Sekret – Ronela Hakati
As a wise old sage says to me on a regular basis, you don’t need to watch the Eurovision to know which country a shouty lady with a screechy voice comes from, it must be Albania.
And, as night follows day we have this particular brand of screechy woman singing an entry which, it could be argued, was influenced more by the viewers of a certain populist Eurovision website and, allegedly, a pot of cash than down to the thoughts of the Albanian public. Even if that wasn’t the case, it certainly looked and smelt dodgy for the record – well someone has to put it in print/on-screen don’t they?
But Phil, you cry whilst you wring your hands, what about the damn song? – oh yes – that old chestnut. Well, in the first twenty seconds, it has all of the required elements – ethnic instruments, lots of local chanting, but then it gets remixed into something that is more Turkic in sound than south-eastern Balkan … and, whilst that might still be the local flavour, I find myself hankering after something more substantial from my Albanian ethno ballad than a box-ticking exercise. Especially one with the same chorus linked by counting and a slightly driving beat … because that is what this song becomes after about 50 seconds … and then it seemingly loops round until the three minute mark.
For it to do anything at all at the big show, it’s going to have to be performed to within an inch of its life or given the Fuego treatment, and I don’t think it’s going to be any sekret when this struggles.
Phil’s Score – 3 Points
