“I will always be an international artist for America”/ Bleona Qereti discusses her career and journey in music

26 Dhjetor 2025, 19:08, Lifestyle CNA

“I will always be an international artist for America”/ Bleona

Bleona Qerreti is an artist that achieved success as the result of self-sacrifice and hard work, epitome of authenticity, resilience, and beauty as an expression of freedom.

In an interview, Bleona she discusses her career, family, and the pivotal moments that shaped her journey, from starting in Albania to pursuing her "American dream" in Los Angeles.

GRIDA DUMA:
Alright, we continued our conversation, and I know I have the pleasure of talking to you nonstop for a thousand reasons. I have very few minutes compared to what I would like to have with you, Bleona.
Here you are in this photo with Donald Trump, but before we go there, I think that you are a political being.

BLEONA QERETI:
Me?

GRIDA DUMA:
Yes. Being political doesn’t mean being a deputy, a senator, a congressman, and so on.
Being political means knowing when to strike by sensing the environment, knowing how to leave a mark, and influencing in a way that your beliefs ultimately turn into decisions for others.
The reason you are on Top Story is because you are an artist. But your personal decisions as an individual—I think it’s clear—are of a political nature. And I believe I am an expert in this field.
You have reached the point where you have campaigned for Donald Trump, rallying Albanians in America and registering them to vote, undeniably showing that Albanians also matter.

BLEONA:
Absolutely. Yes.

BLEONA QERETI:
Albanians are a factor. They are active—because Albanians are political beings.

GRIDA DUMA:
As a population, Albanians may seem small, but they are significant. That gives a certain tone and energy to a campaign, which is no small thing for a politician like Trump, who is all in. Trump is all in. He operates with total commitment, shaping his message to create clarity and directness in his own way.
I think this is also your approach because, ultimately, to align yourself with a politician, there must be a certain chemistry—a shared way of thinking and a sense of intellectual alignment.

BLEONA:
Absolutely.

GRIDA DUMA:
Today, your friendships range from Richard Grenell—who has appeared with you at several public events—to photographs with Donald Trump himself.
How much effort did you put into this campaign? More specifically, how much effort did it take to cross over from the art world and position yourself against Hollywood?
Hollywood isn’t generally pro-Trump. Yes, definitely, you can be hit in a lateral sense. You may not be accepted in various circles because, if you are pro-Trump, that is not generally a pro-Trump environment. I think I’m correct in saying this, both indirectly and directly.

BLEONA:
Sure, not only laterally, but directly as well!

GRIDA:
Also direct!!

BLEONA:
Of course!

BLEONA:
I would say this: I have no political ambitions whatsoever, and I’ve always said it. If I am in politics, it’s because I am an artist.
If I am in politics, it is because I support Donald Trump—because I truly believe in him as a person. I met him as an artist, not as a politician.
Knowing him as a businessperson in a different dimension, I already knew that the moment he entered politics, he would do something that would undoubtedly leave his mark.
This is, first and foremost, the reason—and it is completely artistic. It stems from a decision rooted in me being a rebellious artist, not from a political calculation move, as it may be perceived from the outside.

GRIDA DUMA:
How normal is Donald Trump in his behavior, especially when compared to how the media—particularly Democratic media—try to portray him as someone who is crazy, and so on?

BLEONA QERETI:
Absolutely not. He is one of the most well-mannered people, one of the most educated one-on-one.
The media in America knows this because they knew him from before—just as I did—in another aspect, before he was a politician. Donald Trump was not an unknown name in America.
It’s not that Donald Trump was an unknown name in America, and people now only know him in this aspect as a politician.
For me, he’s a genius in every aspect of his life, not just politically. The political aspect is like the cherry on top of the genius of this person, and that’s why I supported him: the genius of him as a person.

GRIDA DUMA:
What makes him a genius, from your perspective?

BLEONA QERETI:
His success—the way he leaves a mark wherever he goes—that’s what matters. He enters a room and you can see that he has just entered, and it has always been the case, even when he was just a businessman, the boss of Mar-a-Lago, let’s say. This has nothing to do with him now being a politician; it has something to do with who he truly is as a person.
I supported him artistically, not necessarily with a political calculation, as it may be perceived from the outside, but with another calculation behind it.
I wanted a chance to show him who Albania and Albanians really are. And I didn’t do this for myself, and I didn’t do it expecting anything in return, because in Hollywood I only had costs from what I did. But I’m so proud of the decision, and I will support him no matter what.

GRIDA DUMA:
How difficult was it to mobilize Albanians for this campaign, Bleona?

BLEONA QERETI:
But I wasn’t there at the Albanian community just yet. I just wanted to have a chance to show the Republican Party—which he turned around 100%—that people are now clearly understanding the program of the Republican Party. Previously, at the moment when no one wanted to listen, they didn’t even have enough attention to understand the program.
At least now, people understand the program, and it is Trump who turned that around 100%. So I wanted to have a chance to show who Albania and Albanians are, and I saw an opportunity because Michigan was a swing state.

GRIDA DUMA:
So, a state where you could make a difference?
How much does the Albanian vote in Michigan count?
You mean Albanians make a difference.

BLEONA QERETI:
Exactly. There are 100,000 to 150,000 Albanians in Michigan, and the results could have shifted even by 10,000 votes. It was a tight race.
And there I saw the opportunity to show who Albanians are. It wasn’t to show myself, because he already knows who I am as Bleona. It had nothing to do with me personally; I wanted to show who we are as Albanians.
Luckily, we were in a swing state, which made the difference. In New York, you could gather 500,000 Albanians, and it wouldn’t change the outcome.

So this was the first challenge to begin with—that I could show them that Albanians could make a difference in a state like Michigan. That they are loyal, sometimes to their detriment; they go all in for you if they love you, and they are committed to what they believe in.
That’s our mentality: loyalty, commitment, love—if we love you, it’s in our character.

GRIDA:
Like we also have our flaws…

BLEONA QERETI:
Yes, of course, because there is no people without their flaws… but I thought… and maybe this was the political calculation that people perceive from outside, because it was the moment that I wanted to show that: in the moment you say Albania, you mean Bleona; in the moment you say Bleona, you mean Albania, and it was a golden opportunity for me to show them who we truly are!

GRIDA DUMA:
Do you understand now why I say that you are an individual with a political approach, even if you are not a politician, and you might never enter politics.

BLEONA:
Nobody asked that of me and nobody told me I did it out of my heart…

GRIDA:
But meanwhile, you sensed that in a state that could make the difference, OK, there are my fellow countrymen, they could seize this moment to show that the outcome depends on them—we are the kingmaker of this outcome—I have influence there, and you combined all these advantages, timing, and use them. That’s all a political decision, regardless that you are an artist. (laughs)

BLEONA:
I was in New York in 2020 during the second debate with Joe Biden, and the next day Trump got COVID and went to the hospital.
That’s when I decided I wouldn’t start this from the top of the chain, from Mar-a-Lago, but that I had to start from the grassroots, from the bottom—and Michigan was the place.

So I flew there and gathered Albanians however I could, because I live in L.A. I didn’t have all the connections there, regardless that before I used to live in Michigan, but I wasn’t in the mix of the Albanian community.
I gathered everyone personally. I called everyone from my own personal phone—I don’t believe there’s anyone in Michigan who doesn’t have my personal number.

And I said to them the same thing I am saying on this show now: this is our opportunity to show the Trump administration who Albania and Albanians are.
And I’m saying this with all the love in my heart—I swear on my mother’s and father’s heads—I’m saying this with all the good I have inside of me, that I am so proud when I hear Don Jr. saying Albanians are real, or when I see Ivanka Trump posting a book about Albanians on her Instagram account.

BLEONA:
What I’m saying is: we are on the map.
And I couldn’t be prouder of this moment, and I couldn’t be more excited and happier—that we are on the map.

We are a very small country, and we don’t even notice this when we are here, inside of Albania.
Inside Albania, it looks like the world is here and the world revolves around us, but in the moment, you zoom out and go somewhere else, you understand that we are such a small place that, and if you don’t have a nuclear force or leave your imprint, no one has time to look at you.

GRIDA:
Yes.

BLEONA:
My instinct was exactly this: I wanted to see Albania on the map.

GRIDA:
On the map of interest and attention, you say, of the United States president.

BLEONA:
On the map of all administrations—because it’s the same case even for the Biden administration.
There are also a lot of Albanians who are Democrats, and of course they have the freedom to vote how they like.

GRIDA DUMA:
So you had the opportunity, in this administration, to make them pay attention to Albanians.

BLEONA:
I wanted to create awareness among Albanians that they had to register to vote—regardless of who they wanted to vote for—but to understand that their vote, especially in the 2024 elections, was a decision that would decide the fate of the world, not only America’s.
And I think we achieved this.
Of course, with a lot of sacrifice.
Of course, as a one-woman machine, it is very hard.

I would like to say a big thank you to Richard Grenell, because he supported me at every moment, in all my initiatives.
We did things together. We called everybody together on the phone. We registered a lot of people, making thousands of get-out-the-vote calls.
I’m very happy. I’m very proud. I’m very proud of Albania, of Albanians, and of their demeanor. I’m truly proud.

GRIDA:
Meanwhile, at every moment, I am convinced I am a very big fan of your way of presenting yourself.Let’s be honest—you know very well that at least three-quarters of the audience came to see you and what you were wearing.

BLEONA:
I really like bling.

GRIDA:
This is not a matter of bling. This is a matter of all your confidence that you have. In your silhouette to begin with…

BLEONA:
The costume was, of course, fully customized.
And except for the rest of the problems I had politically to do this concert, I wanted to make this event as good as it could be because it was my responsibility.
On top of all the rest of the ups and downs, I flew to Los Angeles twice within 24 hours—four and a half hours each way—just to do the fittings.

GRIDA:
OK, how can we convince Albanians that you did this all out of your heart?
And you continue to do this for the importance and the mark that Albania needs to have in the USA, in the current administration, and you're doing this with your trust that you have in the Republican Party and Donald Trump as an individual.
And how could we convince our Albanians that we love them unconditionally without any difference, even though they like us conditionally…

BLEONA:
They like us here and there—for this and that…

GRIDA:
OK.

BLEONA:
Grida, I had to say this

GRIDA:
Of course, how could you not say this? How could I not leave this to air…

You’ve done all this for free, while at the same time you are this Bleona that has four Bleonas inside of you—Bleona the businesswoman, Bleona who has clarity that needs to do what needs to be done, Bleona that can suffocate the inside voice that lingers to be the little girl just so she can do the right thing.
Are you saying that beyond all of this you have done this for free, are Albanians going to say?

BLEONA:
My grandmother used to say, make a good deed and throw it in the water because it will come to you multiple times in return.

BLEONA:
I did it really out of love and with love. I did this not expecting anything in return.
I did this out of my heart because it wasn’t only for the Trump administration; it was about Albania and Albanians believing in America as a state and concept.

It's not important who wins the elections because I'm not a political person. I cannot speak for the program of a political party… I certainly have my opinion, of course…

GRIDA:
How many politicians call you today on the phone—get a connection with those people that are close to Trump?
I don't believe that they could pretend for you to give them out their contact, but…

BLEONA:
Not many people call me on the phone because I have set the boundaries a long time ago.
And for me, I would say that I have achieved the ultimate freedom because my phone does not ring.
My phone does not ring from politicians, nor from men.

I have reached the ultimate freedom that my phone doesn't ring, and at some point, it becomes—where is everybody?
How come no one calls me?
I wanted to truly be free, and I think I've gone a little beyond the other side of freedom as a concept, because it would be nice for your phone to ring at least once for something.

GRIDA:
What are you blaming for this?
To the fact that people have to think twice before they call you, and it's not as easy to just pick up the phone and call you?

BLEONA:
I don't know.

GRIDA:
Because they think that you are on a different status, and that they have to have the guts to call you because you don't cater to them… let's say…

BLEONA:
I think they don’t call my phone because they know already that I would not make any compromises.
Regardless of what the public wants, what is the vibe, what is being said, I will not make compromises.
And someone who is smart, of course, they’re going to think twice before they ring my phone to ask me for something, knowing the kind of animal they’re dealing with—if you’re smart.

Because if you’re an idiot, of course you get a different treatment.
But I am talking about the real ones, that my phone really does not ring.

GRIDA:
Are you telling me, Bleona, there is some attention when it comes to Albania as a country?

BLEONA:
Absolutely yes. Absolutely yes, and I am very proud of this—for one reason or another.
I know that Richard Grenell loves Albania truly very much, and he comes always here for holidays.

GRIDA:
Yes… the matter is… I believe you know this already…

BLEONA:
I think he’s the one person who put Albania on the map—of course, for the Trump administration, undoubtedly.

GRIDA:
You know that there is an absence of the U.S. ambassador in Albania.
It has been quite some time now since a U.S. ambassador has been appointed, and instead we have, so to speak, deputies, chargés d’affaires, and so on.
The attention of the Albanians toward the American ambassador, as a historical reflection of the past thirty-plus years, is absolute, because they have become accustomed to the American ambassador stepping forward to provide some guidance—maybe to criticize someone, sometimes to praise someone—to essentially give a guide to the Albanians.
At present, there is ongoing discussion about who will be the name that will come to Albania, as there is no designated ambassador for Albania.
From within this small local Albanian context, this is interpreted as though the Trump administration has not yet decided what it intends to do with Albania and has left it aside for the moment.
How do you see this?

BLEONA:
This is exactly that moment when I can say this is not my field.
I’m not going to respond to this because I am an artist, and I cannot speak for any reason in the world in the name of the Trump administration.
There are other people who can speak in the name of the administration, and it’s not my duty nor my position to speak on their behalf.

GRIDA:
Very few people know that you weren’t prepared for this type of question.

BLEONA:
It’s ok…

GRIDA:
Very few people know that, absolutely not intentionally, I sent you down a road in which it was some mini test, and it was totally spontaneous…

BLEONA:
It’s not my business.

GRIDA:
And everyone now knows what you just did without even going there—you just scored 100 points on this thing, not because I am the one to certify you, because I’m never going to have it as a delirium, but to evaluate you, I can do that.
Because I have people who have come to my show—and in the moment that they want to even just appear powerful, they fall into the trap of delirium.
This is the first indication of what kind of animal (or not animal) you have in front of you.

BLEONA:
Of course…

I see a lot of TV shows in Albania where people speak about politics—what’s happening in politics—and it’s their choice to speak about that.

I’m still an artist that wanted to put Albania on the map. And I’m saying this again, not like a slogan, I’m saying this because I saw an opportunity that Albania could really count.

GRIDA:
I don’t have it in my being to invite someone on my show to disturb them with doubts or things they have already been disturbed by. That would be the last thing I would want to do with you, especially with people I clearly understand are self-made. And you are totally self-made.

BLEONA:
Self-made and silicone-free.

GRIDA:
But I can’t escape the opportunity you already gave me when you said my phone doesn’t ring from men—because if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t risk it.

BLEONA:
Yes, actually, this is the truth.

GRIDA:
How is your relationship with love? Do you live with it? According to you, is love a statement? Is it a temporary mechanism, or an eternal dream?
You have managed to have in your life an ex-husband that comes from a big family name, a family with significance even in political circles in USA and in Albania.

BLEONA:
Of course.

GRIDA:

The Bardha family enters undoubtedly among the important latifundists in the making of the history of Albania. I mention this. It’s your choice to mention this or not mention this.
For me, it’s a part of a history that still carries a stamp of your successes, because this is how it is. And of course, all the colorful legends and myths that people create around the story to justify how it is possible that he married a pop singer, an Albanian artist—he could’ve married an American girl, how did she convince him, etc., etc.—but this is not for this TV show. They’re beautiful, but they’re not for this TV show.

What I want to know from you is your relationship with human love, romantically, but not only—with the bad Albania and the good Albania—and where do you find yourself today as a de facto ambassador, regardless of the fact that you don’t accept it as an official title, of Albanians in the world.

BLEONA:
I’d like to start from love.
My need for perfection—it’s exactly the reason that has brought me to take certain decisions, good or bad. But I think that love has to be real, unconditional, and it has to be perfect and without compromise.
And my need for perfection maybe has ruined something that was already very good.

I have respect for the Bardha family. It’s a known fact for 20 years already that we have a very good relationship between us. Me and Gani—we still have an impeccable relationship, even though he was the only one who did not come to my concert in Michigan.
He didn’t come because he did not want to be part of the newspapers and the press. Of course, we met each other for lunch and for dinner. He did not change a bit.

I’m very grateful for the big heart that he has, that he understood that my dreams were much bigger than our relationship, in the best aspect of the word.
Because for me, he will always be an excellent human being that I have a lot of respect for.

But we are PC and MAC!! Two great computers with very different operating systems.
In the moment that things are not compatible because of a different operating system—not because we weren’t two great computers, each in our own right—you let go of the ego.
You understand that the dreams of your partner are totally different from yours, and you have the kindness to let go—especially for an Albanian husband.

For me, that man has maximum respect, especially as an Albanian husband, because it’s true, that Gani is born in America, but his family is Albanian, and they have Albanian mentality.

I’m very grateful not only for his support, but for all the Bardha family. I’m very good friends today with Donika, with everyone—and they will always remain my family.

And it was a beautiful moment that the person who was the proudest of me while I was in Michigan, in a different dimension, with different people that I was gathering to register to vote, the proudest person in that moment was my ex-husband.

I don’t know how to explain this to you. People in Michigan saw this already.
But simply, he didn’t come to the concert, and I decided to leave him in his own privacy, as he has chosen to be a private person.

For me, he is the guy with the most beautiful eyes in the world.

GRIDA:
So you think that whatever comes in the future, it’s going to be again a pair of beautiful eyes?

BLEONA:
Absolutely yes. The eyes have to be beautiful.
Excuse me, because I have tears in my eyes.

Love, for me, has to be uncompromised and unconditional.
The moment that you make a compromise just so the picture from outside looks beautiful, for me, you are dead already.

I had every possibility in the world to live in one of the most beautiful villas in Tirana.
I had every possibility to be a married woman with two kids and to show off my Hermès bags on Instagram.
However, this was not the purpose of my life.

The purpose of my life was to be fulfilled, self-made, and silicone-free—sorry, not sorry.

GRIDA DUMA:
Who gives you unconditional love?

BLEONA QERETI:
Jonny, the dog.
My parents are my pillars.
Oli keeps me grounded.
Nazmi occasionally too.

I can’t wait to fall in love, but with the right person and for the right reason.
I am not afraid to be vulnerable.
I want to honor the little girl inside me who believed and waited.

GRIDA DUMA:
And what do you think of Albania today?

BLEONA QERETI:
Albania has developed immensely.
People are willing to work, to grow.
The music scene, the studios, the technical side—all done with love.

It’s not about buying Hermès bags or expensive wine; it’s the passion of people trying to make progress and be better.
Albania is real.

GRIDA DUMA:
And your relationship with Albania?

BLEONA QERETI:
I will always be an international artist for America.
Today, Albania is thriving, and I am proud of them./CNA