🇦🇱 Festivali i Këngës Night 2: Recap

Merry FiKmas everyone! National final season is well and truly underway. Following this weekend’s Vidbir, where Ukraine chose their entry for Eurovision 2023, we now come together for Festivali i Këngës as Albania celebrate their music scene and select their artist and song for Liverpool.

Festivali I Këngës: Night 2

26 artists are competing both to win Festivali i Këngës, and to become Albania’s next Eurovision representative. This year, in a change to the competition, Albania’s Eurovision act will be chosen through a public SMS vote, rather than being jury-selected.

Last night, we heard 13 songs for the first time, and tonight, the other 13 took to the stage. These were:

Running Order	Artist	Song Title	Songwriters	Composers
1	Melodajna Mancaku	“Gjysma E Zemrës Sime”	Wendi Mancaku	Melodajna Mancaku
2	Permit of Stay	“Fobia”	Ergys Meta	Ergys Meta
3	Arsi Bako	“Sonte Dua Të Tem Me Ty”	Osman Mula	Evis Mula
4	Gjergj Kaçinari	“Dje”	Gjergj Kaçinari	Gjergj Kaçinari
5	Franc Koruni	“Në pritje”	Franc Koruni	Franc Koruni
6	Petrit Çarkaxhiu	“Emri Yt Mirësi”	Petrit Çarkaxhiu	Petrit Çarkaxhiu
7	Elsa Lila	“Evita”	Elsa Lila	Elsa Lila
8	Genti Hoxha	“Ajër”	Jeris Kaso	Elio Shuli
9	Evi Reçi	“Ma Kthe”	Ervin Gonxhi	Ervin Gonxhi
10	Manjola Nallbani	“Dua”	Kledi Bahiti	Manjola Nallbani
11	LYNX	“Nëse ke besim”	LYNX	LYNX
12	Alban Kondi & Lorela Karoshi	“Melodi”	Alban Kondi	Alban Kondi
13	Vanesa Sono	“Aroma Jonë”	Vanesa Sono	Vanesa Sono

Five songs from the newcomers’ section of the contest qualified for the final alongside the established artists. Across both nights, the qualifiers are:

• Melodajna Mancaku – “Gjysma E Zemrës Sime”
• Erma Mici – “Kozmosi I Dashurisë”
• Vanesa Sono – “Aroma Jonë”
• Urban Band – “Në Çdo Hap”
• Genti Hoxha – “Ajër”

What else happened tonight?

Festivali i Këngës 2022 is hosted by Arbana Osmani, who is presenting all four shows. She was joined tonight by Ilir Ohri, a doctor who has served for over 40 years in a hospital in Tirana, and Arbër, who spoke about the importance of autism representation.

Albania’s Eurovision Journey

In 2004, Albania made its debut into the Eurovision Song Contest with Anjeza Shahini with “Image of You” which managed to place 7th in the final. Since their debut, Albania has participated 18 times, and made the final 10 times, with their best result in 2012 where Rona Nishliu placed 5th with “Suus”. In 2022, Ronela Hajati represented Albania with “Sekret”. However, despite being a fan favorite, Albania did not manage to make the final, placing 12th with 58 points from both the juries and televoters.

Who gave your favourite performances tonight? Could any of these songs get Albania back to the Eurovision final? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!

News Source: RTSH

Photo Credit RTSH