Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since its debut in 2004. Festivali i Këngës, a long-standing song contest that takes place every year in Albania since 1962, is used to select the country's entrant for that year's Eurovision Song Contest. Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2004 with Anjeza Shahini placing seventh. It remained the country's highest result in the contest until 2012, when Rona Nishliu finished fifth.
Al Bano and Romina Power are an Italian-American pop music duo formed in 1975 by then-married couple Italian tenor Albano Carrisi and American singer Romina Power, the daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power. They have recorded over 22 albums, which have sold in 150 million copies across six decades. Their best known international hits include "Felicità", "Sharazan", "Tu, soltanto tu ", "Ci sarà", "Sempre sempre", and "Libertà!". They participated twice in Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 and 1985 and performed five times at Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1984 with the song "Ci sarà". The couple also shot seven films, based on their songs, between 1967 and 1984. The two separated in 1999 and divorced in 2012, but reunited professionally in 2013.
Albano Antonio Carrisi, better known as Al Bano, is an Italian tenor and actor. Having sold over 25 million records globally and career spanning seven decades, he is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world. He has gained worldwide notability due to his four and a half octave vocal range as well as his personal and professional association with Romina Power, daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power, lasting until the 1990s. Carrisi is acclaimed for singing with operatic affinity in pop, rock and italo disco repertoires with extensive head voice and minimal usage of falsetto vocal register. As of 2023, he has participated in 15 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival, tying the record for most participations with Anna Oxa, Milva, Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno; this includes a victory in 1984 duetting with Power. He additionally took part in the Sanremo Giovani selection in 1965.
Maria Ilva Biolcati, OMRI, known as Milva, was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as La Rossa, due to the characteristic colour of her hair, and additionally as La Pantera di Goro, which stemmed from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female singers of the 1960s, combining the names of animals and the singers' birthplaces. The colour also characterised her leftist political beliefs, claimed in numerous statements. Popular in Italy and abroad, she performed on musical and theatrical stages the world over, and received popular acclaim in her native Italy, and particularly in Germany and Japan, where she often participated in musical events and televised musical programmes. She released numerous albums in France, Japan, Korea, Greece, Spain, and South America.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, with the song "Hear My Plea" performed by Frederik Ndoci and Aida Ndoci. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2006. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in 2004. Due to the non-top 11 result in the previous contest, Albania was drawn to compete in the semi-final of the contest, which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing as number 11, the nation was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the grand final, marking Albania's second non-qualification in the contest.
"Hear My Plea" is a song by Albanian singer and songwriter Frederik Ndoci. It was issued as part of a CD compilation on 20 April 2007 by CMC Records. The English-language song was written by Pandi Laço and composed by Adrian Hila. "Hear My Plea" represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, after Ndoci won the pre-selection competition, Festivali i Këngës 45, with the song's Albanian-language version "Balada e Gurit". The country failed to qualify for the grand final in 17th place, marking its second non-qualification in the contest. During his dark-themed show of the song, Ndoci was accompanied by an instrumentalist and four backing vocalists. An accompanying music video for the song premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 5 April 2007.
Festivali i Këngës në RTSH, commonly known as Festivali i Këngës and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined the country's representative to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
Elsa Lila is an Albanian singer.
Adrian Gaxha is a Macedonian-Albanian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and entrepreneur.
Miriam Cani is an Albanian singer and television host. She was a member of the successful German pop girl group Preluders. Beyond her music career, Cani has been featured as a judge on the Albanian television talent competition series The X Factor Albania, The Voice of Albania and The Voice Kids Albania.
Rosela Gjylbegu is an Albanian singer who won Kënga Magjike in 2009.
Alban Skënderaj is an Albanian singer. Born in Lushnjë and raised in Vlorë, 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 series The X Factor Albania and The Voice of Albania.
X Factor is an Albanian television music competition to find new singing talents. The first season began on 8 January 2012 on TV Klan.
Pandi Laço is an Albanian journalist, songwriter, presenter and scenarist. He is mostly known for his work on Albanian Eurovision songs, of which he wrote several. Pandi has worked with notable Albanian artists, including Frederik Ndoci. He hosted Festivali i Këngës in 2015. Laço started his own show called "Histori me zhurmues", a show for Albanian history in film and music.
Altuna Sejdiu, also known professionally as Tuna, is a Macedonian-Albanian singer and songwriter.
"L'essenziale" is a song by Italian singer Marco Mengoni and the lead single from his second studio album, #prontoacorrere (2013). Released in Italy on 13 February 2013, the song was written by Roberto Casalino, Francesco De Benedettis, and Mengoni, and produced by Michele Canova. Casalino described the song as an Italian-style ballad that is about the necessity of essentiality.
Hersjana Matmuja, also known as Hersi Matmuja or simply Hersi, is an Albanian singer and songwriter. After winning the 52nd edition of Festivali i Këngës, she represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.
Eugent Bushpepa, also known by his alternative name Gent Bushpepa, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and composer. Regarded as one of the most popular modern rock musicians in the Albanian-speaking world, he is noted for his vocal range, vocal power, high-energy live performances, and is also recognised as an accomplished guitarist.
Arilena Ara is an Albanian singer and television presenter. Ara rose to national recognition in Albania, upon her victory at X Factor Albania in 2013. After her participation in the 18th edition of the music contest Kënga Magjike, her song "Nëntori" found significant success in Romania and Eastern Europe, peaking at number-one in the Romanian Airplay chart. Following her forthcoming success at the 58th edition of the music contest Festivali i Këngës in 2019, she was designated as the Albanian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, before the contest's cancellation.
Rezarta Smaja is an Albanian singer.
