"Zjarr e ftohtë" was the Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

n entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...

, performed in Albanian

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

 by Luiz Ejlli

Luiz Ejlli

Luiz Ejlli is an Albanian singer.-Biography:Luiz Ejlli was born in Shkodra and between 1991 and 2002 he attended the "Prenk Jakova" secondary school in Shkodra. In 1995, he won the Best Voice Prize in "Child National Fesitival" in Shkodra. In 1998, he participated as a soloist in the "Gold...

. This was the first time that the Albanian entry in the contest was sung in Albanian.

As Albanian had finished outside the top 10 in 2005

Eurovision Song Contest 2005

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...

, Ejlli had to perform in the semi-final of the 2006 contest. On the night of the semi-final he performed 6th in the running order, following Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

' Polina Smolova

Polina Smolova

Polina Smolova is a pop singer and the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song Mum, with which she took part in the Eurovision semi-final. She is one of the most famous Belarusian pop singers, coming up with very poetic and lyrical songs...

 singing "Mum" and preceding Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

's Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan is a Belgian World Music Award winner. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of Mylène Farmer and France Gall, such as "Désenchantée", "Libertine" and "Ella, elle l'a" as well as new material...

 singing "Je t'adore

Je t'adore

"Je t'adore" was the Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Kate Ryan. It was the seventh song which was performed in this Contest and the 999th by counting all songs which have ever performed on Eurovision Song Contest...

". The song received 58 points, placing 14th in a field of 23, failing to qualify for the final.

The song is sung from the perspective of a man who can't forget his former lover. He likens his predicament to feeling "fire and cold" ("fire but still cold" is an alternative translation), while begging her to "open your heart". 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

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 commentator, Paddy O'Connell

Paddy O'Connell

Guy Patrick Bennett O'Connell , known as Paddy O'Connell, is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC....

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

It was succeeded as Albanian representative

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times. The Albanian broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar , has been the organiser of the Albanian Eurovision entry since the country's debut in the contest in 2004, and has used the long-standing Albanian song contest, Festivali i...

 at the 2007 contest

Eurovision Song Contest 2007

The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...

 by Frederik Ndoci

Frederik Ndoci

Frederik Ndoci is an Albanian songwriter and international recording artist, he was 5-th finalist of IMA he received 14 grammy nomination on the 49-th GRAMMY AWARDS in all categories...

 with "Hear My Plea

Hear My Plea

"Hear My Plea" was the Albanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed in English and Albanian by Frederik Ndoci.The song is a dramatic ballad, with Ndoci pleading with an unnamed power to bring his love back to him...

".