Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country  Albania
National selection
Selection process Festivali i Këngës 55
Selection date(s) Semi-finals:
21 December 2016
22 December 2016
Final:
23 December 2016
Song:
13 March 2017
Selected entrant Lindita
Selected song "World"
Selected songwriter(s) Lindita Halimi
Klodian Qafoku
Gerald Xhari
Finals performance
Semi-final result Failed to qualify (14th, 76 points)
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 • 2017 • 2018►

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "World", written by Lindita Halimi, Klodian Qafoku and Gerald Xhari. The song was performed by Lindita Halimi. The Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) organised the 55th edition of the Albanian song competition Festivali i Këngës in order to select the Albanian entry for the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine. The competition consisted of twenty-five entries competing in two semi-finals held on 21 and 22 December 2016, followed by a final on 23 December 2016 where fourteen entries qualified to compete. A twelve-member jury panel and a public televote selected "Botë", performed by Lindita, as the winner. The song was later translated from Albanian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "World".

Albania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 4, "World" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final.

Background

Prior to the 2017 Contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since its first entry in 2004.[1] The nation's best placing in the contest was fifth, which it achieved in 2012 with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Albania had, to this point, featured in seven finals. In 2016, Albania failed to qualify for the final and placed sixteenth with the song "Fairytale" performed by Eneda Tarifa.

The Albanian national broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), broadcasts the event within Albania and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Albanian competition Festivali i Këngës has been organised every year since 1964 and has been used as Albania's Eurovision selection method since its debut in 2004. Details regarding the 55th edition of Festivali i Këngës were announced on 8 August 2016;[2] however, the Albanian broadcaster formally confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 on 24 September 2016.[3]

Before Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës 55

Festivali i Këngës 55 was the 55th annual edition of the Albanian music competition Festivali i Këngës and the fourteenth time the competition was used to determine the artist and song that would represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest, this time selecting their 2017 contest entry. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 21 and 22 December 2016 and a final on 23 December 2016.

Competing entries

Artist Song English Translation Music (m) / Lyrics (l)
Albulena Jashari "Fjalët ia lë zemrës" I leave the talking to the heart Marsela Çibukaj & Briz Musaraj (m) / Gerald Xhari (Big Basta) (l)
Classic Boys "Dashuria për jetën" The love for life Endri Sina (m) / Saimir Braho (l)
Dilan Reka "Mos harro" Don't forget Edmond Zhulali (m) / Agim Doçi (l)
Edea Demaliaj "Besoj në ëndrra" I believe in dreams Fabian Asllani (m) / Edea Demaliaj (l)
Edona Vatoci "Mirëmëngjës" Good morning Edona Vatoci (m&l)
Elson Braha "Edhe një herë" One more time Adrian Hila (m) / Pandi Laço (l)
Erlind Zeraliu "Dhimbja e gëzimit" The pain of joy Vasil Tole (m) / Fatos Arapi (l)
Fabiola Agalliu & Agnesa Çavolli "Shkon e vjen" You come and go Sokol Marsi (m) / Fabiola Agalliu (l)
Festina Mejzini "Atje lart" Up there Eriona Rushiti (m&l)
Flaka Krelani "Osiris" Osiris Qëndrim Krelani (m&l)
Franc Koruni "Macka" The pussycat Franc Koruni (m&l)
Genc Salihu "Këtu" Here Genc Salihu (m&l)
Lindita Halimi "Botë" World Klodian Qafoku (m) / Gerald Xhari (Big Basta) (l)
Linda Rukaj "Vija e lumit" The course of the river Linda Rukaj (m&l)
Lorela "Me ty" With you Alban Kondi (m) / Turjan Hyska (l)
LYNX "Sot" Today LYNX (m&l)
Luka & Serxhio Hajdini "Koha plaket" Time ages Serxhio Hajdini (m) / Luka Hajdini (l)
Neki Emra "Dashuri dhe urrejtje" Love and hatred Neki Emra (m) / Albatros Rexha (l)
Orges Toçe "Shi diamantësh" Diamond rain Orges Toçe (m&l)
Rezarta Smaja "Pse prite gjatë" Why did you wait so long? Xhevdet Gashi (m) / Arsim Bujaku (l)
Tiri "Më zgjo" Wake me up Enis Mullaj (m) / Sokol Marsi (l)
Xhejni Lito "Pritja" The wait Indrit Lelo (m&l)
Xhesika Polo "Eva jam unë" I am Eve Marko Polo (m) / Alex Seitaj (l)
XUXI "Metropol" Metropolis Genti Lako (m) / Ana Gramo (l)
Yll Limani "Shiu" The rain Yll Limani & Ilirjana Blakaj (m&l)

Semi-finals

  Finalist

Final

The final took place on 23 December 2016. The national final consisted of fourteen competing acts where the winner was determined by A twelve-member jury panel and a public televote. Eventually, "Botë", performed by Lindita, emerged as the winner.[4]

Final – 23 December 2016
Draw Artist Song Jury votes
Televote
 Total Place
Altin Basha
Vikena Kamenica
Alma Bektashi
Arben Duka
Vlashent Sata
Nertila Koka
Fatrin Krajka
Total
1 Franc Koruni "Macka" 2 1 4 4 1 12 12 11
2 Lorela "Me ty" 3 4 1 8 8 12
3 Xhesika Polo "Eva jam unë" 4 1 5 5 14
4 XUXI "Metropol" 3 3 3 1 5 10 3 2 30 30 5
5 Fabiola Agalliu & Agnesa Çavolli "Shkon e vjen" 2 5 7 7 13
6 Dilan Reka "Mos harro" 1 3 10 5 3 7 10 4 43 7 50 3
7 Lindita Halimi "Botë" 7 10 10 7 3 10 3 10 10 5 5 80 5 85 1
8 Flaka Krelani "Osiris" 2 4 4 2 5 10 27 3 30 5
9 Rezarta Smaja "Pse prite gjatë" 5 4 1 5 3 2 20 4 24 7
10 Edea Demaliaj "Besoj në ëndrra" 5 7 2 2 7 23 23 9
11 Yll Limani "Shiu" 10 7 7 2 1 2 4 7 40 10 50 3
12 LYNX "Sot" 2 1 1 2 4 3 13 1 14 10
13 Orges Toçe "Shi diamantësh" 4 1 10 5 1 3 24 24 7
14 Genc Salihu "Këtu" 5 4 5 10 7 7 7 7 52 2 54 2

Promotion

Lindita made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "World" as the Albanian Eurovision entry. Between 3 and 6 April, she took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel where she performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue.[5][6] On 8 April, Lindita performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir.[7] On 15 April, she performed during the Eurovision Spain Pre-Party, which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain.[8]

At Eurovision

Lindita during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[9] On 31 January 2017, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Albania was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[10]

Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Albania was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from Australia and before the entry from Belgium.[11]

Semi-final

Lindita took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May.[12] This included the jury show on 8 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

At the end of the show, Albania was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.

Voting

Both semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Albania on RTSH1 HD, RTSH Muzikë and Radio Tirana with commentary by Andri Xhahu. The Albanian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Albanian jury during the final, was Andri Xhahu. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Albania and awarded by Albania in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[13][14]

Points awarded to Albania

Points awarded to Albania (Semi-final 1)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Albania

Split voting results

The Albanian jury was composed of the following five members: [15]

  • Haig Zacharian – Chairperson – professor
  • Olta Boka – singer, represented Albania in the 2008 contest
  • Endri Sina – composer
  • Marsela Cibukaj (only semi final) – singer
  • Orgesa Zaimi - singer, presenter, radio and show host
  • Aulon Naci (only final) - composer

References

  1. ↑ "Albania Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Albania: Festivali i Këngës 55 submissions to open 10 October". esctoday.com. Esctoday. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Albania: RTSH confirms participation in Eurovision 2017". Esctoday. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ↑ M. Escudero, Victor (24 December 2016). "Albania: Lindita wins Festivali i Këngës!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Kavaler, Ron (22 March 2017). "ISRAEL CALLING! EUROVISION PROMO EVENT SET FOR APRIL 3 TO 6". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Laufer, Gil (5 April 2017). "Tonight: Israel Calling 2017 to be held with 28 participating countries". esctoday.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Jordan, Paul (29 March 2017). "Eurovision in Concert sets a new record with 33 acts". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Fuster, Luis (1 April 2017). "MADRID CALLING! 19 ACTS WILL TAKE PART IN EUROVISION SPAIN PRE-PARTY". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2017). "Semi-Final Allocation draw to take place in Kyiv". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Jordan, Paul (31 January 2017). "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Jordan, Paul (31 March 2017). "Semi-Final running order for Eurovision 2017 revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Press". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 First Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  15. ↑ Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
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