Alban Skënderaj (Albanian:[alˈbanskənˈdɛɾaj]; born 20 April 1982) is an Albanian singer. Born inLushnjë and raised inVlorë, Skënderaj has established himself as a viable artist in Albania and the Albanian-speaking Balkans. Beyond his music career, the singer has been featured as a judge on the Albanian television seriesThe X Factor Albania andThe Voice of Albania.
Alban Skënderaj was born on 20 April 1982 into an Albanian family in the city ofLushnjë, then part of thePeople's Socialist Republic, present Albania.[1][2][3] His father, Qerim Skënderaj, was born in the village of Ninësh,Mallakastër, and has served in theAlbanian Armed Forces.[3][4] His mother, Afërdita Skënderaj, hailed fromVlorë and died in June 2017.[3][5] Skënderaj attended the Halim Xhelo secondary school in Vlorë.[2] At a young age, his family left Albania for political reasons as part of the1997 Albanian civil unrest and relocated toPistoia, Italy.[3][6][7] Skënderaj has three brothers, namely Arbër, Martin and Taulant.[3][8] After relocating to Italy, his brothers encouraged Skënderaj to pursue a music career. He started to take music lessons and began to play guitar.[6] Italian composer Sandro Bartolozzi discovered Skënderaj and invited him to the Artestudio53 inFlorence, Italy, whereupon he continued to sing with various bands.[6]
After his return in Albania, Skënderaj eventually started to participate in various music contests. In April 2005, the singer won the 2nd edition ofTop Fest with the song "Vetëm ty".[9][10] A year after, he returned to the 3rd edition of Top Fest, collaborating with the Kosovo-Albanian group Kthjellu on "Diçka", and resulted as the winners of the contest.[11] In December 2006, he unsuccessfully debuted atFestivali i Këngës at its45th edition with the song "Eklips".[12][13] The singer released his second studio album,Melody in October 2008.[14] Finishing in second place in December 2010, Skënderaj returned to the contest's49th edition collaborating with Albanian musician and spouseMiriam Cani on "Ende ka shpresë".[15][16] In November 2012, the singer won the 14th edition ofKënga Magjike with the song "Refuzoj".[17][18] From 2012 and 2015, he has been a juror forTelevizioni Klan'sX Factor Albania show.[19][20] In November 2014, the singer presented a concert at thePallati i Kongreseve in Tirana to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his music career.[21]
Skënderaj's first number-one single, "Une dhe ti", was released in February 2016.[22][23] He released his first live studio album,Tingujt e ditarit tim, in April 2016.[24] "Kam nëvoje", his follow-up single featuring Kosovo-Albanian rapper Elinel, also went on to reach number one in Albania in May 2016.[25] In June 2016, he was honored as the male artist of the year at theTop Music Awards.[26] Three subsequent top 10 singles, "Duart lart", "Engjëll" and "Stoli i trëndafilave", were released in the course of that year.[27][28][29] As of 2017, Skënderaj served as a coach on the sixth season ofTop Channel'sThe Voice of Albania.[30][31] In June 2017, the singer held a concert to further promote his first live studio album,Tingujt e ditarit tim, at the gardens of theNational Library of Kosovo inPristina.[32] Another pair of top 10 singles in Albania, "Dikur", "1000 premtime", "Nuk je vetëm" and "Dhurata", followed throughout 2017.[33][34][35][36] The track, "Dhurata" in collaboration with Miriam Cani, was dedicated to their daughter Ameli, which peaked atop the Albanian Top 100 chart.[37][38] Released in 2016, "Une dhe ti" was named as the song of the year at the 2017 Kult Awards in December 2017.[39]
Skënderaj's chart appearance ensued into May 2018 with the single "Ping Pong" featuring Kosovo-Albanian rapperMC Kresha, which became a top three single in Albania.[40] Another charting collaboration titled "Deja vu" with Albanian singerYoung Zerka followed in June 2018.[41] The follow-up "Lea" became a number-one single in September 2018 and "Nëntor, 26" experienced similar success on its release.[42][43]Hapësira e një ëndrre, Skënderaj's second live studio album, was premiered in October 2018.[44] Three subsequent top 10 singles, "Plagë në gjysmëshpirt", "Drejt në zemër" and "Duamë", were released in 2019. Released to positive response, the music video of "Duamë" comprises footage from Skënderaj's marriage ceremony in the Maldives.
After a music collaboration proposed by Cani's father, Skënderaj started a relationship with Albanian singerMiriam Cani in 2007.[45] On 28 November 2015, Cani gave birth to a daughter, Ameli Skënderaj.[46][47] In June 2019, Skënderaj presented a concert as part of hisHapësira e një ëndrre event inPristina, Kosovo, at which both Cani and Skënderaj performed "Dhurata" and started the performance by revealing she was pregnant.[48] Their son Duam was born on 14 January 2020.[49]
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