Eugent Bushpepa | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bushpepa in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Gent Bushpepa |
| Born | (1984-07-02)2 July 1984 (age 40) Rrëshen,Albania |
| Genres | Hard rock,industrial metal,alternative metal,pop rock |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Independent |
Eugent Bushpepa (Albanian pronunciation:[ɛuˈɡɛntbuʃˈpɛpa]; born 2 July 1984), also known by his alternative nameGent Bushpepa, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and composer.[1] Regarded as one of the most popularmodern rock musicians in theAlbanian-speaking world, he is noted for hisvocal range,vocal power, high-energy live performances, and is also recognised as an accomplished guitarist.
Bushpepa and his band were the supporting acts on theconcert tours ofDeep Purple in 2007,Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses) in 2011 andOverkill in 2014. On 18 August 2013, he performed a full concert withRon "Bumblefoot" Thal.[2] Bushpepa is the sole author of his song which was reworked for the Eurovision by Jim Lowe, aGrammy Award-winning British record producer and audio engineer.
In 2017, Bushpepa won the 56th edition ofFestivali i Këngës with the song "Mall" and went on torepresent Albania in theEurovision Song Contest 2018 inLisbon.[3] He reached eleventh place in the grand final in a field of twenty-six and achieved the country's third highest placement to date.[4]
Eugent Bushpepa was born on 2 July 1984 into anAlbanian family of theRoman Catholic faith in the town ofRrëshen, then part of thePeople's Republic of Albania, presentAlbania.[1][5] He started singing at the age of six while his guitar training began in the fifth grade ofprimary school. After finishing high school, he moved toBologna, Italy, to study medicine where he completed his first academic year.
Bushpepa's professional career began in 2006 and since then he has been active in the Albanian music scene. His national breakthrough came with the song "Maska e Madhështisë", released in 2007 atTop Fest 4. In the same competition, he also teamed up with a rock band called Sunrise, performing their songEngjëll, and then he went on to play in majormusic festivals and worked on new music. Although Eugent made his professional stage debut inKënga Magjike at the age of fourteen, his music career was jump-started upon his return to Albania in 2006 where he was set to pursue amedical degree indentistry and started to perform live shows in various night clubs and pubs alongside studies. Writing and performing his own material, Bushpepa had also made various live covers and appeared in over 2000 live shows since his beginnings.[6]
He was asked to become the supporting act forDuff McKagan for a concert in Tirana[7][8] on theirLoaded band tour on 1 June 2011. During a traditional beer festival inKorçë on 18 August 2013, Bushpepa performed withRon "Bumblefoot" Thal, the guitarist ofGuns N' Roses.[9][10] In 2014, he joined the band Darkology as their tour vocalist.,[11] replacing Kelly Sundown Carpenter in their Killfest tour with Overkill, Prong, and Enforcer who performed in various cities in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands.[12]
In early to mid 2017, Bushpepa had signed on as an adviser inThe Voice of Albania, assistingBesa's team, whereas on 24 December 2017, he won the56th edition ofFestivali i Këngës, the longest-running annual televised music competition in Albania since 1962, and thus represented Albania at theEurovision Song Contest 2018 inLisbon, Portugal with his song "Mall".[13][14]
In December 2017,Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) announced him as theAlbanian representative for theEurovision Song Contest 2018 inLisbon, Portugal, after he won the 56th edition ofFestivali i Këngës with his song "Mall".[15][16]
The Eurovision version was reworked by Bushpepa and Jim Lowe, a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, and was released through Universal Music on 16 April.[17] Bushpepa's promotional tour in London and Tel Aviv were postponed due to visa delays,[18] but he resumed the tour in Amsterdam and Madrid that advanced with great success.[19][20] Albania was drawn to compete third at the first-semi final in which Bushpepa performed "Mall" third in a field of nineteen participants and qualified for the Grand Final being among the top ten most-voted acts.[21] In the final, the song was performed twelfth in a field of twenty-six and ranked seventh with the juries and eleventh with a combined televote score.
In 2023, Bushpepa started a podcast called "Garage Lock", a collaboration with fellow rock vocalistRenis Gjoka.[22]
Bushpepa has released no album to date; though he deems himself as a "non-commercial artist" and stated that he is working on his debut album following requests from his fans.
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALB [23] | ||||||||||
| "Maska e madhështisë" | 2007 | — | Non-album singles | |||||||
| "Engjëll" | ||||||||||
| "Ëndërr reale" (featuring Gled Mikerezi) | 2008 | |||||||||
| "S'jam Baladë" (featuring Rovena Dilo) | ||||||||||
| "Stinë dreqi" | 2009 | |||||||||
| "Rebel pa hije" | 2011 | Break The Darkness | ||||||||
| "Udhëtari" | 2012 | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "Viktimë" | 2013 | |||||||||
| "Pranë finishit" | 2015 | |||||||||
| "Mall" | 2018 | |||||||||
| "Stay with Me Tonight" | 2020 | 1 | ||||||||
| "Cùll të Hutù" | 2021 | — | Break The Darkness | |||||||
| "I imi Flokë Argjend" | 2021 | |||||||||
| "Ego"(featuring Bojken Lako and Erdion Hoxha) | 2021 | |||||||||
| "Koha Ndryshk" | 2021 | |||||||||
| "Rezisto"(featuring Renis Gjoka) | 2023 | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Ëndërr reale" | Best Male Singer | Won |
| 2009 | "Stinë dreqi" | Vodafone Club Award | Won |
| 2011 | "Rebel pa hije" | Best Male Singer | Won |
| 2015 | "Pranë finishit" | Honorific Award | Won |
| 2017 | "Mall" | Festivali i 56 i Këngës | Won |
| 2018 | "Mall" | Eurovision Song Contest | 11th Place |
Media related toEugent Bushpepa at Wikimedia Commons| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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