"Suus" (; or His own) is a song by Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter

Rona Nishliu Rona Nishliu (born 25 August 1986) is a Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter. She came to international prominence after Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, representing Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, w ...

. It was released as part of a CD

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on 4 May 2012 by

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 the singer herself and composed by Florent Boshnjaku. Musically, it is an Albanian-language

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-inspired

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 ...

, which lyrically addresses an

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al circumstance reflecting the moments that occurred in the past and the expectations of insecure tomorrows. The song represented Albania in the

2012 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azer ...

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan, 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 reached the fifth place in a field of twenty-six, scoring a total of one hundred and forty six points and remaining the country's highest placement to date. During her

minimalistic Minimalism is a movement in visual arts, music, and other media that began in post–World War II Western art. Minimalism may also refer to: *Minimalism (computing), a philosophy of programming and configuring computers *Minimalism (philosophy), ...

performance, Nishliu was performing alone in front of dark-coloured

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s featuring red and white flashing lights in the background. "Suus" received 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 ...

upon its release, commending its authenticity and the singer's vocal delivery. An accompanying

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was premiered to the official

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channel of the

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on 17 March 2012. It visually amplifies the

absurdity An absurdity is a state or condition of being extremely unreasonable, meaningless or unsound in reason so as to be irrational or not taken seriously. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., "Tyler and the boys laughed at ...

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through an

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form simultaneously allowing the viewer to create a variety of interpretations. In 2012, the singer performed the song on multiple occasions in Cyprus, Hungary, Romania and the Netherlands.

Background and composition

In 2011,

was announced as one of the contestants selected to compete in the 50th edition of

, a competition to determine Albania's participant for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

. 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 ...

. The singer took part with "Suus" written by Nishliu herself and composed by Florent Boshnjaku. For the purpose of the singer's Eurovision Song Contest participation, the song was remastered undergoing a few structural modifications at its

intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

and

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

. It was produced at the

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and

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

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, and mastered at the Sterling Sound Studios in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Musically, the song is an Albanian-language

-inspired

. It lyrically addresses an

al condition reflecting on the moments that occurred in the past and the expectations of unsure tomorrows. It focuses on Nishliu's personal experiences, with her stating in an interview that "it's about the difficult times everyone can have, but there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel–only if you search for this light, you will find it". Veronika Pohl of Eurovision.de wrote "the pain of her own story seems to resonate in the song, as Nishliu had to leave her home city Mitrovica due to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

in the 1999s".

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Suus" was received with positive reviews by

. William Lee Adams of

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was skeptical when he first heard the song but upon realising that Nishliu was singing "Qaj" (Cry in English), he said that "it really drove home the point that "Suus" is a deeply emotional ballad". 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 Deban Aderemi and William Lee Adams, praise was given towards Nishliu's voice and the song's authentic nature, while Aderemi concluded that it is as an "absolute masterpiece". Chris Zammarelli from Eurovision Lemurs similarly commended the singer's "powerful" vocal delivery. Keith Watson of

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included Nishliu's performance in its list of "The 'real' winners of the Eurovision Song Contest" and found it "an emotive epic performance that displays her incredible vocal range".

Promotion and release

An accompanying

for the song was premiered on the official

channel of the

on 17 March 2012. Nishliu stated that "it's a poetic video" in which, according to her, through "its components ..intends to depict this life's absurd through an

form". She further said, "the beautiful thing is that everyone can give its meaning to it, so this video allows a variety of interpretations". The song was initially released on 4 May 2012 as part of the '' Eurovision Song Contest: Baku 2012''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

on CD through

. On 20 July 2016, it was made available for digital download through

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). For further promotion, the singer made various live performances and visited numerous countries, including

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and 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 ...

. While in

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during the

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of the

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(COVID-19), footage of

Ana Soklič Ana Soklič (born 10 April 1984) is a Slovenian singer. She Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Amen (Ana Soklič song), Amen", placing 13th in the first semi-fin ...

, the representative of Slovenia for 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 ...

, covering the song was broadcast 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 ...

'' on 24 April 2020. The song was featured in multiple lists of the Eurovision Top 250 charts from 2014 to 2018. Its highest position was at number 18 in 2014.

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The Albanian national broadcaster,

(RTSH), organised the 50th 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

, Azerbaijan. It consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December, and the grand final on 29 December 2011. Following a submission period, a jury panel internally selected 28 songs to participate in the competition's semi-finals. Before the end of the grand final,

was chosen to represent the country at the contest, after receiving a total of 77 points.

Baku

The 57th edition of the

took place in

, Azerbaijan, and consisted of two semi-finals on 22 and 24 May, and the grand final on 26 May 2012. 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 25 January 2012, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the first half of the first semi-final of the contest. During the first semi-final, Albania performed fifth, following and preceding , and qualified for the grand final in second place with 146 points, ranking first jury's votes with 131 points and third in the televote with 131 points. At the grand final, the country performed third, following and preceding . Albania reached fifth place in a field of twenty six with 146 points, ranking third among juries with 157 and eighth in the televote with 106 points. To this day, it is Albania's best result in the contest. Nishliu's show saw her performing the song alone in front of a predominantly dark setting displayed on the

s in the background. Throughout the show, several red spotlights were added and

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

silhouettes appeared throughout the middle of her performance. A

setting was used to strengthen the message of the song and to keep the focus on the vocals and the orchestration.

Track listing

* Digital download # "Suus (Festivali i Këngës)"4:14

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2011 songs 2011 singles 2012 songs 2012 singles 2010s ballads Festivali i Këngës songs Eurovision songs of Albania Eurovision songs of 2012 Universal Music Group singles