Hello welcome to my series of quick takes designed to get you ready for Eurovision 2019. Just some quick thoughts / my take on each of the 41 songs this year. The countries are in alphabetical order so without further ado: Albania.

Country: Albania
Singer: Jonida Maliqi
Song: Ktheju tokës (Return to the Land)
Personal Score: 30 out of 41
My Prediction: NQ

My hottest take is that this is kind of a weird vocal homage to 1944 but it doesn’t have the impressive vocal strength that Jamala does and wobbled plenty of the notes at the national final so much so that it never really got off the ground for me even though abstractly this song should be right up my alley. While sung in Albania, it doesn’t actually have an abundance of lyrics and its message is pretty simple: people who have left their home countries should return. That’s probably going to play well in this current political climate but without extreme vocal prowess, in the more difficult of the two semi finals, and with the staging likely to be Jonida standing alone with a dramatic LED video playing behind her I don’t feel a lot of hope for this being a big hit of the night. If her vocals improve or the staging is bombastic it’s possible this could sneak into the final but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I love Eurovision but sometimes I feel like Eurovision doesn’t like me because every year I end up with a playlist of songs from the various national finals that I would have loved to see on the Eurovision stage that didn’t quite make the cut. These are randomized so there’s no rhyme or reason to the order here but enjoy my list of rejected songs that pretty much wouldn’t have won at Eurovision but for one reason or another I still like them.

Hello Europe! It’s mid-February so it’s time to see how Eurovision is shaping up so far. This post contains vital information for people who have missed the national final season starting but also hot takes so be careful and wear your protective gear.