"I'm Alive" is a song by Albanian singer and songwriter

Elhaida Dani Elhaida Dani (; born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Dani performed in diverse singing competitions and started to play piano as a child. She rose to national recognition i ...

. It was released 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 ...

on 1 January 2015 by

Radio Televizioni Shqiptar Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

(RTSH) and

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

. The song was written by Sokol Marsi, arranged by

Darko Dimitrov Darko Dimitrov ( mk, Дарко Димитров ; born January 21, 1973) is a Macedonian songwriter, record producer, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Yugoslav mainstream pop music scene, which also influence ...

and produced by Zzap & Chriss. The song represented Albania in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, after Dani won the pre-selection competition

Festivali i Këngës Festivali i Këngës (; ), also referred to as simply FiK, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, it has also determ ...

with the song " Diell". The country reached seventeenth place in a field of twenty-six scoring a total of 34 points marking the third year to achieve the seventeenth place. In order to promote and support the song, Dani made diverse appearances to perform the song and embarked on a small tour in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was premiered onto the official

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channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 15 March 2015.

Background and composition

In 2014,

was announced as one of the twenty six contestants selected to compete in the 53rd edition of

, a competition for determining Albania's participant for the

. For following the competition's rules, the lyrics of the participating entries had to be in the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

. Dani took part with the song " Diell" composed by Aldo Shllaku and written by Sokol Marsi and Viola Trebicka. In February 2015, the singer announced through a

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

post that the song was withdrawn by the composer, due to personal decisions. "I'm Alive" was simultaneously revealed as the title of the singer's competing entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The latter song was written in

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 ...

by Sokol Marsi and translated into English by

Lindita Halimi Lindita Halimi (born 24 March 1989), commonly known as simply Lindita, is a Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after winning the sixth edition of Top Fest with "Ëndërroja" (I dreamed) in 2009. In 2016, she participated in ...

. It was composed and produced by Kosovo-Albanian duo Zzap and Chriss and arranged by Macedonian producer

. The song is musically a pop and R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

incorporating modern and

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

influences. Lyrically, it explores themes of

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

and discusses emotions such as love, hope, desire and finding inner strength.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "I'm Alive" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. In a review for the song conducted by several

Wiwibloggs Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009. It has a seasonal audience, peaking at 250,000 page views per day during the week of Eurovision in May 2016, based on Google Analytics data. ...

members, the song's contemporary lyrics, composition and production as well as Dani's vocal delivery were commended. William Lee Adams of the website called the song as the "most expensive-sounding song of the year", while Ramadan Besim described it as "modern, catchy and radio friendly". Overall, the reviewers on the website gave the song a score of 8.02 out of 10 total points.

Promotion

For promotional and supporting purposes, Dani embarked on a small tour between March and April 2015 with live appearances at multiple events, including in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

. The same month, she went on to perform the song live on the fourth season of the Albanian television show

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

. In April 2017, footage of

Nathan Trent Nathanaele Koll (born 4 April 1992), known professionally as Nathan Trent, is an Austrian singer. He represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Running on Air" finishing in 16th place. Career 2016–present: Eurovision ...

, the representative of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

for the

, covering "I'm Alive" was broadcast during his ESC Acoustic Session. Later that year, she performed the Albanian version of the song on the grand final of the 56th edition of

. The song was featured in multiple lists of the Eurovision Top 250 charts, from 2015 to 2018. The song's highest position was at number 19 in 2015.

Music video

An accompanying

for the song was premiered to the official

channel of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

on 15 March 2015. The same day, the video was broadcast on

(RTSH) at around 20:00 (

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast Ente ...

). It prominently makes reference on the diverse role of women in Albanian society, including within highly male-dominated professions. Filmed over three days in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, intercutting scenes portray other females, including a journalist, a doctor, a traffic officer, a firefighter and a flight attendant. The official music video for the Albanian version of the song, "Në jetë", followed in May 2015 and was premiered on the YouTube channels of the Eurovision Song Contest and Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH).

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The national broadcaster of Albania,

(RTSH), organised the 53rd edition of

to determine the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

's participant for the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. It opened a submission period for artists, bands and composers between 14 and 15 October 2014, while a jury panel internally selected 28 songs to participate in the competition's semi-finals. During the end of the grand final, Dani and her Albanian-language song " Diell" was chosen to represent the country at the contest, after gathering 82 total points.

Vienna

The 60th edition of the

took place in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals on 19 and 21 May, and the grand final on 23 May 2015. According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the " Big Five" including , , , and the , were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the grand final, although, the top ten countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final. On 26 January 2015, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the second half of the first semi-final of the contest. During the first semi-final, Albania performed fourteenth, following and preceding , and qualified for the grand final in tenth place with 62 points, ranking tenth by the jury's 61 points and eighth by the televote of 66 points. At the grand final, the country performed twenty sixth, following and preceding the . Albania finished in the seventeenth place in a field of twenty seven with 34 total points, ranking twenty sixth by the jury's 4 points and eighth by the televote of 93 points. Elhaida Dani's performance begins in yellow and black colours on the

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

screens changing throughout his performance to warmer tones consisting of beige and cream colours. The tragedy of the song's message was reflected through broken pieces of glass on the background. The singer was accompanied during her performances by three female

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Track listing

*Digital download #"I'm Alive"3:06

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Elhaida Dani songs Song recordings produced by Darko Dimitrov English-language Albanian songs Eurovision songs of Albania Eurovision songs of 2015 2010s ballads Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads