"" (; ) is a song by Albanian singer and songwriter

Alban Ramosaj Alban Ramosaj (; born 7 March 1996) is an Albanian singer, songwriter and model. Born in Ede and raised in Tirana, he auditioned for ''The Voice of Albania'' in 2013 and emerged as the winner of the 22nd edition of in 2021. Life and career ...

. The song was written and composed by Ramosaj himself and produced by Marko Polo. It was 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 ...

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 3 December 2021. The song is an Albanian-language ethnic

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 ...

combining traditional Albanian instruments and sounds, with its lyrics focusing on the theme of unconditional love.

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 ...

and fans applauded the song, with praise concentrated on its ethnic nature and instrumentation, as well as Ramosaj'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 ...

was premiered to the singer's official

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channel simultaneously with the single's release on 3 December. In late December 2021, Ramosaj competed with "" in the 60th edition of intentionally to represent Albania in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy. During the final, the singer finished in the second place despite being a favourite to win the contest. His performance commenced in

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. ...

and progressed with colours, 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 displayed thunder and dark imagery.

Background and release

In an interview for

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. ...

, after winning the 22nd edition of in May 2021, Ramosaj revealed his intention to participate at with the aim to represent Albania at the

. The following November, the Albanian broadcaster (RTSH) announced that they had selected Ramosaj among 20 other artists to compete in the live shows of the 60th edition of in late December 2021. Thereafter, "" was independently released as a

in various territories for digital download and

on 3 December 2021. An accompanying

was uploaded to Ramosaj's

channel simultaneously with the single's release.

Composition and reception

"", which translated means "Break it", was composed and written by Ramosaj himself, with additional mastering and mixing as well as the production done by Albanian composer Marko Polo. The Albanian-language song is musically an ethnic

with a blend of traditional Albanian instruments and sounds. Lyrically, the song touches on the theme of unconditional love and delves into a past relationship of the singer, in which he forgave and continued to offer love and trust to his love interest. Upon its release, "" was met with 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 ESCUnited conducted by several staff members, "" has been described as a "pleasant" and "epic" ethnic ballad with an "emotional vibe" and a traditional Albanian nature, which was praised by multiple writers. Incorporating what writer William saw as building in "unexpected ways", the song begins into a "mystery surrounding" developing from the verse into two following "epic" choruses before ending "out of nowhere". Writer Tom Padraig of Wiwibloggs similarly expressed praise towards the song's structure as well as Ramosaj's vocal delivery.

Festivali i Këngës

RTSH organised the 60th edition of to select the Albanian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in

, Italy. The contest consisted of two semi-finals on 27 and 28 December, respectively, and the grand final on 29 December 2021. Ramosaj was officially announced as a selected contestant to participate in the contest in November 2021. During his shows, Ramosaj's performance commenced in

with thunder being featured on the LED walls throughout the performance. While music critics were favorable towards both Ramosaj's vocal delivery and the song's ethnic nature, he was regarded by the media as a strong contender and became among the Eurovision fans favourite to win the contest. During the grand final of , the singer eventually ended up finishing in second place. He later expressed his gratitude and thanked his fans for their support through a

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post, while saying that he counts 2021 as his year.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

. ''Note: Open description for credits.'' *Alban Ramosajcomposing, choir, guitarist, songwriting, vocals *Marko Polochoir, mastering, mixing, producing *Alex Seitajchoir *Kris Breshajchoir *Xhesika Polochoir *Telando Fetorecorder

Track listing

*Digital download #""3:04

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2020s ballads 2021 singles 2021 songs Albanian-language songs Festivali i Këngës songs