Starting from 2004, this occasion has also been utilized as a nationwide competition to designate the Albanian participant for the Eurovision Song Contest, coinciding with Albania’s initial participation in the ESC. Anjeza Shahini‘s “The image of you” secured an impressive 7th place in the Grand Final in Istanbul, marking a highly promising beginning for a country making its debut in the contest.

Albanian music may not be widely recognized across Europe and other parts of the world, making the Eurovision Song Contest a valuable opportunity to gain exposure to a global audience of around 200 million TV viewers. Albania’s entries in the ESC typically incorporate traditional elements and folkloric influences, even in more contemporary compositions. In many cases, songs are reworked and refined for the competition, with choruses and other elements revamped for greater impact. One of the challenges is to adapt popular Albanian music to suit European listeners’ tastes. Songs are often longer than three minutes in the Albanian pre-selection stage, necessitating editing and translation into English to enhance their appeal to European audiences.