Festivali i Këngës 63 kicked off tonight with the first night of Albania’s premier song contest. With the start of this show, the search for Albania draws ever closer.
Festivali I Këngës 63 : Night 1
Tonight, 15 of the 30 acts competing this year performed their entries, with France’s most recent Eurovision entrant Slimane, and Albanian rapper Noizy performed as interval acts during the first night.
You can catch up with anything you missed in our liveblog!
The running order for tonight’s show is as follows:
| Order | Artist | Entry |
| 1 | Orgesa Zaimi | “I Parë” |
| 2 | Erma Mici | “Mbaje” |
| 3 | Luna Çausholli | “Qiell Apo Ferr” |
| 4 | Ronaldo Mesuli | “N’Zemër” |
| 5 | Mihallaq Andrea | “Porositë E Babait” |
| 6 | Kejsi Jazxhi | “Kur Bota Hesht” |
| 7 | Lorenc Hasrama | “Frymë” |
| 8 | Jet | “Gjallë” |
| 9 | Djemtë e Detit | “Larg” |
| 10 | Nita Latifi | “Zemrës” |
| 11 | Martina Serreqi | “Nëse Qaj” |
| 12 | Alis Kallacej | “Mjegull” |
| 13 | Kleansa Susaj | “Ta Dija” |
| 14 | Shkodra Elektronike | “Zjerm” |
| 15 | Ardit Çuni | “Amane” |
The show continues tomorrow with night 2 of Festivali i Këngës, where the next 15 acts will perform. The finalists will be confirmed on Saturday’s show, as part of nostalgia night.
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, diaspora 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 20 times, and made the final 10 times. They achieved their best result in 2012, where Rona Nishliu placed 5th with “Suus”.
Besa represented Albania in 2024 with the song “Titan”. “Titan” performed in the second semi-final, where it ultimately placed fifteenth out of sixteen, receiving 14 points from the televote.
Who would you like to represent Albania? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2025!
News Source: RTSH
Photo Credit: RTSH
Rory Gannon 
That Eurovision Site