Kosovo

Gjon’s Tears

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameGjon Muharremaj Born29 june 1998 Nationality🇨🇭 Swiss National SelectionInternal Selection In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (Cancelled) SongTout l’univers (2021)Répondez-moi (2020) Biography Gjon’s Tears, real name Gjon Muharremaj, is a Swiss singer of Kosovar origin. His stage name Gjon’s Tears is based on a childhood experience: When he was nine, he moved his grandfather to tears with a performance of Elvis Presley’s “Help Falling in Love”. It was his grandfather who registered him for Albania’s Got Talent in 2011, where he finished third. The following year, Gjon’s Tears participated in Die grössten Schweizer Talente. He also took part in the French version of The Voice. In 2020, he was supposed represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Répondez-moi”. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. Swiss TV has now invited him to be the 2021 contestant. His song, “Tout l’univers”, became the winner of the expert jury. Overall, Gjon became 3rd. Also in 2021, Gjon’s Tears featured in a song of Arilena Ara, with the title “Dance me”. He won an MTV Europe Music Award for best Swiss song. At the end of 2021 he participated in The Voice All Stars France. In 2022, his song “Silhouette” became a huge hit in Albania. Entries Tout l’univers Country🇨🇭 Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusixGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina Sampermans MusicGjon MuharremajWouter HardyNina SampermansXavier Michel Backings– Results Semi Points: 291Position: 1 Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 432Position: 3Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/jznH_fltcYA Répondez-moi Country Switzerland Year2021 LanguageFrench Lyrics & MusicGjon MuharremajXavier MichelAlizé OswaldJeroen Swinnen Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/O9GAfFHZE-E

Rona Nishliu

About Quick Facts NameRona Nishliu Born25 August 1986 Nationality🇦🇱 Albanian National SelectionFestivali i Këngës 2011Festivali i Këngës 2004 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongSuus (2012) Biography Rona Nishliu is a Kosovar-Albanian singer. She grew up in Mitrovica but relocated to Pristina at 13 due to political unrest in her native town. In 2004, she participated in “Ethet e së premtës mbrëma”, a show reminiscent of Idols, making it to the Top 5 in the live episodes. Post-show, Rona took up a presenting role at Radio Blue Sky in Prishtina. In the same year, she collaborated with Vesa Luma and Teuta Kurti to participate in the 43rd Festivali i Këngës. They aspired to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with their song “Flakareshë”. While they reached the final on 18 December 2004, Ledina Çelo ultimately won. Nishliu represented Albania in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. She won her national selection on 29 December 2011 with “Suus”, becoming the first Kosovo singer to represent Albania. The tragic Qafa e Vishës bus incident led to a delay of over two hours in the first semi-final on 22 May, impacting the viewership of Nishliu’s performance. Consequently, Albania relied on jury votes for voting. RTK did not broadcast the semi-final highlights due to the tragedy. Nishliu secured fifth place in the final, earning 146 points, which stands as Albania’s top performance. She was granted Albanian citizenship on 12 January 2012. Following Eurovision, Nishliu dedicated herself to humanitarian causes. She joined “Bonu cool, mos bjer shpullë”, an initiative promoting gender sensitivity. For this, she released “Se vetëm zemra flet saktë”, a song against young gender violence, which she produced and wrote. This song is part of a campaign by the Kosovo Gender Studies Centre, funded by the European Union. On 18 September 2014, Rona showcased Kosovar culture with a concert in Belgrade, Serbia during the “Mirëdita, dobar dan” festival, earning a standing ovation. In 2017, Rona became a coach for the sixth season of The Voice of Albania. In 2018, she performed at the Jazz Fest of Tetova. She also was present at the OGAE Congress in Spain. In April 2019, Rona recorded a couple of songs with the Rona Nishliu Quartet, like “Mallëngjimi” and “Me lule t’bukra” and a live album, “Mindil”. She also performed for the charity organization SOS Fshatrat e Fëmijëve Kosovë. In December 2021, she performed in a Christmas show on Kosovar television in duet with Gjon’s Tears. In December 2022 she started performing as Rona Nishliu & The New Big Band under the lead of Edon Ramadani. In August and September 2023 she performed at the Mitrovica International Jazz Days. Entries Suus Country🇦🇱 Albania Year2012 LanguageAlbanian LyricsRona Nishliu MusicFlorent Boshnjaku Backings– Results Semi Points: 146Position: 2Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: 146Position: 5Running order: 3 https://youtu.be/QeBL2UHhyEc?si=Wo22IA6TbEXH_RD2

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