Who of them will fly to Tel Aviv? One of the best periods of the year for every Eurovision fan, this of the national finals is much closer than we think! The Albanian national broadcaster RTSH decided to shed light on who are the candidates who will be fighting for the coveted Eurovision ticket, via their national selection process, Festivali i Këngës 57.
Here they are!
Following their 2018 Eurovision success with Eugent Bushpepa and Mall, who managed to qualify to the final and come 11th, the Balkan country is expected to set the bar high once again.
Albania is usually one of the first participating countries to determine their Eurovision entrant and song, with the conduct of their national song contest, Festivali i Këngës, which is going to be held in December. The show will be consisting of 3 shows in total, with the two semi-finals taking place on 20 and 21 December, while the final is scheduled for the evening of 22 December. As with every year, the festival’s winner will have the chance to defend the Albanian colours on the Eurovision stage.
After the evaluation of the 54 submitted entries, RTSH announces the following artists as the competing ones for Festivali i Këngës 57 (together with their song titles):
- Aurel Thellimi – Te dua ty
- Bojken Lako – Jeto jeten
- Bruno Pollogati – Nuk ka stop
- Dilan Reka – Karma
- Eliza Hoxha – Pengu
- Elona Islamaj – Ne kete bote kalimtare
- Elton Deda – Qetesisht
- Eranda Libohova – 100 pyetje
- Gjergj Leka – Besoj
- Alar Band – Dashuria nuk mjafton
- Jonida Maliqi – Ktheju tokes
- Kelly – A me ndjen
- Klint Collaku – Me jete
- Klodiana Vata – Mbremje e pafund
- Kujtim Prodani – Babela
- Lidia Lufi – Rrefehem
- Lorela Sejdini – Vetmi
- Marko Strazimiri & Imbro – Leyla
- Mirud – Nene
- Orgesa Zaimi – Hije
- Soni Malaj – Do vij
- Vikena Kamenica – Naten e mire
Festivali i Këngës 57 sees the return of 3 former participants, who will try once again to represent their country at Eurovision. These are Dilan Reka, Elton Deda and Orgesa Zaimi. The 22 songs are expected to be released in due course.
Albania at Eurovision
Albania first entered the Eurovision house in 2004, with the singer Anjeza Shahini, who won Festivali i Këngës 42 and sang her entry The image of you. She made an impressive debut, as she came 7th with 106 points. The country has been participating every year since.
Albania has had mixed Eurovision fortunes, with one more Top 10 placing and 7 semi-final eliminations. Their best result has been a 5th place which was achieved in 2012 with Rona Nishliu and Suus.
In 2018, the winner of Festivali i Këngës 56, Eugent Bushpepa flew to Lisbon and represented them with the song Mall. Following two consecutive eliminations in 2016 and 2017, Eugent progressed to the Grand Final of the contest and finally resulted in a 11th place with 184 points. This made Mall the third most successful Eurovision entry from Albania.
