| Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) | |||
| Country |  Albania | |||
| Selection process | Festivali i Këngës 58 | |||
| Selection date | 22 December 2019 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Fall from the Sky" | |||
| Artist | Arilena Ara | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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Albania was set to be represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2020 inRotterdam, the Netherlands, with the song "Fall from the Sky" performed byArilena Ara. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competitionFestivali i Këngës organised byRadio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2019. To this point, the nation had participated in theEurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in2004. In March 2020, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the contest's cancellation due to thepandemic of thecoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its rapid spread acrossEurope.
Prior to the 2020 contest, Albania had participated in theEurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in2004.[1] The country's highest placing in the contest, to this point, had been the fifth place, which it achieved in2012 with the song "Suus" performed byRona Nishliu.[1] The first entry was performed byAnjeza Shahini with the song "The Image of You" and finished in the seventh place, Albania's second-highest placing to date.[1] During its tenure in the contest, Albania failed to qualify for the final seven times, with both the2016 and2017 entries being the most recent non-qualifiers.[2][3] Since the 2018 contest, Albania qualified for the grand final in both the2018 and2019 contest, withEugent Bushpepa finishing in eleventh place with "Mall" andJonida Maliqi placing in seventeenth place with "Ktheju tokës".[1]
In July 2019, the national broadcaster of Albania,Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), officially confirmed Albania's participation in theEurovision Song Contest 2020 inRotterdam, the Netherlands.[4] RTSH broadcasts the contest within Albania and organises the selection process for the nation's entry.[5] Since its debut in 2004, it has consistently selected its entry through the long-standing competitionFestivali i Këngës.[5]
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) organised the58th edition ofFestivali i Këngës in order to select the nation's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.[6] The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 19 and 20 December, respectively, and the grand final on 22 December 2019.[6] From May 2019 to September 2019, artists were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster. An artistic committee reviewed the received submissions and chose 20 artists and songs shortlisted to compete in the semi-finals ofFestivali i Këngës.[7][8]
| Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Albërie Hadërgjonaj | "Ku ta gjej dikë ta dua" |
|
| Aldo Bardhi | "Melodi" |
|
| Arilena Ara | "Shaj" |
|
| Bojken Lako | "Malaseen" | Bojken Lako |
| Devis Xherahu | "Bisedoj me serenatën" |
|
| Eli Fara and Stresi | "Bohem" | |
| Elvana Gjata | "Me tana" | Elvana Gjata |
| Era Rusi | "Eja merre" |
|
| Gena | "Shqiponja e lirë" |
|
| Genc Tukiçi and Nadia Tukiçi | "Ju flet Tirana" |
|
| Kamela Islamaj | "Më ngjyros" |
|
| Kanita Suma | "Ankth" |
|
| Kastro Zizo | "Asaj" |
|
| Olta Boka | "Botë për dy" |
|
| Renis Gjoka | "Loja" |
|
| Robert Berisha | "Ajo nuk është unë" | Filloreta Raci |
| Sara Bajraktari | "Ajër" | Adrian Hila |
| Tiri Gjoci | "Me gotën bosh" |
|
| Valon Shehu | "Kutia e Pandorës" |
|
| Wendi Mancaku | "Ende" |
|
The semi-finals ofFestivali i Këngës took place on 19 December and 20 December 2020 and were broadcast live at 21:00 (CET) on the respective dates.[9] Ten songs competed in each semi-final with five entries in the first and seven in the second semi-final qualifying for the final. The qualifying songs were selected by a jury panel consisting of two national and three international members with connections to the Eurovision Song Contest.[10] The jury panel was composed ofChrister Björkman,Dimitris Kontopoulos, Felix Bergsson, Mikaela Minga and Rita Petro.[11] The first semi-final was opened by thecountry's Eurovision Song Contest 2019 representativeJonida Maliqi performing her song "Ktheju tokës".[12] The interval act includedMahmood performing his songs "Barrio" and "Soldi".[13] The interval act in the second semi-final featured Agim Krajka and Lindita Theodhori with the song "Kafe Flora".[14] After the semi-finals, the votes of an expert jury panel selected twelve songs to advance to the grand final.[11]
The grand final ofFestivali i Këngës took place on 22 December 2019 and was broadcast live at 21:00 (CET).[9][15] The final featured guest performances byEleni Foureira andGiusy Ferreri.[16] Twelve songs competed and the winner was determined by the combination of the votes from a five-member jury panel.[17] Each member of the jury voted by assigning scores from 1–10, 13 and 18 points to their preferred songs. Before the end of the show,Arilena Ara emerged as the winner with "Shaj" and was simultaneously announced as Albania's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.[18][19][20]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valon Shehu | "Kutia e Pandorës" | 23 | 8 |
| 2 | Sara Bajraktari | "Ajër" | 50 | 3 |
| 3 | Robert Berisha | "Ajo nuk është unë" | 18 | 10 |
| 4 | Tiri Gjoci | "Me gotën bosh" | 23 | 8 |
| 5 | Bojken Lako | "Malaseen" | 45 | 4 |
| 6 | Arilena Ara | "Shaj" | 67 | 1 |
| 7 | Gena | "Shqiponja e lirë" | 18 | 10 |
| 8 | Kamela Islamaj | "Më ngjyros" | 35 | 6 |
| 9 | Albërie Hadërgjonaj | "Ku ta gjej dikë ta dua" | 27 | 7 |
| 10 | Elvana Gjata | "Me tana" | 64 | 2 |
| 11 | Olta Boka | "Botë për dy" | 17 | 12 |
| 12 | Era Rusi | "Eja merre" | 43 | 5 |
An accompanyinglyric video for "Fall from the Sky" premiered on the officialYouTube channel of theEurovision Song Contest on 10 March 2019.[21][22] For further promotion, Arilena was scheduled to embark on a small tour with live performances at various Eurovision Song Contest-related events, including inAmsterdam,London andMadrid, before the tour was cancelled due to thepandemic of thecoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).[23][24][25] The first live performance of the song was broadcast during Arilena'sSounds of Silence concert at theMother Teresa Square inTirana on 2 May 2020 as well as theEuropean Broadcasting Union'sEurovision Home Concerts series on 8 May 2020.[26][27]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was initially scheduled to take place atRotterdam Ahoy inRotterdam, Netherlands, and consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and the grand final on 16 May 2020.[28] According to theEurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the "Big Five", consisting ofFrance,Germany,Italy,Spain and theUnited Kingdom, would have been required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final, although the top 10 countries from the respective semi-final would have progressed to the grand final.[29] In January, it was announced that Albania would be performing in the second half of the second semi-final of the contest.[30] However, in March, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the contest's cancellation due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[31] With respect to Arilena and her entry "Fall from the Sky" participating in the2021 contest, the EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one.[32] By September 2020, RTSH announced that they planned to instead host thenext edition ofFestivali i Këngës to choose their2021 entry.[33]
The broadcasters who were planned to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 organised alternative music competitions. Amongst them, Austrian broadcaster,ORF, organisedDer kleine Song Contest in April 2020, which saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury, consisting of ten members that had representedAustria at the contest before, was hired to rank each song, with the highest-placed in each semi-final advancing to the final round.[34] In the third semi-final on 18 April, Albania placed fourth in a field of thirteen participants, achieving a total of 62 points.[35] Swedish broadcaster,Sveriges Television, additionally organisedSveriges 12:a, in which Albania was scheduled to participate on 9 May 2020.[36]