Albania

Eneda Tarifa

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameEneda Tarifa Born30 March 1982 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Këngës 2016Festivali i Këngës 2008Festivali i Këngës 2004 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongFairytale (2016) Biography Eneda Tarifa was born in Tirana, Albania, on March 30, 1982. Her career began in 2001 when she participated in Kënga Magjike with the song “Ika larg” (I’m leaving). In 2003, she took part in Festivali i Këngës 42 with the song “Qëndroj” (I Stay), and successfully qualified for the final. In 2006, Tarifa participated in Kënga Magjike again, this time with the song “Rreth zjarrit tënd” (Around Your Fire), and achieved a respectable 4th place with 154 points. She also received the Çesk Zadeja Prize. The following year, she competed in Festivali i Këngës 46 with the song “E para letër” (The First Letter) and finished tenth out of seventeen, earning 11 points. In 2008, she returned to Kënga Magjike with the song “Zëri im” (My Voice). In 2010, Tarifa participated in Top Fest 2010 with the song “Me veten” (With Myself), winning the competition. Subsequently, she worked as a host on the television program “Portokalli” on Top Channel for several years. After a break, Tarifa made a comeback in Festivali i Këngës 53 with the song “Përrallë” (Fairytale) and emerged as the winner. This led to her representing Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. The song was sung in English as “Fairytale”. However she did not qualify for the final. In 2018, Tarifa served as a judge on The Voice Kids Albania. In 2019 and 2020 she hosted the show Top Talent on Top Channel.In 2019, she won Kënga Magjike with her song “Ma zgjat doren”. In January 2021, she released a single called “Dashuri siberiani. The follow up of this song, “Për ty” reached the no. 1 spot in the Albanian charts. In that year, she also took part in Kënga Magijike again. This time it was in duet with Walter Ricci. Their song “Udhëkryq” reached the 4th place in the contest. In June 2022 she released a new single, “Cep më cep”, featured by Renis Gjoka. A month later, the song “Kjani trima” came out. Entries Fairytale Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2016 LanguageEnglish LyricsOlsa Toqi MusicOlsa Toqi BackingsXhoni JesquBesa KrasniqiVenera Lumani Results Semi Points: 45Position: 16Running order: 17 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/jdT5EGcTjYw

Aurela Gaçe

About Quick Facts NameAurela Gaçe Born16 October 1974 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Këngës 2011 In Eurovision2011 Düsseldorf SongFeel The Passion (2011) Biography Albanian vocalist Aurela Gaçe, born in the seaside city of Vlorë on October 16, 1974, first showcased her musical talent at the tender age of four and a half. Her debut performance at Vlorë’s Children’s Festival marked the beginning of a journey filled with numerous accolades. While Aurela viewed school primarily as a place for academic learning, her passion for singing often took center stage. Known for her spirited and rebellious demeanor, she was singularly focused on her musical aspirations. By 19, she had already made her mark at the national Radio Television Song Festival in Tirana with her stirring rendition of “Pegaso”, and shortly after, clinched a victory at the Spring Festival in 1994. Her ascent to stardom was catalyzed by her hit “Nata” at the RTSH Festivali i Këngës in 1995. In the ensuing years, Aurela bagged top prizes at the 1999 and 2001 Festivali i Këng:es with “S’jam tribu” and “Jetoj”, respectively. Her performance of “Fati ynë shpresë e marrëzi” also earned her second place in the 1998 festival. Not limited to musical prowess, Aurela’s early foray into acting brought her three special awards for her compelling interpretations of her songs, alongside a special accolade from Top Albania Radio. To further her musical career, she held two solo live concerts at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana in 1998 and 2000. Aurela’s educational journey culminated in 2000 when she graduated from the Academy of Arts in Drama, complementing her artistic portfolio which included two album releases in both 1998 and 2000. Her musical style, a fusion of pop and folk, has been a hallmark of her versatile career. In a bold move in 2002, Aurela relocated to America, seeking new challenges and adventures. Her exceptional vocal talent and electrifying stage presence quickly won her acclaim within the Albanian community in the US, spanning performances from local clubs to major concerts and private events. A highlight of her career was performing both the Albanian and American national anthems at an event attended by President Bill Clinton in 2004. She also starred in a special concert in 2007, organized by the famed photographer Fadil Berisha, paying tribute to legendary Albanian singers Vaçe Zela and Nexhmie Pagarusha. Aurela represented Albania in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with “Feel The Passion” and performed at the Fortuna Düsseldorf Arena in Germany. Marking a triumphant return to music in 2020, her single “Lento” quickly amassed over 1.2 million views on YouTube within a week, signaling a strong resurgence in her musical journey. Entries Feel The Passion Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2011 LanguageEnglish LyricsSokol Marsi MusicShpëtim Saraçi BackingsBledar SejkoEmiljano DhimoLamont Van HookMonetBeverly Results Semi Points: 47Position: 14Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/Mq0H6gY2jq4?si=BrMjGJ7hXUAY5E7r

Lindita

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameLinda Halimi Born24 March 1989 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Këngës 2017Festivali i Këngës 2015Festivali i Këngës 2010 In Eurovision2017 Kyiv SongWorld (2017) Biography Lindita was born as Linda in 1989 in Pozharan, former Yugoslavia. Pozharan is currently part of Kosovo.monly known as simply Lindita, is a Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter. Lindita’s first succes came after winning the sixth edition of Top Fest with the song “Ëndërroja” in 2009. She has released several singles, mostly ballads. In the same year, together with Erti Hizmo, she participated in Festivali i Këngës for the first time. In 2013 Lindita moved to the United States. She has had collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Valerie Simpson. She has also opened for the Backstreet Boys. In December 2014 she took part in the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës, where she finished third. In 2016, she participated in American Idol. In the same year, she won Festivali i Këngës with the song “Botë”. Sherepresented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest with the English version of the song, “World”. The follow up of that song was “Rock whine”. In 2018, she released the singles “Murday” and “Holiday”, followed in 2019 by “I betcha” and “Want my love”. In 2020, Lindita released four singles. A year later, she participated in Kënga Magjike with the song “Pa t’pa”, with which she reached a 7th place. In 2022 she released the singles “#GMFU”, “Love me like” and “Jealous”. Entries World Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2017 LanguageEnglish LyricsLindita HalimiBig Basta MusicKlodian Qafoku BackingsGjergj KaçinariDenisa XhemnicaAnxhelo MihoGreta Radovani Results Semi Points: 76Position: 14Running order: 4 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/NyKOBMAXFFA

Eleni Foureira

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameEntela Fureraj Born07 March 1987 Nationality???????? Greek National SelectionInternal selection 2018Ellinikos Telikos 2010 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon SongFuego (2018) Biography Eleni Foureira was born in Albania, but went to Greece at a very young age. She began her career as a member of the all girl band Mystique. In 2007, they initially released a single titled “Se álli selída”, while in 2008 they released their first album entitled “Mazí”. The group’s biggest success was the song “(Min káneis pos) De thymásai”. Eventually the band was dissolved in 2010.Eleni Foureira began her solo career shortly after. In February 2010, she took part in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest along with Manos Pyrovolakis and rapper Don’t Ask with the song “I kivotós tou Nóe”. In October of that year, she began performing in the nightclub Anodos. In December 2010, her first album, “Eleni Fouriera”, was released. She earned a platinum disc for the album. In 2011, she won two Mad Video Music awards. During the summer she participated in the “Hot Soft” tour with Kostas Martakis. She also performed with Sakis Rouvas and Onirama.In February 2012, Eleni appeared on the single “MadWalk by Vodafone – The Fashion Music Project”. In May she performed at the Mad Video Music Awards. She won two awards. In July 2012, her second solo album released by Minos EMI entitled “Ti Poniró Mou Zitás”. In January 2013, the video clip of the song “Pio érotas pethaíneis” was released. During the winter season 2013-2014, she performed in the successful band Fever along with Vasilis Karras and Nikos Economopoulos. In April 2014, a new track titled “Vázo tin kardiá” was released, which was one of the biggest radio hits of the year. In June of that year, she released her new video clip entitled “Party Sleep Repeat (PSR)”. During the summer of 2015 Eleni toured all over Greece, participating in many large music festivals. From October until mid-2016, she starred in the musical “Barbarella: The 80’s Musical”. On February 29, 2016, a video clip of her song “De Sou Chrostáo Agápi” was posted on YouTube, dedicated to women who experience violence. In the summer of the same year she released the song “Delicious” in collaboration with Albanian singer Imer and “Ti Koitás?” in collaboration with rapper Mike. In December of that year, she released a Christmas song and a few months after the new year, “Móno Gia Séna” came out. In september 2017, the British rapper A.M. SNiPER, released a record called “Send For Me” in collaboration with Eleni Fouriera and rapper Afro B. In 2018, she was able to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fuego”. The song was one of the hot favorites to win the contest and became 2nd in the end, the best score so far for Cyprus. Shortly after the success at Eurovision, she signed a contract with the US-based record label Sony Music while also launching preparations for the Eleni Foureira international Summer Tour. She received a Mad Music Award for Best Pop Female Artist of the Year. In august of that year, her new single “Caramela” was released. Meanwhile, “Fuego” became gold in Norway and Sweden. On April 5, 2019, Eleni Foureira released her international collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Kaan. A month later, her first international EP “Gypsy Woman” was released via Spotify, which includes five foreign language songs: The self-titled “Gypsy Woman (La-Da-Dee)”, “El Ritmo Psicodelico”, ” Call Ya’, ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Maria’. At the Cyprus Super Music Awards 2019, she won two awards: “Best Female Modern” and “Best International Videoclip”. In June 2019, she performed at the Mad Video Music Awards, where she also won two awards: “Best Female Modern” and “Song Of The Year MAD Radio”. In July 2019, she released the song “Loquita” in collaboration with Claydee, and on September 3, she released the song “Another Level” with Lil Barty. In the 2019-2020 season Eleni was on the jury of the Greek music show The Final Four. On March 3, 2020, she released the song “Yayo”, which featured rapper Kareem Kalokoh on vocals. On June 19, she released her new song, titled “Temperatura,” which was also released in Spanish. In November 2020, she announced that she was going to release a disco themed EP that contained 3 songs with the lead single “Light It Up” and the promotional single “Try Me”. In December, she participated for the 11th consecutive year in the Mad Video Music Awards where she received the awards “Best Female Modern” and “Best Duet” for the collaboration with Claydee. In 2021, she hosted the musical reality show House Of Fame. In May 2022, she released a song “Mono esy kai ego” in collaboration with Konstantinos Argiros, while a month later it was followed by “Poki Poki”. Entries Fuego Country???????? Cyprus Year2018 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlex PapaconstantinouGeraldo SandellViktor SvenssonAnderz WrethovDidrick MusicAlex PapaconstantinouGeraldo SandellViktor SvenssonAnderz WrethovDidrick BackingsMarlene LindahlLovisa BengtssonKeisha von ArnoldCelia CaapTeddy Sky Results Semi Points: 262Position: 2Running order: 19 Results Finals Points: 436Position: 2Running order: 25 https://youtu.be/vyDTbJ4wenY

Elhaida Dani

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameElhaida Dani Born17 February 1993 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Kënges 2015Festivali i Kënges 2012 In Eurovision2015 Vienna SongI’m Alive (2015) Biography 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. Entries Song Title Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2015 LanguageEnglish LyricsSokol Marsi MusicArber ElshaniKristijan Lekaj BackingsGerona HyskaOlsa PapandiliErga Halilaj Results Semi Points: 62Position: 10Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 34Position: 17Running order: 26 https://youtu.be/fsH9iVaZSaA

Eugent Bushpepa

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameEugent Bushpepa Born02 July 1984 Nationality???????? Albanian National SelectionFestival i Këngës 2017Festival i Këngës 2008 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon SongMall (2018) Biography Eugent Bushpepa is an Albanian rock singer and songwriter. He was born in Rrëshen. Eugent first came into contact with music at the age of 6, when he was involved with the band ‘Pioneri’ , and then expanded his musical activity by attending various festivals in Albania. He began taking fifth-guitar lessons. After graduating from high school, he moved to Bologna, Italy, to follow medical studies. In 2005 he returned to Albania, where he studied at the University of Tirana. At the same time, he performed as a singer in a tv show and since then he has remained active in the Albanian music scene. He achieved his first success in Albania through the song “Maska e Madhështisë” (2007), with which he participated in the 4th edition of Top Fest. He participated in Top Fest three more times, with the songs “Viktimë” (2010), “Udhëtari” (2012), “Pranë Finishit” (2015). In the same competition, he also participated with the group “Sunrise” where he sang the song “Ëngjëll”. In 2007, Bushpepa and his band opened for Deep Purple at their concert in Tirana. He also was a supporting act for the Duff McKagan band during their performance in Tirana. A year later, he took part in Festival i Këngës for the first time. During the Beer Festival 2013 held in Korça, Bushpepa performed alongside Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Guns N ‘Roses guitarist. In 2014, Eugent performed as a vocalist supporting the band Darkology during their tours, as well as with the band Overkill on their European tour. In 2017, Bushpepa participated in The Voice of Albania. In December 2017, he won the 56th Festival i Këngës with the song “Mall”. Herewith, he won the ticket to represent Albania in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Bushpepa reached an 11th place in the Grand Final.In 2020, he released a single “Stay with me tonight”, which reached the number 1 spot in the Albanian charts. In 2022, Bushpepa went on tour with the band Core Leoni. The band released an album, “III” and a single, “Deep in my soul”. Entries Mall Country???????? Albania Year2018 LanguageAlbanian LyricsEugent Bushpepa MusicEugent Bushpepa BackingsGreta RadovaniErinda AgolliDenis HimaBesnik NikolliGerti Himadi Results Semi Points: 162Position: 8Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: 184Position: 11Running order: 12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyl1b1fVmdU

Jonida Maliqi

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameJonida Maliqi Born26 March 1982 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestival i Këngës 2019Festival i Këngës 2008Festival i Këngës 2007Festival i Këngës 2005 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv SongKhteju tokës (2019) Biography Jonida Maliqi is an Albanian singer, born in Tirana. At a young age, she learned playing the piano and the violin. Later, she studied singing at the Academy of Arts in Tirana. At the age of 13, she participated in the Albanian national song contest Festival i Këngës 1995. After her solo debut in 1999, Jonida Maliqi participated at Festivali i Këngës for three consecutive years. In 2003, Maliqi won “The Best Performer” category at Kënga Magjike. A year later, she won the Ethno Music Award. In 2005, she won the “Best Interpretation Award” at Kënga Magjike. Maliqi starred in the Albanian version of The Ten Commandments: The Musical as Bithia in 2006. In the same year she released her debut album “Nuk Të Pres“. Together with Albanian pop singer Tuna she had a hit “Forca e Femrës”. In 2008, Maliqi made a comeback with a new single “Njëri Nga Ata” which won Kënga Magjike. In 2010, she collaborated with Albanian rapper Big Basta in their song “Sot t’i Japim Fund”. She also participated in the 2011 Kënga Magjike. In 2013, Maliqi starred at the musical “Romeo and Juliet” as Juliet opposite Albanian Skënderaj. In 2014, she co-hosted the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars whereas in 2015 she released a new song called “Jam Bërë Si Ti”. In 2016, Maliqi appeared as a judge on the fifth season of The Voice of Albania. On 10 May 2018, Maliqi released the song “N’Errësirë”. In December 2018, Maliqi won the 57th edition of the Festivali i Këngës, and thus became Albania’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Ktheju tokës”. The song finished seventeenth in the final. In 2021, Maliqi co-hosted Festivali i Këngës 60. Together with Obie Kelz, she released a new song, “Need you”, in 2022. Other ventures Entries Ktheju tokës Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2019 LanguageAlbanian LyricsEriona Rushiti MusicEriona Rushiti BackingsArtemisa MithiTiri GjociWendi Mancaku Results Semi Points: 157Position: 8Running order: 14 Results Finals Points: 90Position: 17Running order: 2 https://youtu.be/-NAbYUoxIfg