lamest countries in ESC, imo. The only one of the microstates. Monaco and San Marino sent us magnificient and unique songs, but Andorra does not really stand out. That way, the casualties shall be high.
4th / 2009 - Susanne Georgi - La teva decisió (Get a Life)
After relisten, this is a dreadful entries that tries to sound like early 00s pop but fails. I used to love this, but then it rolled downhill and downhill.
3rd / 2006 - Jenny - Sense tu
No wonder that came last. This is incredibly forgettable and boring. I don't need to say one thing anymore.
2nd / 2007 - Anonymous - Salvem al món
A 2007 rock song, and as all 2007 rock songs imo, this one is meh. F!ck it. The vocals are awful, but in a mediocre year as 2007, they are kind of good compared to others. Still not enough.
1st / 2008 - Gisela - Casanova
I like this, but I find this too generic and bland to get a spot in the top 200. I have to cut it off but this is kind of a guilty pleasure.
Qualifiers (0/4)
And it does not ! I can see why Andorra never qualified. I would have liked them to in 2008, but it was not enough. Still, a lame country.
Next is...ooooooh, guess who,
Armenia,
Australia,
Austria and
Azerbaijan.
