| "Fairytale" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byEneda Tarifa | ||||
| Released | 30 March 2016 (2016-03-30) | |||
| Studio | Woodstock, London, UK | |||
| Genre | Pop-Rock | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Olsa Toqi | |||
| Eneda Tarifa singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Fairytale" onYouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2016 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer | Olsa Toqi | |||
| Lyricist | Olsa Toqi | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 16th | |||
| Semi-final points | 45 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "I'm Alive" (2015) | ||||
| "World" (2017) ► | ||||
"Fairytale" is a song by Albanian singerEneda Tarifa. It was issued as asingle on 30 March 2016 byRadio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) andUniversal Music. AnEnglish-languagemid-tempo powerrockballad, the song was composed and written by Olsa Toqi. An accompanyingmusic video was premiered to the officialYouTube channel of theEurovision Song Contest on 13 March 2016. The songrepresented Albania in theEurovision Song Contest 2016 inStockholm, Sweden, after Tarifa's victory at the country's pre-selection competitionFestivali i Këngës with the song'sAlbanian-language version "Përrallë". It failed to qualify for the grand final also marking the country's sixth non-qualification in the contest. During herminimalistic performance, she was accompanied by three backing vocalists while theLED screens showed a variety of gold images.
In 2015,Eneda Tarifa was announced as one of the contestants selected to compete at the54th edition ofFestivali i Këngës, a competition to determine Albania's participant for theEurovision Song Contest 2016. Following the competition's rules, the lyrics of the participating entries had to be in theAlbanian language. Tarifa took part with the song "Përrallë", written and composed by Olsa Toqi.[1] For the purpose of the singer's Eurovision Song Contest participation, the latter song was remastered and translated to "Fairytale".[2] It was recorded and reworked at Woodstock Studios inLondon, the United Kingdom.[2] A reviewer ofWiwibloggs described the song as amid-tempo powerballad, while Nicole Janke ofEurovision.de called it arock ballad.[3][4] During an interview with Wiwibloggs, Tarifa explained in regard to the revamp that she had to shorten the song and "wanted to make it feel more rhythmic for Eurovision".[5]
"Fairytale" received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics and mixed to negative remarks fromWiwibloggs.Metro writer, Caroline Westbrook, elaborated, "IfJames Bond were to have an Albanian makeover and pursue bad guys through the streets ofTirana, we reckon this might just be histheme tune".[6] Michael Carr fromMusic Feeds dubbed the singer as an "over the top emotive diva" and saying, "consideringDami Im is following a similar music path with her offering this year, she better watch out for Eneda Tarifa".[7] Among the reviewers of Wiwibloggs, theAlbanian-language version, "Përralle", was viewed favourably over "Fairytale". Many considered that the song should have been presented in Albanian, whilst dubbing the revamp as "creepy" and a "nightmare".[8] In a poll conducted by Wiwibloggs titled "Has Eneda Tarifa turned “Fairytale” into a nightmare?", the voters chose "Përralle" over "Fairytale" with over 1,400 votes.[9]
Following a revamp, an accompanyingmusic video premiered on the officialYouTube channel of theEurovision Song Contest on 13 March 2016.[10] It begins with an ambiguous imagery of Eneda's face covered in a redpleatheaddress while standing in front of an illuminated stairway. After uncloaking, the video follows with atheatrical scenery depicting a massivesurrealclockwork as a background and then an outdoor scene of Eneda on aswing while sitting inseiza position. However, those three scenes are prominently intercut throughout the complete video.[11] For promotional and supporting purposes, Tarifa made several appearances throughoutEurope to specifically promote "Fairytale", including inAmsterdam's Eurovision in Concert, Eurovision Party inLondon and Israel Calling inTel Aviv.[12][13][14]
The national broadcaster of Albania,Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 54th edition ofFestivali i Këngës to select thecountry's entrant for theEurovision Song Contest 2016.[15] It took place in December 2015, for which 30 songs had been internally shortlisted by a jury panel consisting of music professionals.[16] During the grand final held on 27 December 2015,Eneda Tarifa and herAlbanian-language song "Përralle" were chosen to represent in Albania in the contest, after the votes of an expert jury panel were combined.[1][17]
The61st edition of theEurovision Song Contest took place inStockholm, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and the grand final on 14 May 2016.[18] According to theEurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the "Big Five", consisting ofFrance,Germany,Italy,Spain and theUnited Kingdom, were required to qualify from one of 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 25 January 2016, it was announced that Albania will be performing in the second half of the second semi-final of the contest.[20] During the live show, Albania performed seventeenth followingGeorgia and precedingBelgium.[21] The country eventually failed to qualify for the grand final in sixteenth place with 45 points ranking eighteenth by the jury's 10 points and twelfth by the televote of 35 points.[22]
Eneda performed the song along with three backing vocalists on the main stage. A warm atmosphere was created by a "gold-ground" backdrop andtheatrical smoke which gave the act asoft focus effect.[23] Eneda wore a long golden dress with achapel train that "united" with the golden centre of the stage floor when filmed from above.[23]
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Russia | 30 March 2016 |
| [24] |
