"Suus" (; []) is a song by Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter Rona Nishliu. It was released as part of a CD Compilation album, compilation on 4 May 2012 by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. The song was written by the singer herself and composed by Florent Boshnjaku. Musically, it is an

Albanian-language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

-inspired

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, which lyrically addresses an

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

al circumstance reflecting the moments that occurred in the past and the expectations of insecure tomorrows. The song represented Albania in the

2012 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by Ell and Nikki. It was the first time Azerbaijan ...

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, Azerbaijan, after winning the country's pre-selection competition

Festivali i Këngës (; ), commonly known as and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined th ...

. It reached the fifth place in a field of twenty-six, scoring a total of one hundred and forty six points and remaining the country's highest placement to date. During her minimalistic performance, Nishliu was performing alone in front of dark-coloured LED screens featuring red and white flashing lights in the background. "Suus" received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

upon its release, commending its authenticity and the singer's vocal delivery. 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 ...

was premiered to the official

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channel of the

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on 17 March 2012. It visually amplifies the

absurdity Absurdity is the state or condition of being unreasonable, meaningless, or so unsound as to be irrational. "Absurd" is the adjective used to describe absurdity, e.g., "Tyler and the boys laughed at the absurd situation." It derives from the Lat ...

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

through an

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

form simultaneously allowing the viewer to create a variety of interpretations. In 2012, the singer performed the song on multiple occasions in Cyprus, Hungary, Romania and the Netherlands.

Background and composition

In 2011, Rona Nishliu was announced as one of the contestants selected to compete in the 50th edition of

, a competition to determine Albania's participant for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

. As part of the competition's rules, the lyrics of the participating entries had to be in the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

. The singer took part with "Suus" written by Nishliu herself and composed by Florent Boshnjaku. For the purpose of the singer's Eurovision Song Contest participation, the song was remastered undergoing a few structural modifications at its intro,

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

and

instrumentation Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

. It was produced at the

Ocean Way Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates recording facilities, but Oc ...

and

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...

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, and mastered at the Sterling Sound Studios in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Musically, the song is an

-inspired

. It lyrically addresses an

al condition reflecting on the moments that occurred in the past and the expectations of unsure tomorrows. It focuses on Nishliu's personal experiences, with her stating in an interview that "it's about the difficult times everyone can have, but there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel–only if you search for this light, you will find it". Veronika Pohl of Eurovision.de wrote "the pain of her own story seems to resonate in the song, as Nishliu had to leave her home city Mitrovica due to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

in the 1999s".

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Suus" was received with positive reviews by

. William Lee Adams of

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was skeptical when he first heard the song but upon realising that Nishliu was singing "Qaj" (Cry in English), he said that "it really drove home the point that "Suus" is a deeply emotional ballad". In a

Wiwibloggs Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009 by journalist William Lee Adams. History In April 2015, Wiwibloggs won the Arts & Culture category at the UK Blog Awards. Adams has judged ...

review containing several reviews from individual critics, including Deban Aderemi and William Lee Adams, praise was given towards Nishliu's voice and the song's authentic nature, while Aderemi concluded that it is as an "absolute masterpiece". Chris Zammarelli from Eurovision Lemurs similarly commended the singer's "powerful" vocal delivery. Keith Watson of

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

included Nishliu's performance in its list of "The 'real' winners of the Eurovision Song Contest" and found it "an emotive epic performance that displays her incredible vocal range".

Promotion and release

An accompanying

for the song was premiered on the official

channel of the

on 17 March 2012. Nishliu stated that "it's a poetic video" in which, according to her, through "its components ..intends to depict this life's absurd through an

form". She further said, "the beautiful thing is that everyone can give its meaning to it, so this video allows a variety of interpretations". The song was initially released on 4 May 2012 as part of the '' Eurovision Song Contest: Baku 2012''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

on CD through

. On 20 July 2016, it was made available for digital download through

Radio Televizioni Shqiptar Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; ; formerly TVSH , now mostly referred to as RTSH ) is the national public broadcasting company of Albania. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as we ...

(RTSH). For further promotion, the singer made various live performances and visited numerous countries, including

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. While in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

during the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

of the

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(COVID-19), footage of

Ana Soklič Ana Soklič (born 10 April 1984) is a Slovenian singer. She Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Amen (Ana Soklič song), Amen", placing 13th in the first semi-fin ...

, the representative of Slovenia for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This w ...

, covering the song was broadcast during the '' Eurovision Home Concerts'' on 24 April 2020. The song was featured in multiple lists of the Eurovision Top 250 charts from 2014 to 2018. Its highest position was at number 18 in 2014.

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The Albanian national broadcaster,

(RTSH), organised the 50th edition of

to determine the

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

's participant for the

, Azerbaijan. It consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December, and the grand final on 29 December 2011. Following a submission period, a jury panel internally selected 28 songs to participate in the competition's semi-finals. Before the end of the grand final, Rona Nishliu was chosen to represent the country at the contest, after receiving a total of 77 points.

Baku

The 57th edition of the

took place in

, Azerbaijan, and consisted of two semi-finals on 22 and 24 May, and the grand final on 26 May 2012. According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the " Big Five", consisting of , , , and the , were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the grand final, although, the top ten countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final. On 25 January 2012, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the first half of the first semi-final of the contest. During the first semi-final, Albania performed fifth, following and preceding , and qualified for the grand final in second place with 146 points, ranking first jury's votes with 131 points and third in the televote with 131 points. At the grand final, the country performed third, following and preceding . Albania reached fifth place in a field of twenty six with 146 points, ranking third among juries with 157 and eighth in the televote with 106 points. To this day, it is Albania's best result in the contest. Nishliu's show saw her performing the song alone in front of a predominantly dark setting displayed on the LED screens in the background. Throughout the show, several red spotlights were added and

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

silhouettes appeared throughout the middle of her performance. A minimalistic setting was used to strengthen the message of the song and to keep the focus on the vocals and the orchestration.

Track listing

* Digital download # "Suus (Festivali i Këngës)"4:14

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2011 songs 2011 singles 2012 songs 2012 singles 2010s ballads Festivali i Këngës songs Eurovision songs of Albania Eurovision songs of 2012 Universal Music Group singles