Ronela Hajati

Ronela Hajati, also known as Ronela, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Tirana, she began performing in various song and dance competitions as a child before pursuing a career in music.

Ronela Hajati studied ballet and piano during at a young age. She also participated in a number of Albanian singing and dancing competitions. Ronela continued her early career by participating in various musical events on various occasions, such as Top Fest and Kënga Magjike. She rose to fame in the Albanian-speaking Balkans after the release of the well-known song “Mala Gata” in May 2013. At the end of 2013, she participated in the 15th edition of Kënga Magjike with the song “Mos ma isho”. In the grand final, she got the internet award. In December 2015, Hajati released her next song “A do si kjo” and peaked at number 13 in Albania. The follow up, “Marre”, followed in June 2016 and peaked at number 13 as well. 

Over the course of 2017 and 2018, Hayati released four subsequent songs, including “Mos ik”, “Sonte”, “Maje men” and “Do ta luj”, with commercial success reaching the top 30 in Albania.  In December 2018, she successfully returned to Kënga Magjike to compete in the 20th edition of the contest with the song “Vuj”. In March 2019, the singer released the single “Pa dashni” and reached sixth place in Albania. Her success on the list followed in June 2019 with the song “Çohu”, a collaboration with Albanian rapper Don Phenom, debuting in seventh place in the top 100 of the country. Following the 10th best song “Lage”, Hajati scored her first number one song with “MVP”, released later that year. In July 2020, the Albanian football club KF Tirana approached Hajati to produce and perform the club anthem “Bardh ‘e blu” as part of the celebrations to mark its centenary. 

In March 2021, Hajati announced her studio debut album, “RRON”, scheduled for release next year.Her new single, “Prologue”, debuted the same month in 19th place in the Albanian Top 100 and rose to number two a month later. The second song from the album, “Shumë i mirë” which had reached the 15th place at the end of 2021, was nominated for an award at the gala Netët e Klipit Shqiptar 2021. The third song, “Aventura” released in May 2021, continued to reach third place in the Albianan charts.

In June 2021, she collaborated with Kosovo Albanian musician Vig Poppa on the album’s fourth song, “Alo”, which became one of the top 15 songs of the month. Released in October 2021, the “Lejet” sequel eventually reached number 13. In december of the same year, Ronela Hajati participatedin Festival i Këngës. With the song “Sekret”, she won the contest. In 2022 she represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2022 she also scored a hit “Gips” in collaboration with MatoLale and a hit song “Caramel”. With the song “Salvaje”, Ronela took part in the 2023 San Marinese final for the Eurovision Song Contest. However, she did not reach the top-10 of the final.