Festivali i Këngës 62 continued this evening with the third night of Albania’s premier song contest. Albania is now just one more nights away from picking its next Eurovision entrant with all songs now revealed.
Festivali I Këngës 62 : Night 3
Tonight, the acts acts competing in this year’s Festivali i Këngës will perform a number of songs from the back catalogue of both FiK and Eurovision. Dubbed Nostalgia Night the musicians will not need to worry about competing tonight. The 31 acts had originally been narrowed down from an initial long list of 80, the songs performed tonight were as follows:
| Running Order | Artists | Entry |
| 1 | Eldis Arrnjeti / Myfarete Laze | “Pragu I Vegjelise” |
| 2 | Besa Krasniqi / Irma and Eranda Libohova | “Nuk E Harroj” |
| 3 | Michela Paluca / Kleansa Susaj | “Voilà” (Barbara Pravi cover) |
| 4 | Sergio Hajdini / Eneda Tarifa (Albania 2016) | “Mesnatë” |
| 5 | Arai Bako / Eugent Bushpepa (Albania 2018) | “S’mund T’jetoj Pa Ty” |
| 6 | Olimpia Smajlaj / Fitnete Tuda | “Shi Bie Në Tirana” |
| 7 | Mal Retkoceri / Jasmina Hako | “Fairytale” (Alexander Rybak cover) |
| 8 | Peter Pan Quartet / Troy Band | “Zitti e Buoni” (Maneskin cover) |
| 9 | Festina Mejzini / Florent Abrashi | “Mes Nesh Është Dashuri” |
| 10 | Tiri Gjori / Sidrit Bejleri | “Erdh Pranvera” |
| 11 | Andi Tanko / Angus Dei | “Ku Është Dashuria” |
| 12 | Olsi Ballta / Erina Seitllari | “Hard Rock Hallelujah” (Lordi cover) |
| 13 | Shpat Deda / Irma Lepuri | “Volare” (Domenico Modugno cover) |
| 14 | Jehona Ponari / Martina Serreqi | “Wild Dances” (Ruslana cover) |
| 15 | Melodajn Mancaku / Edmond Mancaku | “Telefonatë zemrash” |
| 16 | Big Basta and Vesa Luma / Elton Deda | “Qyteti i vjetër” |
| 17 | Eden Baja / Anxhela Llaha | “Satellite” (Lena cover) |
| 18 | Anduel Kovaçi / Ilir Shaqiri | “Udhët e mia” |
| 19 | Kastro Ziso / Rea Nuhu | “Sagapo të dua” |
| 20 | Besa Kokëdhima / Jehona Sopi | “Rrjedh ne këngë e ligiërime” |
| 21 | Elsa Lila / Enrico Melozzi | “Nje serenatë për ly” |
| 22 | Luan Durmishi / Santino De Bartolo | “Insieme” (Toto Cutugno cover) |
| 23 | Stivi Ushe / Bledi Kaso | “Arcade” (Duncan Laurence cover) |
At the end of the show 8 newcomer acts from the previous two nights were revealed to have qualified to tomorrow night’s final show.
| Artist | Entry |
| Erina and the Elementals | “Jetën n’skaj” |
| Irma Lepuri | “Me prit” |
| Kleansa Susaj | “Pikturë” |
| Mal Retkoceri | “Çmendur” |
| Michela Paluca | “Për veten” |
| Martina Serreqi | “Vetëm ty” |
| PeterPan Quartet | “Edhe nje here” |
| Shpat Deda | “S’mund t’fitoj pa ty” |
They join the following 14 artists who are the automatic qualifiers:
| Artist | Entry |
| Andi Tanko | “Herë pas here” |
| Anduel Kovaçi | “Nan” |
| Arsi Bako | “Zgjohu” |
| Besa Kokëdhima | “Zemrën n’dorë” |
| Besa Krasniqi | “Esenciale” |
| Big Basta and Vesa Luma | “Mbinatyrale” |
| Eldis Arrnjeti | “Një kujtim” |
| Elsa Lila | “Mars” |
| Festina Mejzini | “Melos” |
| Kastro Zizo | “2073” |
| Melodajn Mancaku | “Nuk jemi më” |
| Olimpia Smajlaj | “Asaj” |
| Sergio Hajdini | “Uragan” |
| Tiri Gjoci | “Në ëndërr” |
The show tonight was hosted by four separate hosts: Adriana Matoshi, Kledi Kadiu, Xhuliano Dule, and Krisa Çaushi, and featured Adelina Ismajli peforming “Zemrën nuk ta fal” as an interval act.
How are the results decided?
The acts qualifying for the final from the previous two shows will be decided by a professional jury, with the results announced later in the week. Nevertheless, a televote will still be used to decide Albania’s Eurovision entrant separately, meaning that all of the competing artists will have a chance to represent, even if they do not progress to the final.
What is still to come?
Festivali i Këngës 62 will continue with:
- The Final – 22nd of December, 21:00 CET
What is Festivali i Këngës?
Albania’s Festivali i Këngës long predates Albania’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 1962, Albanian musicians perform for the broadcast audience in December. At inception, Festivali i Këngës focused on “light music”, a populist kind of classical music. Following the end of a period of censorship in the 1970s and 80s, performers chose from a variety of genres, and love songs, political entries, and rock music became more common; starting in the 1990s, diasporia Albanian singers were also allowed to participate. The entries at FiK have since then often reflected political and social issues prevalent in Albania, such as the transition away from communism, the rash of pyramid schemes in the mid-1990s, and the fragmentation of family units. As of 2004, the winner of Festivali i Këngës gains first refusal to represent Albania at Eurovision; however, beginning in 2022, the jury winner is separate from the televote winner, the latter of whom gets to go to Eurovision.
Albania’s Eurovision Journey
In 2004, Albania made their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest with Anjeza Shahini with “Image of You”, which placed 7th in the final. Since their debut, Albania has participated 19 times, and made the final 10 times, with their best result in 2012 where Rona Nishliu placed 5th with “Suus”.
In 2023, Albina Kelmendi and her family represented Albania at the Contest in Liverpool with their song “Duje”. Performing in the second semi-final, the six-piece group qualified for the final. At the close of the voting in the final, Albania finished in 22nd place with a total of 76 points. Of these, 16 points came from the juries, whilst 59 came from the televote.
Who would you like to see represent Albania in Malmö? Do you think Albania can maintain its current qualification streak and be in the final at Eurovision 2024? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we look ahead to Eurovision 2024!
News Source: RTSH
Photo Credit: RTSH
That Eurovision Site 
Rory Gannon