"Ex" (stylised in all caps) is a song by Albanian singer and songwriter Elvana Gjata, German-Albanian disc jockey DJ Gimi-O and Macedonian-Albanian rapper Bardhi. The song was written by Gjata, Bardhi, DJ Gimi-O and Çelik Lipa, with production from the latter two. Loudcom Media under exclusive license from East Music Matters distributed it as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on 24 February 2022. An uptempo

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and Mediterranean-influenced

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

love song, its Albanian-language lyrics reflect the difficulties and hardships faced in getting over a failed relationship. Upon release, several music critics applauded the composition and production of "Ex" as well as its music video. Commercially, the song reached number 19 in Switzerland and number 20 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Switzerland Songs chart. Featuring a message of embracing the beginning of summer, an accompanying colorful music video was filmed in Tirana, Albania, and premiered on Gjata's YouTube channel on 16 March 2022.

Background and composition

Preceded by a preview two days prior on 22 February, Elvana Gjata announced her first collaboration with Bardhi and DJ Gimi-O on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account, revealing the cover art and the single's availability on digital download and

formats on 24 February 2022 at 23:59 ( CET). The single's initial cover art depicted the muppet character Kermit the Frog holding a wine bottle while lying on ground. Lasting three minutes and 21 seconds, "Ex" was distributed as a

by Loudcom Media under exclusive license from East Music Matters in various countries on 25 February 2022. "Ex" was written by Gjata and Bardhi along with DJ Gimi-O and Çelik Lipa, who also produced the song. Musically, "Ex" is an upbeat tempo

and Mediterranean-infused

love song. The song's production was noted as "modern" and "pleasant", while incorporating oriental drums and a

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...

-styled beat. The Albanian-language lyrics focus on the feelings of heartbreak, loss, misery, pain and rejection, making references to the difficulties and hardships faced in getting over a failed relationship.

Reception

Upon release, "Ex" was met with generally positive reviews from selected music critics. An author from ''Illyrian Pirates'' attended to designate "Ex" as a "great" composition, with the lyrics displaying the "harsh realities and unpleasantness" of a separation process. Labeling the song as an "anomaly of music", the author continued writing that " t'sfriendly to both a Balkan and Western audience". An editor from ''Dosja'' further presumed the lyrics to be a dedication to Gjata's former partner. Commercially, "Ex" reached number 19 on the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

for the issue date of 6 March 2022. In February 2022, American magazine ''

'' launched Switzerland Songs, a digital download and streaming-based chart for Switzerland, on which "Ex" reached number 20 for the week ending 2 April 2022. From February to March 2022, the song also trended on the Swiss Streaming,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and Spotify charts.

Music video

To promote "Ex", a music video was uploaded to Gjata's official YouTube channel on 16 March 2022 at 16:03 (CET). The three-minute long video was filmed in a traditional-described mansion in Tirana, Albania. It was produced by Adea Kelmendi and directed by Besian Durmishi of Supercut Studio, who had also directed the videos for Gjata's previous singles, "

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

" (2018) and " Tavolina e mërzisë" (2019). Arianit Gjonbalaj was further hired as the director of photography, while the hair and make-up were done by Kaci and Sellma, respectively, and the outfits selected by Andi Lekaj and Valdrin Sahiti. From ''Illyrian Pirates'', the writer had an overall positive perception towards the music video, labelling it as a "colorful 90's-inspired" video as well as an "enchanting private celebration with the artists embracing the beginning of summer". They further confessed that " tmight be simulating what you would feel like if you drank too much and in the end realizes that it does not get better". On similar note, an editor of ''Gazeta Metro'' highlighted the video as "fantastic", while writing for ''Lajmi'', the author noted "colorful" visuals, creating a "summer" atmosphere. The music video appeared on the global YouTube Top 100 chart and garnered 10 million views in two weeks on the platform.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Spotify and YouTube. Vocal credits *Elvana Gjatalead vocals *Bardhilead vocals Technical credits *Elvana Gjatasongwriting *DJ Gimi-Oproducing, songwriting *Bardhisongwriting *Çelik Lipaproducing, songwriting Visual credits *Adea Kelmendiproducing *Agnesa Kelmendiproducing *Andi Lekajstyling *Arenc Kasharajcamera assisting *Arianit Gjonbalajphoto directing *Besian Durmishivideo directing *Elvin Minajscenography *Kacihair styling *Sellmamake-up *Valdrin Sahitistyling

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2022 singles 2022 songs Albanian-language songs Elvana Gjata songs Music videos directed by Besian Durmishi Pop songs Songs about heartache Songs written by Elvana Gjata