Blog Post 2

 The Roots of the Tree

In my past blog post, I focused on Albania’s national identity and how it centers on religion, language, territory, and history. I also focused on Albania’s history with othering, specifically the othering they were subjected to as well as the othering they enforced upon others. Albania has a deep love and appreciation for the aspects which shape their national identity, that power of love can be reflected in Albania’s 2023 Eurovision performance in Liverpool. 

Albina and Familja Kelmendi”s Background 

Albania’s 2023 Eurovision entry, “Duje,” by Albina and Familja Kelmendi was a performance that had the power to leave viewers with goosebumps. Albina and Familja Kelmendi is a family band made up of Albina Kelmendi and her brother, two sisters, mother, and father. Albina Kelmendi rose to fame at only 16 years old when she appeared on The Voice Albania. She comes from a family filled with talented vocalists, which is why they decided to form a band and make music together. “The talented vocalist has always been surrounded by song, growing up in a house of professional musicians, and now two generations of the Kelmendi clan are joining voices to perform in Liverpool.” (Albina & Familja Kelmendi, n.d.) Their performance was a dramatic, striking, heartfelt, and strong entry. It gave viewers a message which focused on family and the importance of love. “Their song Duje is about the role of love in the family, and overcoming every challenge that life brings” (A Family Affair from Albania: For the Love of Albina & Familja Kelmendi, 2023). This song centers on family, which is a theme that is not usually seen being represented at Eurovision. In an interview with Albania’s Eurovision broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), Albina and Familja Kelmendi stated that ‘Duje” is about “members of a family separating, and not necessarily a couple. Further analysis of the lyrics reveals the separating family members are splitting over a disagreement, but they are forgetting about the well-being of their children. In the chorus the band implores the family to love each other unconditionally, especially the children, as if their life depends on it” (Lee, 2023). It can be difficult being such a young child in an environment where your parents are often disagreeing. It not only takes a toll on the parent’s relationship, but also on the kids’ mental and emotional health, which tend to be often overlooked during separations. Yet, Albina and Familja Kelmendi bring attention to the kids’ inner thoughts through the energy and lyrics of the song. 

Analysis of Outfits and Performance

In their performance, the lead singer Albina is wearing a beautiful black dress that is very long, but in the shoulder and torso area of the dress, it is bedazzled and filled with various silver pieces which allow her to shine brighter than the others. The rest of her family is also wearing black, but their outfits are simply plain, with no embellishments. The actual performance starts out with Albina singing a high note as the entire stage is reddened by the lights. The color scheme of the performance is red and black, honoring the Albanian flag. As Albina finishes her harmonic high note, folk rhythms begin to play, and all members of the family appear. Later on in their performance there is a break of singing, as folk rhythms intensify, and the entire family reveals bright red handkerchiefs and they begin to slowly dance while waving them in the air. Handkerchief in Albanian is shami, which is commonly something people dance with in Albania. 

Analysis of Lyrics

The actual term “duje” in Albanian means “love it”. This performance offers a sense of love and heartache, for it represents the parents of the home going their separate ways, but not realizing how it will affect their children. Which is why the song emphasizes how the kids want for the feuding parents to stay together and think of their family, the same family they built together hand in hand. They are implying that the parents must love their relationship, they must truly “love it” just like they did once before. An English translation of the pre-chorus and chorus: “And they forgot / How we were a home / A table filled with kids / Love it / Like you used to love it / That love, keep it / Just like the life, you love it / Don’t throw stones on it / But just like you used to, love it / That love, keep it / Like the life you love, love it” (Albina & Familja Kelmendi, n.d.) The song ‘Duje’ tells the story of a family, one that is splitting apart, because of the parents having a disagreement which built up so much to the point where the family unit is breaking up. The real victims are the children who have simply been watching and soaking up the pain from both parents. “The pre-chorus and chorus reveal the central theme of the song, which is the power of love and the importance of holding onto it” (Trejo et al., 2023). The chorus is sung by the mother and father of the band. My interpretation of this artistic choice is that it was done purposefully to truly highlight how the mother and father are a unit and are one, which is why they sing at the same time. Their voices complement each other so well, ultimately turning and melting into one. 

Degree of Alignment

Love needs to be present amongst a family, without love the family is unable to flourish. It is almost like a country, for a country to flourish it must be taken well care of. An aspect of Albania’s national identity, which I had mentioned previously in my last post, was territory and land. The Albanian people care for their land and their territory because it was taken from them in the past, therefore it is understandable as to why they have such a strong attachment to their land. During the performance, roots are shown in the background, but they also seem to look very flame-like. My interpretation is that the roots of a tree are being shown to represent a family tree, but they are on fire because the family is falling apart. Therefore, the foundation the family was built on, the love between the mother and father, has been destroyed and burned to ashes. Another aspect of Albanian national identity that was shown throughout the performance was language. Language is a very important aspect of Albanian national identity because of the immense amount of pride it provides to the people of Albania. Albina and Familja Kelmendi sang in the Gheg dialect of the Albania language, which is mainly spoken in northern and central Albania, Kosovo, northwestern North Macedonia, southeastern Montenegro, and southern Serbia. This also goes into a theme we learned in class: representation and identity. Albina and Familja Kelmendi decided to sing in their native language, rather than speaking in English. They incorporated aspects of their culture into their performance, such as the waving of the handkerchiefs during the small dance break, which showcased upbeat Albanian folk rhythms. They did not try to make their performance more western, but instead showcased their culture without exploiting it. 

Albina and Familja Kelmendi showcased their culture eloquently while also highlighting their strong family spirit, all while telling the story of how truly fragile relationships can be and the importance of having family close to you. Albina and Familja Kelmendi’s outfits and props truly added so much power to their stage presence. The dramatic energy the performance displayed was the cherry on top, for it helped set the mood and tone for the entire performance and emphasized the points and message the song was trying to get out. Our hearts are extremely fragile things, which is why they should be handled with care. The ability to love is such a profound feeling because we are truly allowing ourselves to feel emotion. Albina and Familja Kelmendi truly showcased that ability to love through their performance.