Top Fest

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Top Fest was an Albanian music competition organised by Top Channel. It began airing in 2004 with its last edition being in 2015. The event was annually held in Tirana, Albania. [1] The songs were usually performed in Albanian with artists from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and other Albanian-speaking territories. From its 7th edition (2010), the participants performed their entries 100% live. [2]

Contents

Format

Since 2010, the show has been split into three phases. The first phase airs all accepted entries, performing their entries in playback. The second phase is the Semi-Finals, usually split in three shows, where the winners from phase one perform. The qualifiers from the semi-finals perform in the final, usually 10 to 13 acts. The winner is chosen in the Finale-night, usually held in late-May or early-June.

Presenters and directors

The contest has been always held in the Congress Palace of Tirana and the personnel, has varied through the years. Since the first edition of the contes to 2009, the festival was directed by the Rock performer Bojken Lako, also known for his participation in other festivals. From 2010 to the final contest in 2015, the festival was directed by Ergys Lubonja.

The festival has been presented by many prominent personalities. The first presenters were Evis Mula, Arbana Osmani and Alban Dudushi. Since 2006, Ledion Liço presented or co-presented the contest until the last edition.

YearPresentersVenueDirector
2004 Evis Mula, Arbana Osmani & Alban Dudushi Congress Palace of Tirana Bojken Lako
2005 Arbana Osmani, Alban Dudushi
2006 Arbana Osmani, Alban Dudushi, Ledion Liço & Xhemi Shehu
2007 Alban Dudushi, Arbana Osmani & Ledion Liço
2008 Ledion Liço & Arbana Osmani
2009 Ledion Liço & Arbana Osmani
2010 Ledion Liço & Arbana Osmani Ergys Lubonja
2011 Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca
2012 Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca
2013 Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca
2014 Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca
2015 Dojna Mema & Ledion Liço

Winners

The contest has produced many artists, like Alban Skënderaj, Elhaida Dani, and many others, who were established and rose fame after their participation in Top Fest. [3] [4]

YearOriginArtistSongTranslationComposers
2004Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Stine "Lady Lady"–Stine
2005Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Alban Skënderaj "Vetëm ty"Only youAlban Skënderaj
2006Flag of Albania.svg  Albania & Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Alban Skënderaj & Kthjellu"Diçka"Something
2007Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Greta Koçi"Sa më lodhe"You annoyed meGenti Lako & Arben Dusha
2008Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Besa Kokëdhima "Engjëjt vrasin njëlloj"Angels kill the sameOlti Curri
2009Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Linda Halimi "Ëndërroj"I dream Flori Mumajesi
2010Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Eneda Tarifa "Me veten"With myself
2011Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Elvana Gjata "Me ty"With you
2012Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Elhaida Dani "S'je më"You're not anymoreKledi Bahiti
2013Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Samanta Karavella "Loti i fundit"The last teardrop
2014Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Soni Malaj "Me të jeton"It lives with him..Rozana Radi & Gent Myftaraj
2015Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Ermal Fejzullahu, Lumi B & Ledri Vula"Shko"GoBig Bang, Lumi B & Ledri Vula

Trivia

Cancellation

Although the contest was, at first very popular and generated many positive opinions from music experts, because the opportunity for new Albanian talented artists, the organisers of the event, for unspecified reasons, declared that the 12th edition of the festival would be the very last one. The reasons behind the discontinuation of the event remain unknown, however, the falling audiences of the last editions might have determined the end of the festival. [5]

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References

  1. ↑ "Top Fest". nix-music.tv. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11.
  2. ↑ "Top Fest Awards".
  3. ↑ "Samanta Karavello fiton "Top Fest 10"". Shqip. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  4. ↑ ""Top Fest 8", fiton Elvana Gjata me këngën kushtuar "Emmy"-t". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14.
  5. ↑ "Ermal Fejzullahu, Lumi B dhe Ledri Vula fitojnë "Top Fest 12"". MALESIA.ORG. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
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