Festival i Këngës

🇦🇱 Besa Kokëdhima represents Albania

Besa Kokhëdima represents Albania with the song “Zemrën n’dorë “. The song was chosen by televoting out of all the participating songs from Festivali i Këngës, the national song contest in Albania. Besa wrote the song together with Kledi Bahiti and Rozana Radi. The winner of the contest itself was Mal Retkoceri. These are, as far as we know, the results of the contest: Mal Retkoceri, “Çmendur” Tiri Gjoci, “Në ënderr” Shpat Deda, “S’mund t’fitoj pa ty” other songs in the final: Kastro Zino, “2073” Erina & The Elementals, “Jeten n’skaj” Melodajn Mancaku, “Nuk jemi më” Kleansa Susaj, “Pikture” Irma Lepuri, “Me prit” Festina Mejzini, “Melos” Eldis Arrnjeti, “Nje kujtim” Martina Serreqi, “Vetem ty” Besa Krasniqi, “Esenciale” Sergio Hajdini, “Uragan” Olimpia Smajlaj, “Saj” Anduel Kovaci, “Nan” Michela Paluca, “Për veten” PeterPan Quartet, “Nje here” Besa Kokëdhima, “Zemrën n’dorë” Arsi Bako, “Sgjohu” Elsa Lila, “Mars” Andi Tanko, “Herë pas here” Big Basta & Vesa Luma, “Mbinatyrale”

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

Road to Rotterdam: Albania

Traditionally, the national song contest Festival i Këngës is the preselection for Albania in the ESC. This year it was won by Anxhela Peristeri. This singer already participated in Festival i Këngës in 2001, released a number of singles, entered a beauty pageant did not manage to remain succesful… until she made a comeback in 2014. She participated in several shows, and with this “Karma” she finally won Festival i Këngës.

Arilena Ara

About Quick Facts NameArilena Ara Born18 July 1998 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestival i Këngës 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (canceled) SongFall from the sky (2020, canceled) Biography Arilena Ara, known by her artistic name Arilena is an Albanian singer. She has participated in many children’s festivals in Shkodra. Tirana linked Arilena to the TV Klan where she first appeared on a show called Gjeniu i Vogel and then decided to compete in X Factor Albania. This was the wish of her father, who passed away a few months before Arilena was introduced to X Factor 2. Arilena won the competition and dedicated the victory to her father. She also won a contract from the organizers of the X Factor show. Seeing her age (then only 15), her management decided not to rush Arilena’s career.Arilena peformed in several shows like “Dance With Me”, competing with her partner Labi, a Kosovar journalist. On September 26, 2014, she released her first song “Aeroplan,” with a video clip that garnered over 2 million views on YouTube. After “Aeroplan” she released a follow up “Business Class” which also got a lot of views on YouTube as well as her third song called “Vegim”, dedicated to her father’s death. In 2016, she released a song called “November”. In december 2019, Arilena Ara won Festival i Këngës and therefore, was supposed to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Shaj”, that was translated into English as “Fall from the sky”. Unfortunately, due to the Corona crisis, that didn’t happen. After Eurovision, Arilena featured in a hit single of Alban Skënderaj, “A i sheh”. Her songs “Aligator”, “Thirr Policinë” and “Ke me mungu” all reached the Albanian top-10, the latter the #1 spot. In december 2021, she teamed up with Gjon’s Tears for the song “Dance me”. Entries Fall from the sky Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsMichael BlueRobert StevensonSam Schummer MusicDarko DimitrovLazar Cvetkovski Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/vXpCWFIY6YE

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