Recorded 2008 Length 2:58 | Genre Dance-pop | |
Released 12 December 2008 (2008-12-12) Format Radio single, CD single Producer(s) Edmond Zhulali, Agim Doçi | ||
"Carry Me in Your Dreams" was the Albanian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in Moscow, Russia. The song was composed by Edmond Zhulali and Agim Doçi, composers of Albania's first entry to Eurovision, "The Image of You" by Anjeza Shahini, and is performed by Albanian singer Kejsi Tola in English. It finished 17th with 48 points.
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Background
The song was the winner of Festivali I Këngës 47, the festival used to select Albania's Eurovision entry. Albania was the first country to select and publicly present its song. The song was chosen as the winner of the festival on 21 December 2008—five months before Eurovision, to be held on 16 May 2009. The song was performed during Festivali I Këngës in Albanian as "Më merr në ëndërr" (Take me into your dreams), and the English version of the song was premiered on 18 March.
At Eurovision
Kejsi performed the song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 semi-final on 14 May 2009, performing 16th in the running order, following Moldova's Nelly Ciobanu with "Hora din Moldova" and preceding Ukraine's Svetlana Loboda with "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)". She received 73 points, placing 7th of the 19 competing songs, and qualifying to the final.
At the final on 16 May Tola performed 19th in the running order, following Turkey's Hadise with "Düm Tek Tek" and preceding Norway's Alexander Rybak with "Fairytale". The song received 48 points, placing 17th of the 25 competing songs.
The staging featured two b-boys dressed as mimes (twin brothers) and a sequined green man (Jenia Evgenios Buli, who has performed with Kalomira in 2008 and Giorgos Alkaios in 2010). If only tele-voting had been used, Albania would have come in 11th.