Earlier this week, Anxhela Peristeri was crowned the winner of Albania’s Festivali i Këngës 59. With this, she has won the right to represent Albania at Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam. In an exclusive interview, she has revealed that ‘Karma’ will remain in Albanian.
Hot off the heels of her Festivali i Këngës victory, Anxhela has wasted no time in answering the question many fans have been wondering: will Karma be translated into English for Eurovision? The answer is no.
In an interview with Stella Gialetzi from Eurovision Buddies, she also discussed her participation in FiK, the reception to her win and her relationship with Greece. She explained that her father is of Greek origin, and that she’s a huge fan of Eurovision legend Anna Vissi. Notably, Greece will be able to vote in her semi-final!
Most excitingly of all, she confirmed that Karma will be sung in Albanian in Rotterdam, making it the first confirmed native-language entry at the contest.
The song will remain in Albanian, we are not changing the lyrics. Of course we will revamp the song though.
Anxhela Peristeri speaking to Eurovision Buddies
She also confirmed that the staging will change from the Festivali i Këngës performance, but she will probably still have dancers. In addition, she confirmed that Karma will be uploaded to Spotify in the new year.
Further, she went on to list many of her favourite Eurovision acts from both Greece and Albania, including Sakis Rouvas, Anna Vissi, Helena Paparizou, Rona Nishliu, Eugent Bushpepa and Jonida Maliqi.
You can watch the full interview below:
With the song selected, why not watch our initial thoughts on Karma by watching our reaction video:
Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest
Albania debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2004 and has participated every year since. Anjeza Shahini was the first to fly the country’s flag at the contest with her song ‘The Image of You‘. She finished in 7th place with 106 points.
Over the years, Albania qualified for the final on 8 occasions. So far, their best result is Rona Nishliu’s 5th place achieved in Baku in 2012 with her iconic ballad ‘Suus‘.
In 2020, Albania was due to be represented by Arilena Ara, with her song ‘Fall From the Sky‘. She had controversially won Festivali i Kenges 58 with “Shaj” the previous December, which had been translated for the contest. It was set to participate in the second semi-final of the 2020 contest prior to the contest’s cancellation.
Are you glad that Karma will remain in Albanian? Do you think Albania selected the right song and artist for Rotterdam? 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 subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the upcoming months.
Good on her