Festivali i Këngës 63 continued tonight with night 2 of Albania’s premier song contest. We now have heard all 30 competing songs live.
Festivali I Këngës 63 : Night 1
Tonight, 15 of the 30 acts competing this year performed their entries. Additionally, Aleksandër Gjoka and Klaudia Pepa performed as interval acts.
The running order for tonight’s show was as follows:
| Order | Artist | Entry |
| 1 | Mal Retkoceri | “Antihero” |
| 2 | Klea Dina | “Dashuri ndiej” |
| 3 | Devis Xherahu | “Ka momente” |
| 4 | Vesa Smolica | “Lutem” |
| 5 | Algert Sala | “Bosh” |
| 6 | Gresa Gjocera | “E vërteta” |
| 7 | Frensi Revania | “Rreziko” |
| 8 | Endrik Beba | “Ishe ti” |
| 9 | Epos | “Kurajo dhe Zjarr” |
| 10 | Laorjan Ejlli and Adelina Corraj | “A thu” |
| 11 | Santino de Bartolo | “Kur nata vjen si bora” |
| 12 | Rea Nuhu | “Sot” |
| 13 | Elvana Gjata | “Karnaval” |
| 14 | Stine | “E kishim nis” |
| 15 | Gjergj Kaçinari | “Larg jetës pa ty” |
The show picked off from last night’s first semi-final of Festivali i Këngës, where the other 15 acts performed. The finalists will be confirmed tomorrow 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. This year, the jury and televote once again pick one overall winner, who will have the honour of representing the country in 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
Giwrgos Oiko 
Samantha