Eurovision in Malmö is now just over a month away. In the lead-up to the start of rehearsals, we will get to know a bit more about this year’s artists, their discography, and their Eurovision 2024 journey so far. Next up, we will preview Albania’s 2024 representative Besa.
Besa’s Eurovision Journey So Far…
Besa was selected to represent Albania after winning the televote for Albania. Music festival “Festivali I Këngës”, with the song “Zemrën n’dorë”. The song was later revamped, and rereleased in English as “TiTAN” in March. Late last month it was determined that Besa will perform second in the second Eurovision Semi-Final in Malmö on May 9th.
During the pre-party circuit, Besa performed at Pre-Party ES24 on March 30th, the Barcelona Eurovision Party on April 6th. The following weekend Besa performed at Eurovision in Concert on April 13th and the Nordic Eurovision Party on April 14th.
What do we think of “TiTAN”
The team at That Eurovision Site have reacted to Albania’s entry for Malmö. Tim gave his thoughts on “TiTAN”, which you can check out below, you can also check out our written review here:
Who is Besa?
Besa Kokëdhima, the full name of singer Besa, is a 37 year old singer from Qepero, Albania. Despite being from Qepero, Besa now resides in Fier. At the age of 15, Besa moved to the United Kingdom, in order to receive musical tuition. This proved successful, as in 2003, at the age of 18, Besa released her first ever single “Më Beso”, it later went on to win awards in Albania. Following on from her first single, Besa went on to release her self titled debut album, three years later in 2006.
Since 2006, Besa has gone on to compete in several Eurovision based competitions. The first of these came in 2009, when Besa took part in the Romanian selection “Selectia Naționăla”, with the song “Nothing’s Gonna Change”. Besa reached the semi-finals of this national final. Later, in 2010, Besa took part in Festivali I Këngës for the first time. Besa competed with the song “E bukura dhe bisha”. The song reached the Final of 2010’s competition. Throughout her discography, Besa has released four albums, the most recent being “Ti je festa ime”. However, since 2014 Besa has released many singles, the most recent before Eurovision being “Plastic Heart”, which she released earlier this year.
Her Eurovision song for 2024, “TiTAN”, was written by Besa herself, alongside Fabrice, Alias Lj, Grandjean, Kledi Bahti and Gia Koka.
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.
What do think about “TiTAN”? Are you excited for Albania’s participation at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: Besa/ That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Pirro Beati
Rory Gannon