New video from Era Istrefi - Redrum

Albanian singer and songwriter Era Istrefi has released a video for the song Redrum. Performer Felix Snow took part in the recording of the track. The work was directed by the famous British and American photographer and video director Millicent Hailes, who has worked with such celebrities as Chris Brown, Amber Rose, Brooke Candy, Big Sean and others. On…

The work was directed by the famous British and American photographer and video director Millicent Hailes, who has worked with such celebrities as Chris Brown, Amber Rose, Brooke Candy, Big Sean and others.

In the video, the actress shines in several bright red outfits. Massive jewelry with scarlet stones was chosen to match them. The clip has no plot as such, and the viewer’s attention is focused on many different details in red shades.

The song Redrum was released as a single on February 24. She became the eighth solo work in the performer’s career. The girl’s debut track was released in 2013 and immediately became very popular. The artist's subsequent works were also successful. However, Era gained worldwide fame last winter after the release of the single Bon Bon.

Arilena Ara is a pop singer from Albania who became famous throughout the world thanks to her victory in the X Factor show and the single “Nentori”.

Childhood

Arilena was born on July 17, 1998 in the Albanian town of Shkodra. From a young age she showed interest in creativity. Her family was not rich, but her parents spared no expense in developing their daughter’s singing talent. From the age of six, Arilena attended music school and participated in song competitions. She loudly declared herself by taking first place in a competition called “Little Geniuses.” At the age of nine, the singer lost her father. According to Arilena, she still deeply worries about the death of a loved one.

Carier start

Arilena first appeared on television in the fall of 2012 in the second season of The X Factor. The artist received a large number of audience sympathies thanks to her excellent performance of the acoustic version of the touching composition “We Are” by Ann Johnson and the work “Man Down” by the extravagant singer Rihanna.

After her brilliant victory on the show, Arilena recorded several solo songs and also took part in the “Dance with Me” project.

Worldwide popularity

In 2014, Arilena’s video entitled “Aeroplan” was released. In less than 24 hours, it received more than three million views. Then there was the video work “Business Class” and the single “Vegim”, dedicated to his deceased father.

The song “Nentori” (November), released on January 24, 2017, brought widespread fame to the singer. The composition is recorded in Albanian and tells a sad love story that ended in late autumn. In the song, the girl curses November, which took away her love.

In July 2017, the Albanian singer visited Moscow and performed at the Luzhniki sports complex as part of the Europa Plus radio festival. The girl was completely delighted with the city and the people who supported her with thunderous applause.

Personal life

As for her personal life, the singer carefully protects it from the interference of the yellow press. We only know that Arilena’s heart is occupied: for several years now she has been dating a guy who is also her manager.

Brief dossier:

the site studies the path of people from a small Balkan country with a difficult fate to the top of the world charts. Is the international success of Albanians Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora and Era Istrefi a pattern or an accident?

Albanian girl power: Era Istrefi, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa
​Photo: Instagram

Popular music experts, and even the most ordinary listeners, have confidently ranked Scandinavia as the third, and more recently almost second, recording industry in the world for several decades. At first, the Nords were famous for their performers with original material, but now they are also suppliers of the biggest hits to order. Historically, Albania, and even the previously united Yugoslavia, was clearly deprived of such rich musical influence on the world stage. The local market of the former socialist republic could not possibly be one of the priorities of English-oriented pop culture.

What has changed in the new century, which has received top stars with Albanian roots? Most likely, this happened thanks to the troubled and bloody nineties, but it would be more ethical to say “in spite of.” The politically torn apart power provoked a gigantic outflow of population from all its corners, especially from the most problematic ones. Kosovo turned out to be such a dangerous cauldron, where clashes increasingly occurred between the Albanians, who had been demanding their independence for many years, and the Serbian minority in these lands. Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora and Era Istrefi are children of those events. Some of them were born abroad into immigrant families, others moved with their parents at an early age, but the Istrefi creative dynasty remained in their homeland.

ISTREF ERA

Era Istrefi
Photo: Instagram

Since Era deserves a special mention, then let's start with it. The mother of the future star is the popular Albanian singer of the 80-90s - Suzana Tahirslaj. My father was involved in journalism. In the 2000s, the privileged position initially favored the start of the career of Era’s older sister, Nora Istrefi, who was able to achieve truly great heights on the national pop stage. In the next decade, our heroine will already surpass her older relatives - and immediately on a global scale. In addition to her spectacular appearance and “textured” voice, a feature of her melodically tenacious hits was bilingualism. This approach finally worked when she filmed the video for "Bonbon" on a snowy track in Kosovo.

Half a billion views forced English-language publications and labels to talk seriously about the birth of a new world star, who immediately began to be compared with Rihanna and Sia. The result of the YouTube take-off was a one-time signing to Sony Music and Ultra Music, and already this summer, Era performed the part in the main anthem of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in company with Will Smith and Nicky Jam.

DUA LIPA

Dua Lipa right now is practically the main young pop artist of our time. Listeners see in her the embodiment of charm, noting in every line the sincerity in the performance of the role of their lyrical heroine. The presence of a characteristic low timbre, the external charisma of the singer, and a rich variety of shades of material convince of the presence of limitless creative potential for many years to come. In her case, the personal experience of moving definitely spiritually shaped the future great artist.

Dua grew up as a London girl attending drama school, and when she turned eleven, she and her parents returned to their native Kosovo for four years. Her father, being a famous rock singer there, instilled in Lipa excellent hearing and fortunately supported his daughter in her desire to connect herself with music. So London again became her home. Having noticed a vlog with covers of Dua’s favorite songs, the young Albanian was signed by the largest label Warner Music and for three whole years gave her a marathon of first-class singles in support of her debut album.

Among them are “Be the One”, “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)”, “New Rules”, “IDGAF”, and this year the collaboration with Calvin Harris was finally completed - “One Kiss”.

RITA ORA

Rita Ora
​Photo: Instagram

The fates of Rita Ora and Dua Lipa are in many ways similar. Rita also fully considers herself British, having been born in her historical homeland and moving to London as a one-year-old child in the arms of emigrated parents. There, Ora studied at the same theater school, which Lipa later also enrolled in. What is special about Rita in our four is that the beginning of the Albanian pop wave can be counted from her.

The start of his solo career with the album “Ora” in 2012 still remains one of the brightest debuts in Britain. All that remained was to develop the success that had begun, release new songs and prepare a growing fan base for the second album. The three singles, led by “I Will Never Let You Down,” served this purpose well, but lengthy contract disputes with the Roc Nation label came into force.

This dragged on until 2017 and led to the need to write completely different material due to legal restrictions on the use of ready-made master tracks. This is how other and even more successful singles were born "Your Song" and “Anywhere” from the second album promised five years ago.

BIBI REX

Bibi Rexha
Photo: Instagram

The only Albanian on this list who does not have direct roots in Kosovo. Bibi's parents arrived to the shores of the United States from Macedonia, where they also experienced persecution of their diaspora. Living in Brooklyn, New York, Rexha very quickly became an aspiring songwriter, actively moved in show business circles, joined the new project of Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and, without waiting for the release, left him, composed “Monster” for Eminem and Rihanna , and then at twenty-three came to a solo career.

With these chicks you won't have to learn Albanian.

Albania gave us not only the “teach Albanian” meme, but also cool chicks who conquer the world charts and festivals. We bet you didn't know about the Albanian roots of these beauties.

1. Rita Ora

The singer was born in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. The family is quite ordinary: mom is a psychiatrist, dad is an economist, and the daughter records tracks with Avicii and Charli XCX. But Rita also respects her Albanian roots: she even shot a video where she walks around her hometown.

2. Dua Lipa

Dua was born in London, but her parents are from Pristina. True, in 2008 they returned to Kosovo, but Dua left there for several years to London to study music. It's all roots, because her dad was a rock star. Watch their performance together.

Well, Dua’s solo creation, of course.

3. Era of Istrefi

And another beauty from Pristina, whom you may know from this track.

And it all started with a clip like this on Albanian television. A song about money, if anything.