"" (; ) is a song by Albanian singer-songwriter Ronela Hajati. It was written by Hajati herself and produced by Marko Polo. Musically, it is an Albanian-language upbeat "ethno"

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song with folk instrumentation included in its instrumentation that tells the tale of a forbidden relationship and Hajati's "intense longing for the sexual desire of her love interest to be fulfilled." Originally released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 5 March 2022, it represented Albania at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy, after winning the 60th edition of in December 2021.

Background and composition

"" was written by Hajati herself and produced by Albanian producer Marko Polo. Combining traditional and modern elements, "" is an Albanian-language upbeat "ethno"

song whose instrumentation includes folk instrumentation. The song tells the tale of a forbidden relationship and Hajati's "intense longing for the sexual desire of her love interest to be fulfilled." In an interview in January 2022, Hajati revealed that the song would undergo a revamp with Dutch producer

Diztortion Raoul Lionel Chen (born 2 November 1984), better known as Diztortion, is a Dutch-born songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with the UK artists Stylo G, Lethal Bizzle, Tinie Tempah and Sigma. His first notable release was "Sou ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. "" was independently released as a single on digital platforms and to

streaming services A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...

on 2 December 2021. For the purpose of Hajati's Eurovision participation, the song was revamped and made available on the aforementioned formats on 5 March 2022.

Music video and promotion

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "" premiered on the official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

on 4 March 2022. Filmed in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

and along the Vjosë River at

Byllis Byllis (; ; ) or Bullis or Boullis (Βουλλίς) was an ancient city and the chief settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Bylliones, traditionally located in southern Illyria. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyria or Epi ...

and

Tepelenë Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino. Until the abolition ...

, the video is a tribute to the Albanian mythological snake of Bistricë. Regarding the video's theme, it was aimed to increase public awareness and conservation efforts for the threatened Vjosë River, which is often dubbed as Europe's last living wild river. To further promote the song, Hajati went on to perform "" at the Eurovision pre-parties in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

between March and April 2022. She also performed the song live during Romania's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, , on 5 March.

Reception

Spanish singer

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

incorporated "" on her exclusive

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

playlist . The song further received a nomination for the Best Non-Qualifier at the 2022 Eurovision Awards. In the year 2022,

Top Albania Radio Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a mounta ...

included the song in its year-end compilation of the top songs, positioning it at number 65.

At Eurovision Song Contest

Before Turin

The Albanian national broadcaster, (RTSH), organised the 60th edition of to choose the nation's representative for the

, Italy. It consisted of two semi-finals on 27 and 28 December, respectively, and the grand final on 29 December 2021. Prior to her participation at , Hajati stated that it has always been her dream to participate at the

. While music critics were favorable towards both Hajati's vocal delivery and the song's ethnic nature, the singer has been regarded by media as a strong contender to win the contest. A postcard video introduced Hajati's performances, portraying the close relationship she had with her father, Marash Hajati, who had led the national broadcaster, RTSH, for several years. During her warrior-inspired performances, Hajati wore a black and gold costume, which featured bold epaulettes and a tight corset, to convey her strength. Onstage, the singer was accompanied by numerous dancers and a variety of dark imagery was displayed on the

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

backdrop. In the grand final of the contest, Hajati was announced as the winner of the contest and the Albanian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

In Turin

The

took place at the

PalaOlimpico Palasport Olimpico, officially operating with the sponsored name Inalpi Arena except during events prohibiting sponsorship names when it is usually known as simply PalaOlimpico, or occasionally PalaIsozaki after Arata Isozaki, its architect, is a ...

, Italy, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 10 and 12 May and the grand final on 14 May 2022. According to the Eurovision rules, all participating countries, except the host nation and the " Big Five", consisting of , , , and the , are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final, although the top 10 countries from their respective semi-finals progress to the grand final. In March 2022, it was announced that "" would be performed first in the first semi-final of the contest.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

and

. ''Note: Open description for credits.''

Original

* Ronela Hajaticomposing, songwriting, vocals *Marko Poloarranging, producing

Revamp

* Ronela Hajaticomposing, songwriting, vocals *

producing

Track listing

*Digital download #"" (Festivali i Këngës)3:33 *Digital download #"" (Eurovision version)3:01

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs 2022 singles 2022 songs Songs in Albanian Eurovision songs of 2022 Eurovision songs of Albania Festivali i Këngës songs