Twenty-five acts sang during the first night of
Festivali i Këngës 59 Albania’s national final for Eurovision 2021. While the show has faced some major challenges because of the pandemic, including one act, Manjola Nallbani, coming down with the illness, producers made unprecedented changes to make sure the show could go on. They moved the event outside. Ditched the live orchestra. And pre-recorded the shows. Ultimately they delivered a programme that was worth the wait through all those drawn-out ads.
Era Rusi whipped her hair back. Orgesa Zaimi served stunning vocals in a monochrome suit. Anxhela Peristeri had backing dancers playing tug-of-war with her arms. Inis Neziri show off her pitch-perfect vocals. And Mirud created a MOOD. But who was your favourite? You can re-watch the show below. Then vote in our poll. You can vote for as many acts as you’d like, but you can only submit your votes ONE time. So make it count.
The 18 performances of Albania’s
Festivali i Këngës 59 may have been pre-recorded, but the drama felt like it was live and rolling. And at the end of it after three nights and a three-hour finale a seven-person jury crowned
Anxhela Peristeri the winner with her dramatic ballad
“Karma”. Next stop? Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam.
Festivali i Këngës 59 winner: Anxhela Peristeri will sing for Albania at Eurovision 2021
Anxhela, who has a quarter of a million followers on Instagram, was completely unfazed by the spotlight of the past month. And it showed most clearly in the final, where she stood centre stage hitting note after note in her mystical ballad “Karma”, which she told us sends a message about the actions we take and what the universe sends us in return.
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Albania: Festivali i Këngës 59 Finalists Revealed
RTSH, the Albanian national broadcaster, has revealed the finalists of Festivali i Këngës 59. The eighteen artists that have qualified for the Grand Final on Wednesday evening are:
Orgesa Zaimi – Valixhja e kujtimeve
Festina Mejzini – Kush je ti dashuri
Devis Xherahu – Peng
Gjergj Kaçinari – Më jep jetë
Rosela Gjylbegu- Vashëzo
Wendi Mancaku -Vesi i shpirti tim
Evi Reçi – Tjerr
Mirud – Nëse vdes
A jury picked 18 songs to advance to the final after all 25 artists performed over two nights. The second night of performances will be broadcast tonight at 21:00 CET and will feature acoustic versions of all 25 songs. This is to ensure fair promotion of all songs. The final will be broadcast tomorrow and will also be mainly pre-recorded, except for the jury voting and prize giving ceremony.
Tonight, Albania’s long-running song festival
Festivali i Këngës will kick off its 59th edition. As well as showcasing the best of Albania’s music stars, the contest will also select the act that Albania will send to Eurovision 2021.
While the FiK is a little different this year with the show held on an outdoor stage and performances prerecorded earlier in the week there is still plenty of top talent in the lineup. The Wiwi Jury our in-house panel of music unprofessionals has listened to all 26 competing entries and ranked our top five songs. Who does the jury think should head to Eurovision?
`It’s the first national final of the Eurovision 2021 season. Now the 59th edition of Albania’s
Festivali i Këngës reportedly has broadcast dates. The show will screen over three nights, from 21 to 23 December.
While broadcaster RTSH has not confirmed any details of when FiK 59 will screen, the dates have been revealed by Eurovision Albania the Albanian branch of the OGAE fan network.
The festival will begin with the first night on Monday 21 December, followed by the second night on Tuesday 22 December, and concluding with the grand final on Wednesday 23 December.
It hasn’t been confirmed if the three Festivali i Këngës shows will be broadcast live or if they will be recorded earlier in the week and played out later. Earlier speculation suggested that the shows would be prerecorded earlier in the week, with only the grand final voting and results broadcast live.