"Feel the Passion" is a song by Albanian singer Aurela Gaçe. It was issued as a CD single on 15 April 2011 by EMI. The English-language pop and rock song was composed by Shpëtim Saraçi and written by Sokol Marsi. An accompanying music video premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 16 March 2011. The song represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, after Gaçe won the pre-selection competition Festivali i Këngës with the Albanian-language version "Kënga ime". It failed to qualify for the grand final in fourteenth place marking the country's third non-qualification in the contest. During her show, Gaçe was accompanied by three backing vocalists and two instrumentalists, while the Albanian theme was visually amplified by the wings of a white and red coloured eagle on the LED screens.

"Feel the Passion"
The cover of the single depicting a female posing in front of a white backdrop
Single by Aurela Gaçe
from the album Paraprakisht
Released15 April 2011 (2011-04-15)
StudioThe Village, Los Angeles, U.S.
Genre
Length3:01
LabelEMI
Composer(s)Shpëtim Saraçi
Lyricist(s)Sokol Marsi
Aurela Gaçe singles chronology
"Origjinale"
(2010)
"Feel the Passion"
(2011)
"Ca$h"
(2011)
Music video
"Feel The Passion" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2011 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Composer(s)
Shpëtim Saraçi
Lyricist(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final result
14th
Semi-final points
47
Entry chronology
◄ "It's All About You" (2010)
"Suus" (2012) ►

Background and composition edit

In 2010, Aurela Gaçe was announced as one of the contestants selected to compete in the 49th edition of Festivali i Këngës, a competition to determine Albania's participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. As part of the competition's rules, the lyrics of the participating entries had to be in the Albanian language. The singer took part with the Albanian-language song "Kënga ime" written by Sokol Marsi and composed by Shpëtim Saraçi.[1][2] For the purpose of the singer's Eurovision Song Contest participation, "Kënga ime" was remastered and translated to "Feel the Passion". It was recorded and reworked at Village Studios in Los Angeles, the United States.[3][4] Musically, it is an English-language pop and rock song.[2][5]

Promotion and release edit

An accompanying music video for the song premiered onto the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 16 March 2011.[6][7] The colourful and vibrant video contains footage of several Albanian tourist attractions, including in the cities of Shkodër in the north of the country and Dhërmi, Gjirokastër, Ksamil and Vlorë in the south.[8] For further promotion, Gaçe made several appearances throughout Europe to perform the song on various occasions, including in Amsterdam and Minsk.[9][10] On the same month, she also appeared to sing the song on the Turkish television shows Gün Sonu, Gülay Kuriş ile Life Style and Beyaz Show, as well as on the Greek television show Kous Kous.[11][12][13] The song was released as a CD single in various countries through EMI.[14] In 2012, the song was included on the singer's sixth studio album Paraprakisht.[15]

At Eurovision edit

Festivali i Këngës edit

The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 49th edition of Festivali i Këngës to select the country's entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany.[16] It took place in December 2010, for which 32 songs had been internally shortlisted by a jury panel made up of music professionals.[16] Following the grand final, Aurela Gaçe and her song "Kënga ime" was chosen to represent Albania in the contest, after the votes of an expert jury panel were combined, resulting in 81 total points.[17]

Düsseldorf edit

The 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and the grand final on 14 May 2011.[18] According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the "Big Five", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, 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.[19] On 17 January 2011, it was announced that "Feel the Passion" would be performed in the first half of the first semi-final of the contest.[20] During the live show, Albania performed third, following Norway and preceding Armenia, and failed to qualify for the grand final in fourteenth place with 47 points, ranking eleventh by the jury's 61 points and thirteenth by the televote of 42 points.[21][22]

During Gaçe's Albanian-themed performance, she was accompanied by three female backing vocalists, a drummer and a guitarist.[23] She was wearing a beige flowing dress and her backing vocalists and instrumentalist were dressed in black.[24] The LED screens in the background displayed large white wings of a flying eagle mixed with red colours representing the flag and theme of Albania.[25] Her show also featured a variety of red colours with turning white spotlights, while pyrotechnics and smoke were used along the performance.[25]

Track listing edit

  1. "Feel the Passion" – 3:01

Release history edit

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various
15 April 2011 EMI [14]
United Kingdom
18 April 2011 [27]
Italy
19 April 2011 [28]

References edit

  1. ^ "Dusseldorf 2011–Participants: Aurela Gaçe". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b Schaar, Stephan (11 May 2011). "Albanien: Aurela Gaçe" (in German). ARD. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ^ Zervas, Christos (5 February 2011). "Albania: Aurela Gace to sing Kënga Ime in English". ESCDaily. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Albaania eurolugu: Aurela Gaçe "Kënga ime"" (in Estonian). 14 February 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. ^ Muldoon, Padraig (6 June 2019). "Lowest to highest: A definitive ranking of Albania's Eurovision entries in the 2010s". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Sadly, Europe didn't latch onto the bilingual rock number, leaving it to linger at 14th in its semi.
  6. ^ "Aurela Gaçe - Feel The Passion (Albania)". European Broadcasting Union. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Aurela Gaçe - Feel The Passion | Official Music Video". YouTube. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Aurela lanson klipin e këngës "Feel The Passion"" (in Albanian). Radio Ilirida. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. ^ "The Netherlands: Eurovision in Concert 2011 on April 9!". ESCToday. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  10. ^ Sahiti, Gafurr (19 April 2011). "Vlatko Ilievski with Aurela Gace in Minsk". ESCToday. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. ^ Uluçay, Serkan (25 March 2011). "Yüksek Sadakat will welcome Aurela Gaçe and Senit". EuroVisionary. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  12. ^ Sahiti, Gafurr (25 March 2011). "Turkey, Albania and San Marino guests in Beyaz Show". ESCToday. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. ^ Sahiti, Gafurr (28 March 2011). "Albania: Aurela Gaçe in Greece". ESCToday. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  14. ^ a b c Citations regarding the release of "Feel the Passion" by Aurela Gaçe in various selected countries:
  15. ^ "Paraprakisht – Album by Aurela Gaçe". Apple Music. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2020.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b "First qualifiers known as Albania heads for second semi". European Broadcasting Union. 24 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Aurela Gaçe wins Albanian ticket to Germany". European Broadcasting Union. 25 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Dusseldorf 2011". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Rules". European Broadcasting Union. 12 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". European Broadcasting Union. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Results of the Running Order Draw!". European Broadcasting Union. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  22. ^ "Dusseldorf 2011: First Semi-Final Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Aurela lets Europe feel the passion". European Broadcasting Union. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Aurela Gace - Feel The Passion (Albania) - Live - 2011 Eurovision Song Contest 1st Semi Final". 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Albania: White wings and red colours". 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  26. ^ Eurovision Song Contest - Düsseldorf 2011 (Compilation CD). European Broadcasting Union. Europe. (Barcode: 5099909705623): CMC. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ "Feel the Passion – Single by Aurela Gaçe on Amazon United Kingdom". Amazon. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Feel the Passion – Single by Aurela Gaçe on Amazon Italy" (in Italian). Amazon. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2020.