Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. They selected their entry, "Mall" (transl. Yearning), by Albanian singer Eugent Bushpepa through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës, organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2017. Prior to the 2018 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since their first entry in 2004. To this point, their highest placing in the contest was fifth place, which the nation achieved in 2012. Prior to Eurovision, "Mall" was promoted by a music video and live performances in several countries. Albania ultimately reached eleventh place in the contest's grand final on 12 May, receiving 184 points.

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country Albania
National selection
Selection processFestivali i Këngës 56
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
21 December 2017
22 December 2017
Final:
23 December 2017
Selected entrantEugent Bushpepa
Selected song"Mall"
Selected songwriter(s)Eugent Bushpepa
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (8th, 168 points)
Final result11th, 184 points
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Background
Main article: Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Albania's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is organised by the Albanian public broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) and it uses the song competition Festivali i Këngës to select its entry.[1] Prior to the 2018 contest, the country had participated in the contest fourteen times since its first entry in 2004.[2] The country's best result to this point was in 2012 with Rona Nishliu placing fifth with "Suus".[3] Albania failed to qualify for the final seven times during its tenure in the contest, with both the 2016 and 2017 entries being the most recent non-qualifiers prior to the 2018 contest.[4][5] In October 2017, RTSH confirmed that Albania would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 and that once again, Festivali i Këngës would be used as the selection process for the entry.[1][6]

Before Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës
Adi Krasta hosted the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës.

The Albanian public broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) organised the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës to determine their participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. It consisted of two semi-finals on 21 and 22 December, followed by the grand final on 23 December 2017.[7] The event was hosted by television presenter and journalist Adi Krasta, who had previously hosted it five times prior to 2018.[8] The results in each show were determined by a jury panel consisting of Adrian Hila, Ilirian Zhupa, Limoz Dizdari, Markelian Kapedani and Zana Çela.[9][10]

Over 70 acts submitted applications to RTSH for consideration during the submission period held from 2-10 November 2017.[11] The names of the 22 songs and singers selected to compete in the two semi-finals were released on 13 November.[11][12]

Semi-finals

The semi-finals took place on 21 and 22 December 2017 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET), respectively.[13][14] The allocation draw of the participating entries for each semi-final was published on 19 December, a few days before the event.[15] The interval acts for the first semi-final included performances from Italian singer-songwriter Riccardo Cocciante and Albanian singer Elhaida Dani, the latter of whom represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[16] The results of the semi-finals are outlined in the tables below. Of the 22 entries, 14 progressed to the final.[17]

Grand final

The grand final took place on 23 December 2017 and was broadcast at 20:45 (CET).[18] It consisted of the fourteen entries that had qualified for the final, including eight from the first semi-final and six from the second semi-final. After gathering the maximum points from the jury, "Mall" by Eugent Bushpepa emerged as the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.[19] The results of the final are summarized in the table below.

Final – 23 December 2017[10]
Draw Artist Song Result
1
 Redon Makashi "Ekziston"
2
2
 NA & Festina Mejzini "Tjetër jetë"
—
3
 Voltan Prodani "E pamundur"
—
4
 Denisa Gjezo "Zemër ku je"
—
5
 Tiri Gjoci "Orë e ndalur"
—
6
 Orgesa Zaimi "Ngrije zërin"
—
7
 Rezarta Smaja & Luiz Ejlli "Ra një yll"
—
8
 Artemisa Mithi "E dua botën"
—
9
 Manjola Nallbani "I njëjti qiell"
—
10
 Inis Neziri "Piedestal"
3
11
 Bojken Lako "Sytë e shpirtit"
—
12
 Mariza Ikonomi "Unë"
—
13
 Eugent Bushpepa "Mall"
1
14
 Elton Deda "Fjalët"
—

Promotion

An accompanying music video for "Mall" premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 26 March 2018.[20][21] Apart from the music video, Eugent Bushpepa traveled to the city of Aveiro on the Atlantic Ocean to film his introductory postcard, serving as an introduction for each participating country and artist.[22][23] The postcard shows him visiting the fishermen's houses, fish warehouses and the salt mines of Aveiro.[23] For further promotional purposes, the singer embarked on a small tour with live performances at various Eurovision Song Contest-related events, including Amsterdam and Madrid.[24][25] In addition, he was scheduled to perform in London but was forced to withdraw due to issues obtaining a visa.[26]

At Eurovision
Eugent Bushpepa during a rehearsal for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May, and the grand final on 12 May 2018.[27] According to the rules, each participating country, apart from the host country and the "Big 5", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the grand final.[28] The grand final thus consists of the host country, "Big 5", and the top ten countries from each semi-final.[29] Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Songs were given points ranging from 1 though 8, then 10 and 12 (from lowest to highest ranking). Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on vocal capacity, the stage performance, the song's composition and originality. and the act's overall impression. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

In January 2020, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the first half of the first semi-final of the contest.[31] Once all the competing entries had been released, the country was assigned the third position, following Iceland and preceding Belgium.[32] During the first semi-final, held on 8 May, the country qualified for the grand final, receiving 162 points and placing eighth. It had received 114 from the jury and 48 from the televote.[33] Four days later at the grand final on 12 May, Albania appeared twelfth in the running order, following Germany and preceding France.[34] By the end of voting, it reached eleventh place in the field of twenty-six countries, receiving 184 points. 126 points had come from the jury and 58 from the televote.[35]

The performance of Bushpepa began with black and blue tones on the LED screens, changing throughout his performance to warmer tones consisting of red, yellow and white, as the song reaches its climax.[36] The singer was accompanied during his performances by two female backing vocalists and a small band, consisting of a drummer, guitarist and a bass player.[37]

Points awarded to Albania
Points awarded to Albania (Semi-final 1)[38]
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Albania (final)[39]
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Albania

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Albanian jury:[40]

  • Ben Andoni – journalist
  • Bojken Lako – singer, TV and theater director
  • Elton Deda – singer, music producer, pianist
  • Kamela Islamaj – singer
  • Rosela Gjylbegu – singer
Split voting results from Albania (Semi-final 1)[38]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Deda B. Andoni B. Lako R. Gjylbegu K. Islamaj Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Azerbaijan33174176547
02 Iceland17101617161718
03 Albania
04 Belgium7111887415
05 Czech Republic18151518151892
06 Lithuania131329910111
07 Israel5636321074
08 Belarus6941104713
09 Estonia1551814181456
10 Bulgaria875725665
11 Macedonia22103143816
12 Croatia148910131317
13 Austria1116121651283
14 Greece441151283210
15 Finland12141312111638
16 Armenia101761171112
17  Switzerland912713192101
18 Ireland1618141561514
19 Cyprus11824112112
Split voting results from Albania (final)[39]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Deda B. Andoni B. Lako R. Gjylbegu K. Islamaj Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Ukraine20162416232318
02 Spain13132315181425
03 Slovenia21171714161819
04 Lithuania18201413171615
05 Austria15151117121192
06 Estonia17211212241374
07 Norway23192218222513
08 Portugal16221319141724
09 United Kingdom11142120191583
10 Serbia8610998316
11 Germany453465638
12 Albania
13 France336554765
14 Czech Republic910910810117
15 Denmark19122021212120
16 Australia14231922252414
17 Finland12251523202011
18 Bulgaria545343856
19 Moldova10787109222
20 Sweden797877421
21 Hungary22241624111923
22 Israel6846365101
23 Netherlands24182525132212
24 Ireland25111811151247
25 Cyprus12222210210
26 Italy21111112112

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