"Fall from the Sky" is a song by Albanian singer

Arilena Ara Arilena Ara (; born 17 July 1998) is an Albanian singer and television presenter. Ara rose to national recognition in Albania, upon her victory at X Factor Albania in 2013. After her participation in the 18th edition of the music contest , her ...

independently 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 9 March 2020. The song was composed 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 Lazar Cvetkovski, and written by

Michael Blue Michael Blue (born 1977/1978) is an American billionaire businessman, the managing partner and one of the co-founders of Privateer Holdings, along with Brendan Kennedy and Christian Groh. Blue earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Harding ...

, Robert Stevenson and Sam Schummer. Musically, it is a pop

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 ...

with the instrumentation incorporating

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s and a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. The

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

song makes lyrically reference to Arilena's hopeless desire to overcome deep and perplexing

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

s. "Fall from the Sky" was scheduled to represent Albania in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The con ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, the Netherlands, before the contest's cancellation due to the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and its spread throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Arilena had been previously selected as the country's representative, after winning 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's Albanian-language version "Shaj". Both versions were met with favourable response 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 ...

, receiving praise for their compositions and Arilena's vocal delivery. An accompanying

lyric 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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song was officially premiered to the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

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 with the

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 ...

being ultimately released on 11 May 2020. Footage of Arilena performing the song at the Mother Teresa Square 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, was broadcast among others during the

Eurovision Home Concerts The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Arcade (song), Arcade" by Duncan La ...

series on 8 May 2020.

Background and composition

In 2019, Arilena was announced as one of the twenty contestants selected to compete in the 58th edition of

, a competition for determining Albania's participant for the

. As part of 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 ...

. Arilena participated with the song "Shaj" written by

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 ...

singer and songwriter

Lindon Berisha Lindon Berisha (; born 7 June 1990), also known mononymously as Lindon, is a Macedonian-Albanian pop singer. Life and career 1990–2015 Lindon Berisha was born on 7 June 1990 into an Albanian family in the city of Skopje, then part of the ...

, and composed by

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

producers

and Lazar Cvetkovski. After winning Festivali i Këngës, Arilena revealed that "Shaj" initially came to her in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

, and she had envisioned the possibility of remastering the song for her participation in the

. However, in February 2020, following several months spent in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, she eventually confirmed the aforementioned. "Fall from the Sky" was then revealed as the title of the song after three weeks on 8 March 2020 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. Lasting three minutes and eight seconds, "Fall from the Sky" was written by

, Robert Stevenson and Sam Schummer, and composed by

and Lazar Cvetkovski. Musically, the song is a pop

with an instrumentation consisting of traditional

and

sounds. Lyrically, it expresses Arilena's hopeless desire to overcome deep and perplexing emotions that she could not forget.

Critical reception

Following its release and victory at

, "Shaj" received favourable response from

. Eurovision.de writer, Irving Wolther, referred to the song as a "melancholic power

". Mark Savage from

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

opined that "she belts out the high notes with all the subtlety of a klaxon in an elevator shaft" and went on into praising the composition and Arilena's vocal delivery. Following the premiere of the remastered version, entitled "Fall from the Sky",

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. ...

writer Luis Fuster elaborated, saying that "the song does keep the essence of 'Shaj'; in fact, it feels more like a good revamp year for Albania". Another editor gave the song three stars out of five, writing "the song is an elegant

Bond theme The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since '' Dr. No'', released in 1962. Composed by Monty Norman (with arrangements for film provided by John Bar ...

packed with dramatic theatrics" while simultaneously praising the song's instrumentation.

Release and promotion

"Fall from the Sky" was independently released on

digital platforms Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

and

streaming services An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of s ...

as a

on 9 March 2020. On the following day, an accompanying

for the song was officially premiered to the

channel of the

. The official

was ultimately released to YouTube on the aforementioned channel on 11 May 2020. The dramatic-characterised video depicts Arilena all alone against a white backdrop with slightly blue lights in three different settings, most notably signing next to a

, a white-coloured tree, and a white human-size bird cage. For promotional and supporting purposes, Arilena was scheduled to embark on a small tour with performances 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 ...

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

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. However, the tour was canceled alongside the cancellation of the contest, due to the

of the

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

(COVID-19). Footage of the singer performing the song for the first time was broadcast during her ''Sounds of Silence'' concert at the Mother Teresa Square in

on 2 May as well as during the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

's (EBU)

series on 8 May 2020.

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The national broadcaster of Albania,

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), organised the 58th 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 representative for the

, the Netherlands. It opened a submission period where artists, bands and composers were able to submit their songs to the broadcaster between 28 May and 15 September 2019, while a jury panel internally selected 20 songs to participate in the competition's semi-finals. During the grand final, Arilena and her Albanian-language song "Shaj" was chosen to represent Albania at the contest after receiving 67 total points. After her victory at the competition, mixed reactions followed with multiple individuals criticising the competition itself and attributing the singer's victory to arranged voting.

Rotterdam

The 65th edition of the

was scheduled to take place in

, the Netherlands, consisting of two semi-finals on 12 May and 14 May 2020, and the grand final on 16 May 2020. 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 two semi-finals to compete for the grand final. On 28 January 2020, it was announced that "Fall from the Sky" would be performed in the second half of the second semi-final of the contest on 14 May 2020. However, on 18 March 2020, the

(EBU) announced the contest's cancellation due to the

of the

(COVID-19) and its spread throughout Europe. Soon after, the EBU confirmed that intended 2020 entries were not eligible to compete in the following edition of the

contest Contest may refer to: * Competition * Will contest * Contesting, amateur radio contesting (radiosport) Film and television * ''Contest'' (2013 film), an American film * Contest (1932 film), a German sports film * "The Contest", a 1992 season 4 e ...

in 2021.

Alternative contests

Broadcasters who were scheduled to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 have organised alternative music competitions. Austrian broadcaster,

Österreichischer Rundfunk ('Austrian Broadcasting Corporation'; ORF) is an Austrian national public broadcaster. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Aus ...

(ORF), who organised

Der kleine Song Contest () was a one-off music competition in the Eurovision format, organised and broadcast by the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). It served as an alternative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held i ...

in April 2020, saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury, consisting of ten members that had represented at the contest before, was hired to rank each song, however, the highest-placed in each semi-final advanced to the final. In the third semi-final on 18 April, "Fall from the Sky" placed fourth in a field of thirteen participants, achieving a total of 62 points. On 9 May 2020, the song unsuccessfully took part on the Swedish Sveriges 12:a organised by the country's national broadcaster

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...

(SVT).

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''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 * ...

. ''Note: Open "Credits" for credits.'' *Arilena Araproducing, songwriting, vocals *Darko Dimitrovcomposing, producing *Lazar Cvetkovskicomposing, producing *Michael Blueproducing, songwriting *Robert Stevensonproducing, songwriting *Sam Schummerproducing, songwriting

Track listing

*Digital download #"Shaj"2:57 #"Fall from the Sky"3:08 #"Fall from the Sky" (Karaoke Version)3:08

Release history

References

{{authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles Arilena Ara songs Eurovision songs of 2020 Eurovision songs of Albania 2020s ballads Pop ballads English-language Albanian songs Song recordings produced by Darko Dimitrov Songs written by Mikal Blue Songs written by Darko Dimitrov