News - Exclusive: Interview with Fredrik Ndoci | Eurovision Song Contest News - 2009 Moscow, Russia 

Ivan . [36677]

Fri 13 Apr 2007 00:53:06

url=http://poll.pollcode.com/2nV]http://poll.pollcode.com/2nV/url]

vote!

Arben Balkavage [32757]

Mon 2 Apr 2007 04:34:23

hey were is he going to promote the song?

EAST_SONG CONTEST [29072]

Sat 31 Mar 2007 20:21:10

GOOD LUCK

url=http://www.evridikis.com/]http://www.evridikis.com//url]

Altin Hazizaj [26575]

Wed 28 Mar 2007 18:45:53

Hey guys, thank you for all your comments about the interview, which I find them highly valuable.

As it is always the case, some people, through the lack of information about one country (not only for Albania), still find the courage to write unbelievable offensive things for no reason or out of context.

Dear fan number 29330, Albania did have radio and TV in 80s or before that. We still do. Yes, we have internet, magazines, books, singers and famous writers. If you were a little bit more thoughtful and if you knew how to explore reading you could have found worthy information about my country Albania. It seems that your reading abilities got left behing at the borders of your small principality.

Albmerican 555 [34456]

Tue 27 Mar 2007 22:53:27

nice interview 3 backup singers aida frederik and a violin player that's really cool and party in albania baby im there haha

Urska * [24125]

Tue 27 Mar 2007 22:01:25

I like the Albanian version more, but I understand why they decided for English. It's a very dramatic balad but also very beautiful. Good luck Albania.

totti alba [27099]

Tue 27 Mar 2007 21:51:55

@ Molly

It's time to google for you!
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Festivali I Këngës, also known as Festivali I Muzikës Së Lehtë Në Radio Televizionin Shqiptar, began in December 21, 1962 in the ILA Venue in Tirana, Albania. 20 songs competed in its semifinal round, but only 12 made it through to the final. The first winner of Festivali I Këngës was the legendary Vaçe Zela with her famous song "Fëmija I Parë" (The First Child). Vaçe Zela is the singer with the most victories in FIK history to date, an impressive 12 times, 7 of which were consecutive wins.

Singers with consecutive wins include:

1. Vaçe Zela (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 duet, 1966, 1967, 1968 duet; 1976 & 1977)
2. Alida Hisku (1974 & 1975)
3. Manjola Nallbani (1992 trio & 1993 solo)
4. Elsa Lila (1996 & 1997)
Festivali I Këngës is a long standing tradition in the Albanian music industry. It has been through a lot of difficult stages as well as many glorious moments. Throughout its history, many wonderful creations have been presented, which have lead to some timeless melodies. The singers have always been required to sing live. There have also been many disappointments and sometimes even outrage at some of the results. During the time of dictatorship in Albania (before 1990), the government had a lot of power on the creativity of FIK. Censorship was very strict, and many songs have been disqualified if they have been deemed inappropriate by the government's standards. The government also had absolute power on the outcome of the results and the winners, therefore some of the victories have been "politically" arranged, rather than decided by the jury.

Before 1972, the songs had a neutral nature, covering many topics of life. However, after Festivali I Këngës 11, dictator Enver Hoxha intervened by murdering many organisers of the show and unjustly accused them of consipiring against the country and corrupting its youth. The contest dwelled in a period of extreme pressure and censorship. The songs were highly monitored and the topics were generally related to the country's development and even the government. This oppression continued all the way until 1984 when the dictator died. The following year, the change in lyrics was very abrupt, and censorship was not as strict.

With the fall of dictatorship during the 1990s, Festivali I Këngës had a temporary boost in both quality and diversity. The winning songs reflected the status of the country at the time. The 1991 winner "Ardit Gjebrea - Jon" and the 1992 winner "Aleksandër Gjoka, Manjola Nallbani & Viktor Tahiraj - Pesha E Fatit" were both songs with an "immigration/freedom" theme, which was the reality at the time in Albania as well. During this period, the contest was also introduced to the word God for the first time. Prior to that, religion was illegal in Albania and the word God was not allowed to be pronounced in public. The participation of Albanian singers from outside the borders was also an addition to the history of the festival in this decade. Before that, the country was in a period of isolation.

In 1996, the stage of Festivali I Këngës welcomed newcomer Elsa Lila, a sweet and innocent girl that stole the hearts of everyone with her wonderful voice. She won the contest with "Pyes Lotin" in 1996, and she pulled off another victory the following year with "Larg Urrejtjes" in 1997. These songs were also a mirror to the country's difficult state of being in those years after the collapse of the pyramid schemes, an event which wreaked havoc all throughout Albania. Despite the difficult times, Festivali I Këngës never stopped its broadcast and went ahead as scheduled in the final weeks of December every year since its start.

By the year 2000, Festivali I Këngës had lost a lot of its admirers to the competition of Kënga Magjike, a similar song contest taking place in the Fall, as well as Top Fest, which started a few years later as a reality series on Top Channel leading to a big Spring finale. However, another talented newcomer graced the stage of FIK in 2003, idol winner Anjeza Shahini. She had just won the "Ethet E Se Premtes Mbrema" talent show a few months before competing in FIK and the public was madly in love with her voice, her beautiful stage presence and her charming ways.

Ramón Ramos [16974]

Tue 27 Mar 2007 21:04:52

The song reminds me a little bit to Bosnia 1999. I know Albania do not count on the polls to pass to the final, but, why not?, could be a surprise.