Live: Albania Festivali i Këngës Final

After two exciting semifinals held earlier this week, tonight we see the final of the Albanian Festivali i Këngës which will decide who will represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Eighteen artists have qualified for tonight’s final and the show is being broadcast live from Tirana by Albanian public broadcaster RTSH.

0010- Elhaida Dani takes to the stage to perform her winning entry one more time and is presented with the award.

0005- So at the end of it all Elhaida Dani is the winner with the song “Diell” and she will represent Albania in the Eurovision song contest 2015. Bojken Lako Band take second place and Lindita Halim takes third.

2350- It is now time for the jurors to reveal how they voted. The first juror gives 8 points to Lindita Halim, 10 points to Bojken Lako Band, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

The second juror gives 8 points to Besiana Mehmedi & Shkodran Tolaj,  10 points to Elhaida Dani, and 12 to Bojken Lako Band.

The third juror gives 8 points to Lindita Halim, 10 points to Bojken Lako Band, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

The fourth juror gives 8 points to Besiana Mehmedi & Shkodran Tolaj, 10 points to Lindita Halim, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

The fifth juror gives 8 points to Lindita Halim, 10 points to Gjergj Leka, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

The sixth juror gives 8 points to Besiana Mehmedi & Shkodran Tolaj, 10 points to Bojken Lako Band, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

The seventh and final jury member gives 8 points to Bojken Lako Band 10 points to Gjergj Leka, and 12 points to Elhaida Dani.

2348- Time for the results! First, the award is presented for interpretation, which is presented to Gjergj Leka. The award is presented by Rona Nishliu.

2316-And that’s it for now! We await the results of the jury, which will be in after the commercial break and the interval acts.

2315- The final artist of the night is the hugely popular Elhaida Dani with the song “Diell”. Tonight she is wearing a red dress, which is different from what she wore last night. This song really is fantastic, it’s a pop ballad that’s uplifting and powerful, her vocals are flawless and with her popularity across Italy and Albania she could really be a perfect choice for Eurovision.

2307- Agim Poshka is the penultimate performer of the night with the song “Në rrugën tonë”. There’s an old man sitting on stage on a table alone with a glass of wine. He looks like he’s been stood up by a date, his words are pretty intense and sad but he is more or less just talking over the orchestra who are doing 90% of the work here. Agim then appears to sing a sad ballad of heartbreak,

2302- The sixteenth song tonight is “S’muj” performed by Marsela Çibukaj. This is similar to the last song, however this is much darker and more dramatic, it has much more of an impact. The song is jazzy and she is dressed in a white suit with a hat. It’s a very edgy sounding song, quite theatrical in parts, it sounds like it could have come out of the Albanian version of the musical “Chicago”. This is interesting.

2257- Estela Brahimllari is next up with the song “Kjo natë”. This is sultry, sexy and jazzy, like an 80s jazz record. Wearing all black and red lipstick, this performance is meant to be provocative and exciting. It’s all very “Jessica Rabbit”.

2252- The fourteenth of tonight’s finalists is Saimir Braho with the song “Kristal”. Finally, something jolly! This song makes a refreshing change to the dreary rock ballads and emotionally charged song we’ve had all night so far. It’s a toe-tapping, mid tempo song, which sounds fresh out of a feelgood movie. The brass band are giving this some extra oomph. I get the feeling that this is another one of tonight’s entries which could translate very well into English should it be given the opportunity.

2246- Klajdi Musabelliu is next to perform the song “Vetëm te ti besoj”. Wow, the opening to this song sounded a lot like “Skyfall” by Adele. In typical Albanian fashion, it’s a dramatic ballad with rock influences. He’s incredibly passionate about this song which translates into English as “I Only Believe In You”.

2230- The twelfth finalist is Gjergj Leka who will perform the song “Himn”. This is actually quite a nice Balkan ballad. It’s dark and strangely intense. He is accompanied by a young pianist and a cellist, the orchestra are again heavily used throughout this performance.

2224- Altin Goci is next on stage with the song “Rock për gjithë jetën”. Poor guy. This is like a bad joke. I don’t think this will wash too well with the jury tonight. The poor man is standing alone on stage singing a song which translates into English as “Rock For All Eternity”. It’s a punk rock influenced pop song, which actually isn’t too bad, but it would take more than just an awkward looking man dancing around in a plain black shirt to sell this song.

2220- The tenth finalist is Venera Lumani with the song “Dua të jetoj”. Wearing a blue sweater and a floral dress, this song is a typical pop rock song, there isn’t much else to say. It’s certainly very catchy in comparison to some of the other songs we have heard tonight. She will need to work on the styling in order for this to work better, she looks to innocent to be singing a pop rock ballad. That said, the vocals in this performance are fantastic and it’s a good song. Who knows?

2214- Jozefina Simoni is up next to perform the song “Mendje trazi”. In an incredibly short black dress, this is a seductive, jazzy song. This is another one of tonight’s songs that the orchestra really manages to bring to life. The cool guitar solo gives this song a very chilled out vibe.

2210- Song number eight comes from Rezarta Smaja. The song is called “Më rrëmbe” and it is a tribute to the late composer Florian Kondi. She is wearing an interesting looking white dress, accompanied by a piper, this is a beautiful song that would be perfect for Eurovision: it’s mid tempo, ethnically influenced and uplifting. Her vocals are fantastic and she really delivers this performance with great confidence. This could do very well.

2204- Erga Halilaj will be the seventh finalist on stage tonight and she will sing the song “Ti s’më njeh”. A very talented pianist, this woman is mesmerizing. This is a very beautiful ballad which is sung perfectly which builds as the song goes on to become a powerful and captivating performance. She’s very endearing and a very likeable young woman, I feel that this song would also sound good if ever they decide to translate it into English.

2149- The sixth finalist performing tonight is Enver Petrovci who will perform the song “Të vranë bukuri”. Well isn’t this unusual…He’s an elderly man with a walking stick in a top hat who is reciting a story to open the song. It’s a very sad and dreary song which doesn’t seem to go anywhere big. Vocally, this performance has been less thrilling than many of the others that we have already seen tonight. There leaves a lot to be desired from a performance like this.

2143- Mjellma Berisha is up next and she will perform “Sot jetoj”. This is a very theatrical, dramatic mid-tempo song. The song is very rock-influenced and sounds like an angry rock ballad. This soft-rock number is executed very well vocally and this is the kind of music that often proves popular for Albania in Eurovision.

2136- The fourth finalist is Lindita Halimi with the song “S’të fal” which has proven over the course of the week to be very popular on Twitter. She is wearing a short black one piece, with a bright masquerade backdrop, this is an incredibly sassy and fierce performance of a song which translates into English as “I Don’t Forgive You”. By far this has been the most modern, uptempo and commercial sounding of the songs that have been performed thus far tonight. Her style is similar to British pop singer Rita Ora.

2130-Emi Bogdo is the third artist to perform with the song “Një femër”. She stands alone on stage in a black gothic style dress. This is a powerful and haunting ballad which the orchestra really manage bring to life, her vocals are also on point, giving this performance a well rounded and polished feel.

2124- The second artist is Bojken Lako Band with the song “Të ndjej”. This man is scary, there’s no other way of putting it, he looks like an angry biker. He stands alone on stage to perform this rock influenced number, there are strobe lights everywhere throughout. This is an interesting composition with the traditional rock elements coming together with a new electronic sound. It does however lack the power and impact that a rock song of this style would need in order to stand out.

2120- Besiana Mehmedi & Shkodran Tolaj are the first to perform and they perform the song “Kështjella”. This is a charming song with romantic influences, the song is very stereotypically Balkan sounding, there are accordions and strings accompanying the singers as they recite this romantic folk ballad. The styling is quite dark, quirky and mystical, giving the performance a theatrical feel.

2113-We are then introduced to our hosts for the evening, who are both looking absolutely stunning, they introduce us to tonight’s procedure and orchestra which will accompany the artists.

2100- The show begins! Slightly later than expected, but we’re here nonetheless! A female violin quartet open the show accompanied by the live in studio orchestra, a rare sight to be seen in a Eurovision national final in this day and age: it’s fantastically refreshing.

The hosts for the evening tonight will be Floriana Garo, Turjan Hyska and Liberta Spahiu and the show will kick off at 2045CET. On Friday and Saturday night, two semifinals took place with nine artists qualifying from each semifinal to reach tonight’s final show. The voting will be decided by a professional jury of seven members one of whom is previous Albanian Eurovision representative Rona Nishliu. Each jury member will present their points after all eighteen artists have performed and the artist with the most points will be declared the winner. The eighteen participating artists are as follows:

  1. Besiana Mehmedi & Shkodran TolajKështjella
  2. Bojken Lako BandTë ndjej
  3. Emi BogdoNjë femër
  4. Lindita HalimiS’të fal
  5. Mjellma BerishaSot jetoj
  6. Enver PetrovciTë vranë bukuri
  7. Erga Halilaj Ti s’më njeh
  8. Rezarta SmajaMë rrëmbe
  9. Jozefina SimoniMendje trazi
  10. Venera LumaniDua të jetoj
  11. Altin GociRock për gjithë jetën
  12. Gjergj LekaHimn
  13. Klajdi MusabelliuVetëm te ti besoj
  14. Saimir BrahoKristal
  15. Estela BrahimllariKjo natë
  16. Marsela ÇibukajS’muj
  17. Agim Poshka – Në rrugën tonë
  18. Elhaida Dani – “Diell”

The big favourite to win tonight is Elhaida Dani. A very popular name in Albania, she won the Albanian version of the hit TV show Star Academy in 2009 and then went on to become the winner of the Italian version of The Voice in 2012. Another artist to watch tonight is Rezarta Smaja, she will sing the song “Më rrëmbe” which was composed by the late Florian Kondi, who died unexpectedly last month at the age of 35. You can catch the full show via the live stream on the RTSH website or alternatively, you can click here to watch the show being broadcast live through the official Eurovision website. Don’t forget to catch our live blog on ESCDaily at 2045CET where we’ll be updating everything you need to know about tonight’s national final, better yet, why not get involved? You can join the conversation in the comments below or tweet us @escdaily we love to hear your opinions on all things Eurovision.