Tonight saw the last show of the Albanian national selection Festivali i Këngës (FiK) 56; it’s Eugent Bushpepa for Albania who will fly to Lisbon for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest!

Tonight, 14 finalists performed in the final of Festivali i Këngës (FiK) 56, each of whom battled for the chance to represent Albania in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

There were a couple of false starts at the beginning of the event, with 2 artists requesting to start their entries again following technical difficulties. However, the show soon got well and truly underway in Tirana!

The running order of the final was as follows:

1. Redon Makashi – Egziston
2. Grupi Na & Festina Mezini – Tjetër jetë
3. Voltan Prodani – E pamundur
4. Denisa Gjezo – Zemër ku je
5. Tiri – Orë e ndalur
6. Orgesa Zaimi – Ngrije zërin
7. Rezarta Smaja & Luiz Ejlli – Ra një yll
8. Artemisa Mithi – E dua botën
9. Manjola Nallbani – I njëjti qiell
10. Inis Neziri – Piedestal
11. Bojken Lako – Sytë e shpirtit
12. Mariza Ikonomi – Unë
13. Eugent Bushpepa – Mall
14. Elton Deda – Fjalët

We saw a number of interval acts throughout tonight’s FiK grand final, including guest performances from Alban Skënderaj and Elsa Lila.

Jury decides FiK 56 winner

Following all of this evening’s 14 performances, it was down to the specialist jury panel to be given the important role of deciding this year’s much-anticipated winner of FiK 56.

The winner of FiK 56 will not only be crowned the winner of respected contest, but they will also go on to represent Albania at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, becoming the first official entry of the upcoming season!

Winning tonight’s 56th edition of FiK was Eugent Bushpepa, therefore becoming the first fully confirmed entry for Eurovision 2018. Redon Makashi finished in second, whilst third place went to Inis Neziri.

Bushpepa will compete in Lisbon with the song Mall.

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It is expected that over the coming months, RTSH will collaborate with the chosen artist and look into making some changes and revamps to the winning FiK entry, as has been seen in previous years.

Further details about any planned revamps will be revealed by the broadcaster over the coming weeks.

What do you think of the first official entry for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest? Can Albania get back into the final with their chosen entry?