"Ktheju tokës" (; ) is a song by Albanian singer

Jonida Maliqi Jonida Maliqi (; born 26 March 1983) is an Albanian singer and media personality. Throughout her career, Maliqi has won six awards at Kënga Magjike and first place in 2008. She is also a double winner of accolades at the Top Fest in 2006 and 2 ...

. 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 8 March 2019 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

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. The song was composed and written by Eriona Rushiti, and produced by Enis Mullaj. It is musically an authentic and rhythmic Albanian-language

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

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 ...

backed by traditional Albanian instruments. Lyrically, the song addresses the theme of

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, particularly to that of the

Albanian people The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

during the

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in the late 20th century. The song represented Albania in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel, after winning the country's 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 ...

. It eventually reached the seventeenth place in a field of twenty six, gathering a total of ninety points and marking the fourth year for Albania to achieve the same result. During Maliqi's black and red-toned performance, she was accompanied by three

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 ...

s, while the background

LED screen A LED display is a flat panel display that uses an array of light-emitting diodes as pixels for a video display. Their brightness allows them to be used outdoors where they are visible in the sun for store signs and billboards. In recent y ...

s prominently displayed a flying

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

and its nest. "Ktheju tokës" was positively received by

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 ...

who praised Maliqi's vocals, the song's composition as well as its ethnic appeal. An 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 ...

premiered on the official

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channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 10 March 2019. It portrays Maliqi singing the song in smoke and rain, with scenes of two children running, one across the water, and one escaping from the flames. For promotional purposes, she made various appearances to perform the song in

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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

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Background and composition

"Ktheju tokës" was composed and written by Eriona Rushiti, and produced by Enis Mullaj along Sokol Marsi for

's participation in the 57th edition of

, a competition for determining Albania's participant for the

. It was recorded and remastered at Svenska Grammofonstudion in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden. The song has been described as a rhythmic Albanian-language

spiritual and dramatic

backed by traditional Albanian instruments consisting of a fyell, lahuta and tupan. Lyrically, "Ktheju tokës" explores the theme of

particularly that of the

during the 1990s as a part of the

and also alludes to the continuous migration crisis around the world.

Critical reception

Upon its victory at

, "Ktheju tokës" was generally met with positive reviews from

. In a ''

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. ...

'' review containing several reviews from individual critics, including Robyn Gallagher and Deban Aderemi, Maliqi's vocal delivery and the song's production as well as its authenticity were praised, while being labeled as "organic" and "alluring". Overall, the reviewers of the website gave the song 7.17 out of total 10 points. Emma Kelly, writing for ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', was additionally positive towards the song's composition and the singer's vocal performance, while lauding that she chose to keep the Albanian-language lyrics instead of translating the song to English.

Music video and promotion

An accompanying

for "Ktheju tokës" premiered on 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 10 March 2019. Its filming process started in early March 2019 and was organised by Triangle Media Group 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 ...

, Albania. Described as dark and dramatic, it prominently features scenes of Maliqi performing the song in front of a smoke-filled black backdrop and prior to the end, in the rain. Interspersed shots through the main plot portray two children running separately, one across the water and the other escaping from the flames, symbolising the message of the song. For promotional purposes, she made various live performances at multiple events, including in

and

. In March 2019, she appeared to perform a special version of the song live on the Albanian television show ''

The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of ''The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise wi ...

''. Outside the pormotional phase, she opened the first semi-final of the 58th edition of

. Beside that, the song was featured at number 40 on the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Top 250 chart.

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The national broadcaster,

(RTSH), organised the 57th edition of

to determine the

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

's participant for the

, Israel. It opened a submission period for artists, bands and composers to submit their entries between 16 May and 30 September 2018 to the broadcaster, during which 54 entries were received. A jury panel, consisting of music professionals, reviewed the received submissions and eventually revealed their 22 semi-finalists on 17 October 2018. During the second semi-final,

qualified for the grand final and was then chosen to represent the country in the contest.

Tel Aviv

The 64th edition of the

took place in

, Israel, and consisted of two semi-finals held on 14 and 16 May, and the grand final on 18 May 2019. According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the " Big Five", consisting of , , , 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 28 January 2019, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the second half of the second semi-final of the contest. During the second semi-final, Albania performed fourteenth, following and preceding , and qualified for the grand final in ninth place with 96 points, ranking twelfth by the jury's 38 points and ninth by the televote of 58 points. At the grand final, the country performed second, following and preceding the . Albania finished in the seventeenth place in a field of twenty six with 90 total points, ranking seventeenth by the jury's 43 points as well as seventeenth by the televote of 47 points. Maliqi's Albanian-themed performance commences with her singing the song in front of dark coloured

s enhanced by black, red and white lights. She wore a full-length black gown decorated with gold accents inspired by ancient Illyrian symbols. Graphics of burning fire, rain and various dark images were displayed during the rest of the performance, and near the end, a nest and a flying eagle is depicted. The graphics constitute as the representatives of the song's lyrics, reflecting the Albanian-themed migration that is discussed in them. Before the final performances, technical rehearsals for the song were held at

Expo Tel Aviv Expo Tel Aviv (formerly the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center ( he, מרכז הירידים והקונגרסים בישראל) and later the Tel Aviv Convention Center ( he, מרכז הירידים - תל אביב), commonly referred to as ...

on 7 May and 11 May 2019.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. ''Note: Open "Credits" for credits.'' *

performing, vocals *Eriona Rushiticomposing, songwriting *Enis Mullaproducing, pianist *Sokol Marsiproducing *Artemisa Mithibackground vocals *Bledi Polenabackground vocals *

Tahir Gjoci Tiri Gjoci (born 5 November 1993, in Kavajë) is an Albanian musician singing various genres in Pop, Alternative, Blues, Pop-Rock, Dance-Hall etc. His musical career began at age 14. Tiri was introduced to the public when he was featured in th ...

background vocals, bass and electric guitarist *Wendi Mancakubackground vocals *Eldi Smajadrummer *Andrew Waltermastering *

Thomas Juth Thomas Juth (born 31 August 1982) is an audio engineer who specializes in mixing and mastering. Over the years, Juth has worked with artists such as Paul McCartney, Cat Stevens, Elton John, Jesse & Joy, Aha, Zaz, Jason Mraz, Park Hyo-shin, Le ...

engineering, mixing

Track listing

*Digital download #"Ktheju tokës"3:14 *Digital downloads #"Ktheju tokës"3:05 #"Ktheju tokës" (Karaoke Version)3:05

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ktheju tokes 2019 songs 2019 singles Electronic songs Festivali i Këngës songs Eurovision songs of 2019 Eurovision songs of Albania 2010s ballads Folk ballads Albanian-language songs Universal Music Group singles