Nân (song)

"Nân"
Single by Alis
LanguageAlbanian (Gheg)
English title"Mother"
Released5 December 2025
Length3:09
LabelFolé Publishing
ComposerAlis Kallaçi
LyricistDesara Gjini
ProducerErjet Barbullushi
Alis singles chronology
"S'ta kam than"
(2025)		 "Nân"
(2025)
Music videos
"Nân" on YouTube
"Nân" (piano version) on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry
Country
Artist
Alis
Languages
Composer
  • Alis Kallaçi
Lyricist
  • Desara Gjini
Finals performance
Semi-final result
7th
Semi-final points
158
Final result
13th
Final points
145
Entry chronology
◄ "Zjerm" (2025)
Official performance video
"Nân" (second semi-final) on YouTube
"Nân" (grand final) on YouTube

"Nân" (Gheg Albanian pronunciation: [nɑ̃ːn]; lit. 'Mother') is a song by Albanian singer and songwriter Alis. It was written by himself alongside Desara Gjini, with production handled by Erjet Barbullushi. The song represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, and finished in thirteenth place at the final.

Background and composition

"Nân" was written by Desara Gjini, composed by Alis Kallaçi and arranged by Erjet Barbullushi.[1] Kallaçi stated that the song came from a dream, in which a distant voice had said: "Goodbye, mother".[2] He described the song as "a ballad for awaiting mothers, for children who leave, and for the eternal love, beyond time and distance".[2]

Promotion

To promote "Nân" before the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, Kallaçi announced his intent to participate in various Eurovision pre-parties. He performed at Melfest WKND 2026 at Nalen in Stockholm on 6 March, Eurovision Party SKG in Thessaloniki on 12 March, the Nordic Eurovision Party 2026 at Rockefeller in Oslo on 21 March, Eurovision in Concert 2026 at AFAS Live Arena in Amsterdam on 11 April, the London Eurovision Festival Fundraiser in London on 17 April, and the London Eurovision Party 2026 at Here at Outernet in London on 19 April 2026.[3]

Prior to his participation in the Eurovision pre-parties, Kallaçi performed on Natsionalnata selektsiya, the Bulgarian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.[4] Following the pre-parties, a ceremony was hosted in Tirana by the Albanian broadcaster RTSH and the Austrian Embassy, which was attended by Alis, members of the Albanian delegation, the RTSH Director General Eni Vasili, and the Austrian ambassador, Monika Zach.[5][6]

Reception

Writing for the Albanian newspaper Sot, Qamil Gjyrezi praised Kallaçi's vocal performance and remarked that the track's "lyrics, rhythm and melody, and orchestration" successfully conveyed "memory and optimistic messages".[7] Eva Frantz of Yle gave the song a rating of nine out of 10, calling it "very dramatic", and applauded Kallaçi's vocals.[8] In the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, Ralf Lofstad gave the song a four out of six, describing it as "pompous, Carmina Burana-like, larger than life" song that "sounds powerful without being super cheesy" and commending Kallaçi as "one of the strongest male voices this year". However, despite calling the staging "as serious as the song", he noted that it felt empty due to it being reliant on the screen graphics.[9]

For TV 2, Line Haus gave the entry a three out of six, noting that the song's message is a reminder of "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra. She praised Kallaçi's vocals and the song's performance by calling it "theatrical and nice", despite criticising the song itself as being "not up to par". She also wrote that part of the staging problem was that Kallaçi's presence was lost because of the sunglasses, and wished that the audience could see his gaze in the performance's entirety "with such a personal and strong song".[10] Jon O'Brien from Vulture ranked the entry 22nd out of the 35 entries, describing it as featuring "military drums, doom-laden church bells, and gothic chants" that could have been taken from The Omen's soundtrack. He concluded that the entry is not an "easy listen".[11]

Eurovision Song Contest

Festivali i Këngës 64

On 21 October 2025, Nân was announced as one of the 28 songs selected for Festivali i Këngës 64.[12] The song was made available to the public on 1 December.[13] After participating in the first semi-final on 17 December, the song qualified directly for the final on 20 December, where it finished in first place in both the jury vote and the televote.[14] This victory guaranteed Kallaçi the right to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.[14]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals to be held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026.[15] During the allocation draw held on 12 January 2026, Albania was drawn to compete in the second semi-final, performing in the second half of the show.[16] Kallaçi was later drawn to perform 13th, after United Kingdom's Look Mum No Computer and before Malta's Aidan.[17] His Eurovision performance was staged by Black Skull Creative, and the song’s lyrics were subtitled throughout the performance.[18] "Nân" qualified for the grand final on 16 May,[19] where Kallaçi performed fifth in the lineup.[20] The entry was voted 13th in the overall competition.[21]

Charts

Chart performance for "Nân"
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Greece International (IFPI)[22] 71

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Nân"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various 5 December 2025 Original Fole Publishing
29 March 2026 Piano

References

  1. ↑ Anthony Granger (22 October 2025). "Albania: First Details of the Festivali i Këngës 64 Songs Released". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 RTSH (17 December 2025). "Fest 64/ Klipi prezantues i Alis - Nân" (in Albanian). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Granger, Anthony (8 February 2026). "Albania: Alis Unveils Pre-Eurovision Tour Dates". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "Победител в „Евровизия", двама конкуренти на конкурса във Виена и български звезди са гост изпълнителите на финала за избор на представител на България" [Eurovision winner, two competitors from the Vienna contest and Bulgarian stars are the guest performers at the final to select a representative for Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian National Television. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  5. ↑ Conte, Davide (24 April 2026). "Several Eurovision 2026 Artists Met with Politicians". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Organizohet në Vjenë ceremoni e veçantë për këngën "Nan" dhe artistin Alis" [A special ceremony is organised in Vienna for the song "Nan" and the artist Alis]. Gazeta Tema (in Albanian). 25 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  7. ↑ Gjyrezi, Qamil (23 December 2025). "Urime Alis, ish-pianist në shkollën artistike 'Prenk Jakova', Fitues në Eurovizion 2026!?" [Congratulations to Alis, former pianist at the 'Prenk Jakova' art school, winner of Eurovision 2026!?]. Gazeta Sot (in Albanian). Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  8. ↑ Frantz, Eva (24 April 2026). "Så här bra är de 35 bidragen i årets Eurovision Song Contest" [This is how good the 35 entries in this year's Eurovision Song Contest are] (in Swedish). Yle. Archived from the original on 25 April 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Lofstad, Ralf (14 May 2026). "Eurovision Song Contest 2026: Vi anmeldte låt for låt" [Eurovision Song Contest 2026: We reviewed song by song]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Haus, Line (16 May 2026). "Eurovision-finalen: Fra terningkast én til seks" [The Eurovision final: From dice rolls one to six] (in Norwegian Bokmål). TV 2. Archived from the original on 25 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, Jon (11 May 2026). "Every 2026 Eurovision Entry, Ranked". Vulture. Archived from the original on 12 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Anthony Granger (22 October 2025). "Albania: First Details of the Festivali i Këngës 64 Songs Released". Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  13. ↑ Neil Farren (1 December 2025). "Albania: Festivali i Këngës 64 Entries Released". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  14. 1 2 Neil Farren (20 December 2025). "Albania: Alis to Eurovision 2026". Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Vienna announced as host city for Eurovision Song Contest 2026". The Guardian. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv (Press release). European Broadcasting Union. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed". Eurovision.com (Press release). European Broadcasting Union. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  18. ↑ Granger, Anthony (30 April 2026). "Albania: "Nân" Will Be Subtitled for its Eurovision Performance". Eurovoix News. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Eurovision 2026: The Second Semi-Final Qualifiers". Eurovision.com. European Broadcasting Union. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Running Order of the Eurovision 2026 Grand Final". Eurovision.com. European Broadcasting Union. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Eurovision 2026 Results: Voting & Points". Eurovision.com. European Broadcasting Union. 16 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 20/2026" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Nân – Single by Alis". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  24. ↑ "Nân piano version – Single by Alis". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.