Eugent Bushpepa

Eugent Bushpepa (Albanian pronunciation: [ɛugɛnt buʃpɛpa]; born 2 July 1984), also known by his alternative name Gent Bushpepa, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and composer.[1] Regarded as one of the most popular modern rock musicians in the Albanian-speaking world, he is noted for his vocal range, vocal power, high-energy live performances, and is also recognised as an accomplished guitarist.

Eugent Bushpepa
Eugent Bushpepa in 2018
Background information
Also known asGent Bushpepa
Born (1984-07-02) 2 July 1984
Rrëshen, Albania
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • composer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • drums
Years active2006–present
LabelsUniversal Music

Bushpepa and his band were the supporting acts on the concert tours of Deep Purple in 2007, Duff Mckagan (Guns N’ Roses) in 2011 and Overkill in 2014. On 18 August 2013, he performed a full concert with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.[2] Bushpepa is the sole author of his song which was reworked for the Eurovision by Jim Lowe, a Grammy Award-winning British record producer and audio engineer.

In 2017, Bushpepa won the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës with the song "Mall" and went on to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon. He reached eleventh place in the grand final in a field of twenty-six and achieved the country's third highest placement to date.[3]

Life

Eugent Bushpepa was born on 2 July 1984 into an Albanian family of the Roman Catholic faith in the town of Rrëshen, then part of the People's Republic of Albania, present Albania.[1][4] He started singing at the age of six while his guitar training began in the fifth grade of primary school. After finishing high school, he moved to Bologna, Italy, to study medicine where he completed his first academic year.

Career
Clockwise from upper left: Bushpepa has opened for Deep Purple in 2007, Duff McKagan (Guns N'Roses) in 2011, Overkill in 2014, and has performed with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal in 2013.

Bushpepa's professional career began in 2006 and since then he has been active in the Albanian music scene. His national breakthrough came with the song ”Maska e Madhështisë", released in 2007 at Top Fest 4. In the same competition, he also teamed up with a rock band called Sunrise, performing their song Engjëll, and then he went on to play in major music festivals and worked on new music. Although Eugent made his professional stage debut in Kënga Magjike at the age of fourteen, his music career was jump-started upon his return to Albania in 2006 where he was set to pursue a medical degree in dentistry and started to perform live shows in various night clubs and pubs alongside studies. Writing and performing his own material, Bushpepa had also made various live covers and appeared in over 2000 live shows since his beginnings.[5]

He was asked to become the supporting act for Duff McKagan for a concert in Tirana[6][7] on their Loaded band tour on 1 June 2011. During a traditional beer festival in Korçë on 18 August 2013, Bushpepa performed with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, the guitarist of Guns N' Roses.[8][9] In 2014, he joined the band Darkology as their tour vocalist.,[10] replacing Kelly Sundown Carpenter in their Killfest tour with Overkill, Prong, and Enforcer who performed in various cities in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands.[11]

In early to mid 2017, Bushpepa had signed on as an adviser in The Voice of Albania, assisting Besa's team, whereas on 24 December 2017, he won the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës, the longest-running annual televised music competition in Albania since 1962, and thus represented Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal with his song "Mall".[12][13]

Eurovision Song Contest
Main article: Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Eugent Bushpepa performing during a rehearsal before the grand final.

In December 2017, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) announced him as the Albanian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, after he won the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës with his song "Mall".[14][15]

The Eurovision version was reworked by Bushpepa and Jim Lowe, a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, and was released through Universal Music on April 16.[16] Bushpepa's promotional tour in London and Tel Aviv were postponed due to visa delays,[17] but he resumed the tour in Amsterdam and Madrid that advanced with great success.[18][19] Albania was drawn to compete third at the first-semi final in which Bushpepa performed "Mall" third in a field of nineteen participants and qualified for the Grand Final being among the top ten most-voted acts.[20] In the final, the song was performed twelfth in a field of twenty-six and ranked seventh with the juries and eleventh with a combined televote score.

Discography

Eugent Bushpepa has released no album to date and has only released singles. He deems himself as a "non-commercial artist" and stated that he is working on his debut album following requests from his fans.

Singles

As lead artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
ALB
[21]
"Maska e Madhështisë" 2007 N/A Non-album singles
"Engjëll"
"Ëndërr reale"
(featuring Gled Mikerezi)		 2008
"S'jam Baladë"
(featuring Rovena Dilo)
"Stinë Dreqi" 2009
"Rebel pa hije" 2011
"Udhëtari" 2012
"Viktimë" 2013
"Pranë finishit" 2015
"Mall" 2017 —
2018 —
"Stay With Me Tonight" 2020 1

Awards

Top Fest

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008 "Ëndërr reale" Best Male Singer Won
2009 "Stinë dreqi" Vodafone Club Award Won
2011 "Rebel pa hije" Best Male Singer Won
2015 "Pranë finishit" Honorific Award Won

Festivali i këngës në RTSH'

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017 "Mall" 1st place Won
gollark: Hi.
gollark: thonk eval 5
gollark: Oh, cool.
gollark: ++supported_langs
gollark: ++tel hangup

References
  1. "Eugent Bushpepa". teksteshqip.com (in Albanian).
  2. "U.S. Embassy in Tirana: Report on Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Eugent Bushpepa's Concert in Albania". U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania. 20 August 2013.
  3. "Lisbon 2018: Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  4. "Lisbon 2018: Participants". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  5. "Exclusive Interview with Eugent Bushpepa on TCH" (in Albanian). Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  6. "Guns 'N Roses bassist to give concert in Tirana". Tirana Times. 27 May 2011.
  7. "Eugent Bushpepa & Duff McKagan - 2011". Eugent Bushpepa Official. 7 June 2011.
  8. The HDI: Bumblefoot in Albania
  9. "Eugent Bushpepa Performing with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses)". Eugent Bushpepa Official.
  10. GrandeRock.com Darkology announces new line-up for tour 2014
  11. "Darkology Leak Songs from Upcoming Album - Lineaup Changes for Overkill Tour Announced". BraveWords.com. 23 October 2014.
  12. "Eugent Bushpepa to represent Albania at Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. 23 December 2017.
  13. "Eugent Bushpepa representará a Albania en el Festival de Eurovisión 2018 con "Mall"". MSN.com. 29 December 2018.
  14. "Eugent Bushpepa me "Mall" shpallet fitues i Fest '56". rtsh.al (in Albanian). Radio Televizioni Shqiptar. 24 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  15. "Eugent Bushpepa to represent Albania at Eurovision 2018!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 24 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  16. Adams, William (16 March 2018). "Albania: Eugent Bushpepa releases Eurovision version of "Mall"". Wiwibloggs.com.
  17. Royston, Benny (8 April 2018). "Eugent Bushpepa Cancels Promotional Tour". Eurovoix.com.
  18. Royston, Benny (15 April 2018). "Finland, Israel, Australia, Spain, Albania and UK all impress at Eurovision In Concert". Metro.co.uk.
  19. Taylor, Richard (14 April 2018). "Eugent Bushpepa Back On Promotional Tour". EurovisionIreland.net.
  20. "First Semi-Final: 10 Acts Qualify For Eurovision 2018 Grand Final". The Official Website of the Eurovision Song Contest - Eurovision.tv. 8 May 2018.
  21. Note: "The Top List" are the charts conducted by Top Channel since December 2015. For peak positions in Albania:
Preceded by
Lindita
with "World"		 Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
2018		 Succeeded by
Jonida Maliqi
with "Ktheju tokës"
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