Marko Milanović:
Alban Ramosaj – Theje (Albania)
When thinking about entries that could’ve improved on the eventual result in Turin, I couldn’t not think of Albania. Theje would’ve been a much safer choice: a classic, strong, powerful ballad may have been the right way to go for them. While Sekret was a refreshing change for Albania, the song was undeniably quite disjointed (especially pre-revamp) and, coupled with an equally messy (yet energetic) performance, resulted in an NQ.
While some will argue Alban’s vocals weren’t up to par at FiK, we all know that doesn’t make or break a song at Eurovision. It’s hard to guess how it would stand out in the very male-ballad-heavy year that 2022 was, but it definitely had a distinct vibe compared to the likes of Australia, Switzerland and Azerbaijan. I personally love female uptempo bangers, but even I struggled to connect to Sekret in the beginning, while Theje clicked on first listen. And we know it would’ve received one of Albania’s trademark revamps. Not to mention that staging an entry like that would’ve been much simpler to do (red-black background and him on stage – done).
Click through to the next page, below the emojis, to see what Simon Wells has chosen!
