Albania

Albania: Festivali i Këngës 61, semifinal 1

The Albanian national selection starts tonight. In four evenings, Albania will make a choice. Tonight, the first semifinal will be held. It starts at 21.00 CET and you can watch it here and here. Albania usually is the first country to select an entry. Not this year, as we already know Ukraine’s entry. The Albanians will select through four evenings. The seminfinals will be held on Monday and Tuesday, another show (we don’t have more information on that one yet) on Wednesday, while the final will be on Thursday. These are the entries: Enxhi Nasufi sings “Burrë” Erma Mici sings “Kozmosi i dashurisë” Fabian Basha sings “Një gotë” Anduel Kovaçi sings “Malli” Fifi sings “Stop” Urban Band sings “Në çdo hap” 2 Farm sing “Atornike” Sara Kapo sings “Para teje” Rezarta Smaja sings “N’Eden” Albina & Familja Kelmendi sing “Duje” Sergio Hajdini sings “Vështirë” Luna Causholli sings “Jetën ta fal” Rovena Dilo sings “Motit” Enxhi Nasufi took part in the 2016 final and became 6th.Fabian Basha took part in 2008 and became 15th in the final as a member of the group Produkt 28.The Urban Band reached the final last year.Rezarta Smaja took part in 2013 (7th), in 2014 (7th), in 2015 (7th), in 2016 (with Klodian Kaçani, 4th), in 2017 (7th), in 2018 (with Luiz Ejlli, final), and in 2022 (final).Rovena Dilo took part in 2004 (final), in 2008 (semifinal), in 2009 (with Eugent Bushpepa, 12th) and in 2010 (10th).

Ronela Hajati

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameRonela Hajati Born01 month 1900 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestival i Këngës 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongSekret (2022) Biography 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. Entries Sekret Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsRonela Hajati MusicRonela Hajati DancersKlaudia PepaMario UzziYusef ZahirKarmine VerolaAndrea Felice Results Semi Points: 58Position: 12Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/_jWXmo0-ZjI

Our predictions for the first semifinal

Tomorrow, the moment is there. We will have the first semifinal for the Eurovision Song Contest. What does the team of Eurovision Universe think? You will read it here. In fact, we are convinced of a final place for these countries: Albania, after all the fuzz around the act. Song and act are strong, Rona will qualify! Latvia: A song about veggies and (….). Cheerful, colourful and with a very modern topic. Lithuania: The act might not be what Monika wished for, but the song will stand out. Switzerland: The swiss song is in the style of Duncan Laurence and Gjon’s Tears, but less strong. It’s gonna be hard for Switzerland, but it is possible. Ukraine, because…. it’s Ukraine. The country is the hot favourite to even win the final. The Netherlands, S10 manages to tell the people where she sings about. Even in Dutch! Portugal: You can’t explain “Saudade” in any other language. MARO explains it by music. Not a sure qualifier, but we think it will. Greece; there is no such a song in Eurovision this year. It is unique and the act is strong. Norway, because every year needs an act like this. People vote for yellow masked wolves. Armenia: The song is strong, the singing is strong, the act is strong….. it has written final all over! But of course, we wish all the artists good luck. Tomorrow, by this time, we will know more….

Day 5: A sun that doesn’t move, a Greek tavern and COVID19

Today we saw the second rehearsals for the first 14 countries from the first semifinal. For the first time the press was allowed to see the rehearsals on large TV screens in the press center. It is now certain that the kinetic sun does not rotate. During the first rehearsals it turned out that the time between performances was too short to move the center part of the sun. As a result, several countries had to adjust their graphics, because they were not or only partially visible ALBANIA: The outfit had been changed and Ronela Hajati also had her own blond hair again, instead of the pink hair she had during the first rehearsal. It was a dynamic performance, in which there was almost constant dancing, together with her four dancers and a dancer. After the first rehearsal, there were some comments about an allegedly offensive dance move by Ronela with her dancer, but she kept it in anyway. LATVIA: The six were wearing the familiar colorful suits and the decor was also very colorful. Various types of vegetables were displayed on the LED screen. In the middle of the song there was a moment for the saxophonist. The performance ended with the singer making a split. LITHUANIA: Monika Liu stood alone on the big stage in Turin and mainly sang her song into the camera. She moved elegantly and attracted all the attention. The song doesn’t really need anything more. SWITZERLAND: Dressed all in black, Marius Bear was on stage and a broken heart was visible on his face and on the floor. So emotions abound. SLOVENIA: As said before, it was a big disco ball that mainly caught the attention of the Slovenian act. The boys wore 1970s-style velvet suits and the drummer appeared to be drumming above the disco ball. Compared to the previous rehearsal, there was little change. UKRAINE: There was a lot to see on stage, besides the colorful costumes there was a lot of visual spectacle. It was traditional, ethnic with a modern twist, just like last year’s contribution. Because of the war in Ukraine, this performance has something emotional and that is subtly reflected in the visual spectacle. BULGARIA: The performance started with a split screen, showing the drummer on one side and another member of the group. A small rock concert with all the trimmings, including a lot of fire(work). THE NETHERLANDS: There were few noticeable changes from the first rehearsal of S10. In the Netherlands, there was some fuss about the singer’s bare belly, but it is still naked for a while. A lot has been taken out of the lighting of S10. MOLDOVA: After the intimate moment of the Netherlands, a party erupted on stage with the contribution of Zdob şi Zdub, who are participating for the third time. They used the entire stage for their folklore song: Hey ho, let’s go…, but no train on stage. Lots of color, matching the contribution. CROATIA: During rehearsals today, Mia had problems with her in-ears. No surprises at Mia’s performance. The postcards were also shown to the press today. A drone searches for the location where the artist of the country in question can be seen and we see the visual artist in the area. DENMARK: The beginning was just like in the national final, Siggy starts alone at the piano, with her quieter part of the song and then the rock show starts. Last year we went back to the eighties with Denmark, now it seems back to the nineties. In case you don’t remember the name of the band, REDDI appeared on the LED screen. AUSTRIA: Of course there is a Halo on stage. Lots of fireworks and strong staging. The vocal part of the duo was, as we can see now, quite disappointing. GREECE: For those who don’t understand the act of Greece: Amanda seems to be in a Greek tavern; hence the chairs around her. But some of the seats have fallen over. That fits with the lyrics of the song. Amanda could count on a big round of applause from the audience. PORTUGAL: A delegation member from Portugal tested positive for corona, so the entire delegation had to go back to the hotel and be tested. Fortunately none of the ladies tested positive and they were able to rehearse for their performance, but later than planned. After all the rehearsals had been completed, Portugal was allowed to go on stage after Greece. During this rehearsal it was clear that it was one of the background singers who tested positive for corona. The ladies were lined up in a circle and brought this atmospheric contribution in a good way.

Rehearsals, day 1: an overview

Today was the day of the still sun. The latest update is that the water may well be replaced by virtual water on the LED screens. The sun can then rotate again. Today was also the day of the first nine rehearsals. And yes, that included bookmaker favorite Ukraine. We will go through all the performances with you. ALBANIA: What immediately stands out is Ronela’s hair: it’s pink. Furthermore, she is in black with a silver shining bra. She is surrounded by four bare-chested dancers. No fireworks for Albania, but smoke. LATVIA: In multicolored suits, the Latvian group Citi Zēni performs the cheerful “Eat your salad” accompanied by graphics with lots of fruit. The text has been slightly modified. The group still eats veggies, but no longer mention pussy. It is, after all, a family program. LITHUANIA: The jazzy ‘Sentimentai’ is performed by Monika Liu against a purple background. She herself wears a dress covered with silver. At the end of the song, the now infamous waterfall comes into view. Whether that remains the case remains to be seen. SWITZERLAND: After Lithuania, there is another act that is all alone on stage: the Swiss Marius Bear performs in black, with only a spotlight aimed at him. The folks at eurovision.tv were eager to say that Marius is very strong vocally. SLOVENIA: A huge disco ball on stage with the group LPS from Slovenia. The drummer seems to be hiding behind that. The men from Slovenia wear classic sixties tailoring during their performance. UKRAINE: Partly due to the circumstances, Ukraine is the top favorite for the final victory. Kalush Orchestra performs in traditional outfits combined with something indefinable, which most resembles the brushes from a car wash. The graphics are special and use, among other things, the Ukrainian colors blue and yellow. BULGARIA: The guys from Intelligent Music Project are, it seems, in their usual clothes. But they sure rock! Bulgaria is the country that readily uses the pyrotechnics at the end of their performance. NETHERLANDS: The Dutch S10 wears a black suit; she has a bare belly that makes her navel suddenly play a leading role in the act. Lots of smoke and dramatic light, that’s how everyone who has seen something of it describes the act. In any case, it is considered appropriate for the song. MOLDOVA: It is Zdob si Zdub that concludes today’s nine. This is the group’s third time participating. They’ve gone full neon on the lighting and the graphics, AND there are even a couple of little dance routines in the chorus. But there is no striking act, as before with a grandmother and with pointed hats. Maybe the happy Moldovan song doesn’t need that either.

This is the running order

Today, the running order for the two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest has been announced. The running order for the final is not known yet, apart from Italy: Mahmood and Blanco will perform in 9th place. 1st semifinal: Albania Latvia Lithuania Switzerland Slovenia Ukraine Bulgaria The Netherlands Moldova Portugal Croatia Denmark Austria Iceland Greece Norway Armenia 2nd semifinal: Finland Israel Serbia Azerbaijan Georgia Malta San Marino Australia Cyprus Ireland North Macedonia Estonia Romania Poland Montenegro Belgium Sweden Czech Republic

Allocation draw: these are the semifinals

From the Madama Palace in Turin, the allocation draw took place this afternoon. The draw was hosted by Carolina Di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. During the ceremony, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) handed over the key of the Eurovision City to his Turinese colleague Stefano Lo Russo. The semifinals will be as follows: 1st semifinal, 1st half: Albania Latvia Switzerland Slovenia Bulgaria Moldova Ukraine Lithuania The Netherlands 1st semifinal, 2nd half: Norway Russia Portugal Denmark Armenia Austria Croatia Iceland Greece The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 1st one are: France and Italy. 2nd semifinal, 1st half: Australia Georgia Cyprus Serbia Finland Azerbaijan San Marino Israel Malta 2nd semifinal, 2nd half: Montenegro Romania Czech Republic Poland Belgium North Macedonia Sweden Estonia Ireland The countries that will not attend a semifinal but will vote in the 2nd one are: United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

Ronela Hajati wins in Albania

Out of 17 contestants, it was Ronela Hajati who won Festival i Këngës 2021. That means, she will represent Albania in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Sekret”, which translates as secret. It was the very first time Ronela participated in Festival i Këngës. The full top3 is: 1.Ronela Hajati2.Alban Ramosaj3.Rezarta Smaja and Eldis Arnjeti ex aequo It is not known whether “” will be sung in Albanian or English at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin.

Albania to decide tonight

Tonight is the night for Albania to decide. After a semifinal and an evening of special presentations, the 17 remaining songs will compete in Festival i Këngës. That is how the national song contest of Albania is called. Festival i Këngës has a long history. Even way before Albania started competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, Albania had it’s Festival i Këngës in the last week of december. Since 2003, the winner will compete in Eurovision the upcoming year. Tonight, 17 songs and singers will compete. Although all the songs are in Albanian, that does not mean the winner will automatically sing the song in Albanian in Turin. You can watch it at 21.00 CET, here and here, but also on Facebook. The contestants are (in alfabetic order): Alban Ramosaj, “Theje” Denis Skura, “Pse nuk flet, mama?” Eldis Armjeti, “Refuzoj” Endri & Stefi, “Triumfi i jetës” Ester Zahiri, “Hiena” Gjergj Kaçinari, “Në ëndërr mbete ti” Janex, “Deluzional” Kastro Zizo, “Kujë” Kelly, “Meteor” Mirud, “Për dreq” Olimpia Smajlaj, “Dua” Rezarta Smaja, “E jemja nuse” Ronela Hajati, “Sekret” Sajmir Çili, “Nën maskë” Shega, “Një” Urban Band, “Padrejtësi” Endri & Stefi took part in 2009 (8th), 2010 (16th), 2012 (6th) and 2018 (semifinal).Gjergj Kaçinari was present in 2021 (final).Kastro Zizo was there in 2020 (semifinal) and 2021 (final).Kelly participated in 2010 (semifinal), 2013 (12th), 2015 (semifinal) and 2019 (semifinal).Mirud was there in 2020 (semifinal) and 2021 (final).Rezarta Smaja could be seen in 2013 (7th), 2014 (7th), 2015 (7th), 2016 (4th, in duet with Klodian Kaçani), 2017 (7th) and 2018 (final, in duet with Luiz Ejlli).Sajmir Çili was present in 2008 (semifinal).

41 countries in 2022 Eurovision Song Contest

41 countries will take part in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. That is what EBU announced today. In comparison with the 2021 contest, Armenia and Montenegro return. The full list is here: Albania Australia Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Malta Moldova Montenegro North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Ukraine United Kingdom France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom will directly be placed in the final, to be held on may 14. The other countries will have to qualify through a semifinal on may 10 or 12. As one of the ‘big five’ was this year’s winner, there will only be 25 countries in the final.