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.
In the previous year’s competition in Turin, Ronela Hajati delivered a remarkable stage performance, although regrettably, she failed to advance to the Grand Final. Albania’s upcoming entry will mark its 19th appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest, with 10 out of the 18 previous participations having made it to the Grand Final, and only two securing a spot in the top 10. This means that the likelihood of a top 10 finish for Albania is around 11%, while the chances of qualifying for the Grand Final are approximately 56%.
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.
Biggest successes
1x 5th place Rona Nishliu with “Suus” (Baku 2012)
1x 7th place Anjeza Shahini with The Image Of You (Istanbul 2004)
History
- Debut: 2004
- Participations: 18
- Victories: 0
- Finals: 10
- Chances to reach the final: 56%
- Top 10: 2
- Chances to reach Top 10: 11%
- Last place: 0
Video Nostalgia
Luiz Ejlli with “Zjarr E Ftohtë”, Rank 14 (Semi-Final) (Athens 2006)
Kejsi Tola with “Carry Me In Your Dreams”, Rank 17 (Moscow 2009)
Jonida Maliq with “Ktheu tokës”, Rank 17 (Tel Aviv 2019)