"Zjarr e ftohtë" (; ) is a song by Albanian singer Luiz Ejlli. Klodian Qafoku composed the music while Dr. Flori wrote the lyrics. Musically, it is an

Albanian-language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song incorporating a southern Albanian folklore element in its instrumentation. The song represented in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcas ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, after winning the pre-selection competition Festivali i Këngës 44. The country failed to qualify for the grand final in fourteenth place, marking the country's first non-qualification in the contest. During his minimalistic show on the competition, Ejlli 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 u ...

s and two traditional Albanian instrumentalists.

Background and composition

Lasting 3 minutes, "Zjarr e ftohtë" has its lyrics written by Florian Kondi. Composed by Klodian Qafoku, it is a pop song which its instrumentation features a southern Albanian folk music-esque melody. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a man who cannot forget his former lover. He likens his predicament to feeling "fire and cold" (or "fire but still cold"), while begging her to "open erheart". Despite the strength of the lyrics, the song was performed in a subdued fashion. Ejlli and three backing singers barely moved from their positions, while two Albanian folk musicians provided accompaniment. Many commentators had difficulty pronouncing the song title or the performer's name. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

commentator,

Paddy O'Connell Guy Patrick "Paddy" O'Connell (born 11 March 1966, in Guildford, Surrey) is an English television and radio presenter. He presents BBC Radio 4's '' Broadcasting House'' programme and '' Newsnight''. He is also an occasional presenter of the '' ...

, for example, rendered the song as "Zlar E Flot".

At Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 44th edition of

Festivali i Këngës (; ), commonly known as and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined th ...

to determine the country's participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The show consisted of two semi-finals on 16 and 17 December, and a grand final on 18 December 2005, where Ejlli was chosen.

Athens

The 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place in

, Greece, and consisted of a semi-final on 18 May and the grand final two days later on 20 May 2006. According to the Eurovision rules at the time, selected participating countries, apart from the host country and the " Big Four" (, , , and the ), were required to qualify from the semi-final to compete for the grand final. However, the top ten countries from the semi-final progressed to the grand final. Albania performed sixth in the semi-final, following and preceding , and failed to qualify for the grand final, ending in 14th place with 58 points. During his minimalistic show of the song, Ejlli was accompanied on stage by three

s and two traditional Albanian instrumentalists.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Zjarr e ftohtë (Festivali i Këngës)"3:37

Release history

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2006, state=collapsed 2006 singles 2006 songs Eurovision songs of Albania Eurovision songs of 2006 Festivali i Këngës songs