Albania's Piercing Vocal Brings Home Fifth

MAY 15 2012 · 12:30

Rona Nishliu · "Suus" · Albania · 2012 Placement: 5 · Score: 146 · Language: Albanian · Composers: Florent Boshnjaku · Venue: Crystal Hall · Host: Baku, Azerbaijan · Type: performance innovation · Broadcast: streaming era Rona Nishliu — Albanian vocalist with teased orange-red hair bundled atop her head like a sculpted tower — takes the Baku Crystal Hall stage in a black-and-red gown for 'Suus' ('I Am'). The Albanian-language song climbs through modal progressions to an extraordinary held high-note climax that pierces the arena. Entire sections hold their breath. 146 points for 5th place — Albania's best Eurovision result to that point. Context Florent Boshnjaku was an Albanian composer building a Festivali i Këngës reputation. Nishliu's vocal training was classical and folk-song rooted. The piercing vocal aesthetic was intentionally unconventional for Eurovision's pop-trained audience. Albania had been participating since 2004 with mostly middling finishes. Legacy 'Suus' is now routinely named in Eurovision fan polls as one of the decade's most artistic entries. Nishliu continued as a respected Albanian vocalist. The 2012 5th-place result was Albania's breakthrough moment — subsequent Albanian entries (Eugent Bushpepa 2018, Jonida Maliqi 2019) continued the Festivali i Këngës tradition but none reached 'Suus' heights.