Elhaida Dani

Elhaida Dani is an Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Albania, Dani displayed her musical talents from a young age. Born into an Albanian Muslim family in Shkodër, she started singing at the age of four and received piano lessons. She later pursued musicology at the University of Arts in Tirana. Dani’s initial ventures into the music industry began in 2009, where she won several music festivals, including Star Academy, Sunčane Skale, Festivalul George Grigoriu, and Nova Musica. Despite an unsuccessful attempt to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, she achieved success in the ninth edition of Top Fest with the song “S’je më” in June 2012.

From 2013 to 2015, Dani gained further recognition by auditioning for the first season of The Voice of Italy, impressing the judges and eventually winning the competition. This led to a record contract with the Italian subsidiary label of Universal Music. In 2014, she won Festivali i Këngës and became Albania’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, performing the song “I’m Alive” after a change from the originally selected “Diell.” Albania qualified for the grand final and secured the 17th place.

Since 2016, Dani has been involved in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, playing the role of Esmeralda and touring worldwide. She also participated in Kënga Magjike, finishing second in December 2017. After a three-year hiatus, Dani released her second extended play, “Zanin”, in September 2021, collaborating with renowned Albanian songwriters and producers. Furthermore, she showcased her dancing skills on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars Albania, consistently earning high scores from the jury during the live shows since October 2022.