As we head towards Eurovision, ESCXTRA continues their chats with this year’s artists. Our editor Bente had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Albina from Croatia, who is performing “Tick-Tock” in the first semi-final. Bente met Albina in Rotterdam the day after her first rehearsal on Sunday.
Albina will be performing 10th in the first semi-final on May 18th. You can read our review of her first rehearsal here.
You can watch the full interview below:
Thoughts after the first rehearsal
Following the first rehearsal, Albina took the time to speak to Bente in Rotterdam! It was the day after, so she was very excited to tell us about the set-up for the stage, the extra touches the team had added to it, and where she would be standing in the performance. She is not on the main stage, rather she is on the catwalk and the smaller stage to the side.
We wanted to keep the main mood from our national final, the colours are pretty much the same. We wanted it to not look very dark, because I’m very young, and spontaneous in real life, so we wanted to show happiness and that spontaneousness.
Albina on her rehearsal performance
Before this though, she confessed to some nerves on seeing the stage for the first time, but quickly found herself relaxed after going through a rehearsal. She was very pleased by the reactions to the rehearsal. Especially, she was glad that people appreciate the changes to the performance. They’re considering it an upgrade from the performance from the Dora national final!
The first run was maybe a bit “stitchy”, but then I relaxed, everything went great and I was feeling at home.
Albina on first rehearsal nerves
Her thoughts on this year’s contest
After talking about the performance, the conversation shifted to her views on the contest as a whole and how she came to be part of Eurovision this year. She talked briefly about wanting a song to represent her as an artist, how she was initially unsure that Tick-Tock was that song but is behind it now. She surprised herself and everyone else with how well the song came to fit her. As for the song’s quality, she was always behind that from the start, when she first heard the song:
I was shocked in a positive way as well, when I first heard the song I knew it has that ‘hit moment’.
Albina on first hearing ‘Tick-Tock’
She also talked about her thoughts on the quality of the contest this year, stating that there was a lot of diversity. All the songs have their own quality and appeal, very important, as now the contest can now come down to people’s personal tastes, and that makes the year very strong. We quite agree there! She also talked about being a fan of Manizha in particular, who’s her hotel neighbour.
Before finishing, she talked about the full Croatian version of Tick-Tock, which wasn’t considered for Eurovision, but the Croatian part of the song is still important:
It really adds some extra charm to the song, and when you think it’s over […] that Croatian part comes in, it’s very powerful.
Albina on the Croatian language in ‘Tick-Tock’
What do you think of Albina’s performance so far? Are you rooting for Croatia this year? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our live streams in the run-up to Rotterdam!
