This year marks the third year that Albania will be taking part in Junior Eurovision, after their not so great debut in 2012, and then a much more successful return last year with Mishela Rapo. This year, Klesta Qehaja was selected in a national final with the song Besoj, and finally, Albania has released the official, revamped version of the song.
Besoj is a ballad full of power, yet still very delicate. The song is almost like the child’s version of Suus, as it has the same sort of highs and lows. Klesta’s voice in the official studio version is angelic, and with not much backing music behind her throughout the verses, it’s really all about her voice, which we know is equally as good when sung live. The mix of English and Albanian I think is on point, it’s neither too little nor too much of each, and that little bit of English will give viewers an idea of the message of the song.
I’ll be interested in seeing how they choose to stage this song, but I hope it’s something classy and simple. A crazy costume like the one Rona wore while performing Suus might not be a great choice, but the simplicity of the staging from that song could work well with this song.
This isn’t my favourite song by far, and up until the revamp, a lot of people weren’t ranking this high. Now with the official version, I think more people will take notice of this, and I think the juries will respond well to it. For me, the more upbeat pop songs outshine it, but of course that’s just a personal preference and certainly doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a good song, sung by an impressive young lady.
