He achieved the greatest success of Albanian singers in a Eurovision.
He won by jury vote and was close to triumphing at Eurovision 2021. However, Gjon Muharremaj achieved great success, ranking third after the public vote.
Looking for the hobby, I discovered the piano
At the age of 7-8, like all his peers, John was looking for an activity or hobby that would make him happy. This was quite important to him, considering that all his classmates had a hobby, mostly any sport.
“During this search, at the music school in Bulle, I came in contact with the piano. With this instrument I created a relationship, which touched me more than sports. I admired the achievements of famous personalities such as Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. However, after I was quite attracted as a person, the idea of singing found expression at this age. My relationship with the piano was very intimate and I did not want to share it with others. Simply, the piano was a secret of mine “, Gjoni explains for albinfo.ch.
Elvis Presley and Grandpa’s tears
John’s grandfather, Hamid, had just arrived from Canada. Enthusiastic about what he had learned in piano lessons, John plays some songs in front of him. As soon as he finishes, he asks her if she could sing a song for him.
“I had not tried singing until that moment – says John – and this was a new thing for me. I agreed to sing a song. Even if it didn’t turn out well, I thought, it wouldn’t be a problem, since only Grandpa was there. Unprepared, I started the song, that of Elvis Prisley “Can’t help falling in love with you”, having no idea whether I sing well or not. When I looked at my grandfather, I saw him with tears in my eyes. “It was the first time I saw my grandfather crying.” Here John pauses the story for a few moments to continue: “For me this was a very special moment – I looked at my grandfather with tears in his eyes. It seemed to me that through the song I penetrated his soul. There, as if I gained the courage to do something intimate in front of others, to sing in public.
From E bukura more to Je t’aime
“Without knowing anything, my grandfather had arranged to take part in the show Ti vlen in Albania, where as a guest I would sing a musical point.” This is how John begins his story for albinfo.ch when he talks about his first experiences of singing in public. “There I appeared with the song Moj e bukura more. The whole experience was very new and unfamiliar to me. Without any prior preparation I performed on this show, but I was not happy with my appearance. There I promised myself that I would no longer participate in any public appearances. “I did not give up singing, but I just wanted to be better prepared next time.”
After this experience John spends a lot of time listening to how different singers of the caliber of Celine Dion and Whitney Houston sing. These were his grandfather’s advices. So he spends days in his room practicing with these voices, which were much closer to his childish voice, writes albinfo.ch. Meanwhile, the organizers of the first edition of the show Albanians got talent, after seeing and hearing John’s voice singing Moj e bukura more, invite him to participate in this competition.
“Now I knew I was prepared for this manifestation,” explains John. “This time I decided to sing a song in French, which, I must admit, was closer to my ear. I selected the song Belle Notre-Dame de Paris, which I sang in front of the jury which consisted of Rovena Dilo, Altin Basha and Armend Rexhepagiqi. What touched me the most and encouraged me even more was the comment of Rovena Dilos, when she told me that I did not sing as a child, but with the voice of a child I sang like an adult singer. In the semifinals I appeared with the song Je t’aime, which was extremely well received by all. “After that performance, I could not go out in Tirana”, Gjoni continues his explanation with exaltation. “Every 20 meters I was stopped and greeted. It was a very special experience for me. “Now I was convinced and I knew I wanted to sing in front of others.”
The journey to Eurovision
After the successful participation in Albania, the invitations for Gjoni to participate in La France a un talent and, consequently, later in Switzerland, follow. These two experiences give him even more experience and he gets to know the music industry more closely. This also resulted in the offer to make an album with SONY. However, John decided not to take this step.
“There I noticed that I was not ready to make an album, because I was not technically ready and I did not have my identity in terms of music, style and sound”, explains Gjoni in his interview for albinfo.ch. “From that moment on, I stopped all offers and participation in other competitions, with the sole purpose of focusing on myself and my music. I spent almost 6-7 years listening to different types of music from all over the world, in order to understand how to reach that voice. At the same time, I continued with the singing courses “.
Participation in Eurovision is preceded by John’s appearance at La Plus Belle Voix in France. Unbeknownst to him, John’s mother records a performance of John’s and sends him to this show, from where he is invited to participate. There he reaches the semifinals. After that participation, John receives some proposals and invitations to participate in Eurovision.
“I refused all these offers”, says Gjoni. “However, the band Aliose invited me to participate in a music camp, where I decided to go without knowing what, in fact, it is about. When I arrived at the music camp in Zurich, I was informed that it was a camp for Eurovision. We only had one day available and I came up with my own idea of the melody of the Répondez-moi song. Although it was all very fast, I had a clear idea of what I wanted as music and as lyrics, but not as a production. The version of the elaborate song passed the evaluation of the jury composed of hundreds of people from different fields and professions and after receiving more points among over 500 competitors, it was selected as the representative song of Switzerland in Eurovision “.
On descent or, why is John not written John?
“In this song I wanted the origin to have a key place” John begins to talk about another topic, explaining how the song was realized. “This issue has haunted me since school, when the way my name is spelled, John and not John, initiated the question of my origin. It was this topic which constantly haunted me, even though I did not find it reasonable to talk about it. “Often, when I was asked where I came from, I would answer that I came from my mother”, says sarcastically Gjoni and continues: “It was important for me to understand that I have Swiss citizenship, but my origin is Albanian. And, I see this pluralism as an irreplaceable asset and asset. So I decided that what I really needed to do was learn how to do it right. “So the questions remained unanswered and this corresponded a lot to the feeling I had as a child when I was looking for answers to things that had no answers.”
As much as they are individual, the questions that John asks in the song, they are just as universal, writes albinfo.ch. These are questions whose answers change over time.
“This is life,” John continues, “to admit that you do not have all the answers and that the beauty of life is in the search for answers, not in the answers themselves, which are limited for a while.
“Eurovision 2021” and plans for the future
In “Eurovision 2021” John, as this year’s winner, will participate again, but with a different song. With this also the pressure to produce another successful song is greater.
“With the new song I want to show that I do not know how to do only one thing”, says Gjoni in the conversation with albinfo.ch. “We are trying to make the songs in several different ways. We will try to have as much variety as possible to see what results we can achieve. “I know for a fact that I wanted to take a risk because I am young and I do not worry much about the consequences.”
“As for concert engagements, most of them are being canceled due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, together with my band, we are preparing material for a new album. We are looking for a label, which – in all likelihood – will be from France. I have also considered an offer from Albania, but I have the impression that I want to start with French, which, among other things, is the second most heard language after English. This does not mean that later I will not see any opportunity to do something in Albania.
Life on Mars
If I had ever made an album, I would have wanted to do a cover of David Boëie’s song “Life on Mars”. The lyrics and the song themselves are somewhat extraterrestrial and speak of a reality which surrounds us in our daily lives, where things, day by day, go and get worse “, says Gjoni at the end of the interview for albinfo.ch, talking about the preferences of his.
“I would single out Grace Johns from the artists, mainly because of her courage and self-confidence. So it is in life: when you have self-confidence, you have the opportunity to do many things. For me, she is not only an artist, but also an icon of music, as well as fashion.
