Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the song "One Night's Anger" performed by Hersi. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2013. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2004.

Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country Albania
National selection
Selection processFestivali i Këngës 52
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
26 December 2013
27 December 2013
Final:
28 December 2013
Selected entrantHersi
Selected song"One Night's Anger"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Gentian Lako
  • Jorgo Papingji
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (15th, 22 points)
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

Background
Main article: Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2014 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2004.[1] The country's highest placing in the contest, to this point, had been the fifth place, which it achieved in 2012 with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu.[1] The first entry was performed by Anjeza Shahini with the song "The Image of You" and finished in the seventh place, the nation's second-highest placing to date.[1] During its tenure in the contest, Albania failed to qualify for the final four times, with the 2013 entry being the most recent non-qualifier.[1]

Before Eurovision

Festivali i Këngës

Festivali i Këngës 52 was the 52th annual edition of the Albanian music competition Festivali i Këngës and the eleventh time the competition was used to determine the artist and song that would represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest, this time selecting their 2014 contest entry. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December 2013 and a final on 28 December 2013, held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana.[2][3] Enkel Demi hosted all three shows with Xhesika Berberi and Marinela Meta co-hosting the two semi-finals and Klea Huta co-hosting the final.[4]

The two semi-finals each featured eight artists performing their competing entries a duet of a past competing entry from Festivali i Këngës with another Albanian artist.[5] In the final, the sixteen competing entries were voted upon by a jury panel in order to select the winner. The seven-person jury panel consisted of:[6]

  • Agim Krajka – composer
  • Aleksandër Lalo – composer
  • Haig Zacharian – composer
  • Xhevahir Spahiu – writer
  • Petrit Malaj – actor
  • Eriona Rushiti – musicologist
  • Bojken Lako – singer

Competing entries

RTSH invited interested artists and composers to submit their entries on 8, 9 and 22 October 2013.[7] The broadcaster received approximately 40 submissions. On 4 November 2013, RTSH announced the sixteen artists and songs selected for the competition by a special committee.[8] One entry was later withdrawn: "Jeta në orën 4" performed by Orges Toçe. "Jehona" performed by NA was named as the replacement entry.

Artist(s) Song Composer Lyricist
Besiana Mehmeti & Shkodran Tolaj "Jam larg" Vullnet Ibrahimi
Blerina Braka "Mikja ime" Gramoz Kozeli
Edmond Mancaku & Entela Zhula "Vetëm për ty" Edmond Mancaku Alma Meraj
Frederik Ndoci "Një ditë shprese" Frederik Ndoci Agim Doçi
Hersiana Matmuja "Zemërimi i një nate" Genti Lako Jorgo Papingji
Klodian Kaçani "Me ty" Klodian Qafoku Florian Zyka
Luiz Ejlli "Kthehu" Marjan Deda Sokol Marsi
Lynx "Princesha" Lynx
Marjeta Billo "Ti mungon" Lambert Jorganxhi Florian Zyka
NA "Jehona" Enis Mullaj
Orges Toçe "Ne mes" Orges Toçe
Renis Gjoka "Mjegulla" Renis Gjoka Edmond Tupe
Rezarta Smaja "Në zemër" Sokol Marsi
Sajmir Braho "Grua" Endri Sina Sajmir Braho
Venera Lumani & Lindi Islami "Natë e pare" Endrit Shani Olti Curri
Xhejn & Enxhi Kumrija "Kur qielli qan" Xhejn Kumrija Enxhi Kumrija
Xhejsi Jorgaqi "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra" Xhejsi Jorgaqi
Semi-finals

The semi-finals took place on 26 December 2013. The interval acts for the first semi-final included 2013 Albanian Eurovision Song Contest entrants Adrian Lulgjuraj and Bledar Sejko. The second semi-final took place on 27 December 2013. The interval act for the second semi-final included the RTSH orchestra performing the Festivali I Këngës 1 winning song "Fëmija i parë".

Final

The final took place on 28 December 2013. Sixteen entries competed. At the conclusion of the show, as voted upon by a seven-member jury panel who each awarded points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12 to their top ten songs, "Zemërimi i një nate" performed by Hersiana Matmuja was selected as the winner.[11] The interval acts for the final included Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest and The Voice of Italy winner Elhaida Dani.[12]

Final – 28 December 2013
Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 Hersiana Matmuja "Zemërimi i një nate"691
2 Besiana Mehmeti & Shkodran Tolaj "Jam larg"1213
3 Luiz Ejlli "Kthehu"2010
4 Frederik Ndoci "Një ditë shprese"335
5 NA "Jehona"257
6 Klodian Kaçani "Me ty"452
7 Venera Lumani & Lindi Islami "Natë e pare"374
8 Blerina Braka "Mikja ime"1612
9 Xhejsi Jorgaqi "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra"016
10 Xhejn & Enxhi Kumrija "Kur qielli qan"286
11 Lynx "Princesha"615
12 Marjeta Billo "Ti mungon"1811
13 Sajmir Braho "Grua"403
14 Rezarta Smaja "Në zemër"257
15 Edmond Mancaku & Entela Zhula "Vetëm për ty"1014
16 Renis Gjoka "Mjegulla"229

At Eurovision
Hersi performing during the dress rehearsal of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 took place at B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark, and consisted of two semi-finals held on 6 and 8 May, respectively, and the grand final on 10 May 2014.[13] According to the Eurovision rules, all participating countries, apart from the host nation and the "Big Five", 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 final, although the top 10 countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final.[14]

On 20 January 2014, a special allocation draw was held at the Copenhagen City Hall in Copenhagen that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.[15] Albania was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 6 May, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[15] Once all the competing songs for the contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the producers of the contest rather than through another draw, for preventing similar songs being placed next to each other; Albania was set to perform in position 6, following Iceland and preceding Russia.[16] At the end of the first semi-final, the country was not announced among the top 10 entries and therefore failed to qualify for the final, marking Albania's fifth non-qualification in the Eurovision Song Contest.[1]

Voting

The tables below visualise a breakdown of points awarded to Albania in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, as well as by the country for both the first semi-final and grand final.

Points awarded to Albania
Points awarded to Albania (Semi-final 1)
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:[17]

  • Edmond Zhulali – Chairperson – composer/producer
  • Alfred Kacinari – composer/producer
  • Jetmir Barbullushi – composer, conductor, musician
  • Mira Tuci – journalist for art and culture
  • Engjell Ndocaj – journalist, producer, director

Semi-final 1

The Albanian votes in the first semi-final were based on 100% jury voting due to either technical issues with the televoting or an insufficient number of votes cast during the televote period.[18]

Semi-final 1 – Albanian Results
Draw Country E. Zhulali A. Kacinari J. Barbullushi M. Tuci E. Ndocaj Average Jury Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Armenia 4 5 11 1 14 6 5
02  Latvia 12 10 10 15 10 13
03  Estonia 14 12 7 13 9 12
04  Sweden 3 4 5 5 7 5 6
05  Iceland 13 15 13 14 11 15
06  Albania
07  Russia 15 13 15 7 13 14
08  Azerbaijan 7 6 4 2 3 4 7
09  Ukraine 8 8 12 10 6 8 3
10  Belgium 10 14 8 9 12 11
11  Moldova 9 7 6 12 8 7 4
12  San Marino 6 3 3 8 2 3 8
13  Portugal 11 11 14 11 5 10 1
14  Netherlands 5 9 9 6 15 9 2
15  Montenegro 2 2 1 4 1 1 12
16  Hungary 1 1 2 3 4 2 10

Final

The Albanian votes in the final were based on 100% jury voting due to either technical issues with the televoting or an insufficient number of votes cast during the televote period.[19]

Final – Albanian Results
Draw Country E. Zhulali A. Kacinari J. Barbullushi M. Tuci E. Ndocaj Average Jury Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Ukraine 15 17 17 24 13 19
02  Belarus 18 8 26 25 22 23
03  Azerbaijan 12 14 16 7 26 15
04  Iceland 24 26 18 26 14 24
05  Norway 23 19 19 18 15 20
06  Romania 22 16 9 14 16 16
07  Armenia 9 13 20 6 25 13
08  Montenegro 6 10 5 5 3 5 6
09  Poland 14 18 21 23 23 22
10  Greece 3 22 15 15 2 9 2
11  Austria 11 6 4 4 6 6 5
12  Germany 7 2 8 8 17 7 4
13  Sweden 1 12 1 1 9 4 7
14  France 17 5 22 22 7 12
15  Russia 26 25 25 16 18 25
16  Italy 2 3 3 9 1 2 10
17  Slovenia 13 15 14 13 19 14
18  Finland 16 9 13 19 24 17
19  Spain 4 1 6 2 4 1 12
20   Switzerland 25 24 23 20 20 26
21  Hungary 5 4 2 3 5 3 8
22  Malta 8 23 7 17 8 10 1
23  Denmark 20 21 24 21 11 21
24  Netherlands 19 20 12 11 21 18
25  San Marino 10 11 10 10 10 8 3
26  United Kingdom 21 7 11 12 12 11

References
  1. "Countries: Albania". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. Brey, Marco (4 November 2013). "Albania: Dates and line-up for national selection confirmed". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. "Festivali i Këngës në RTSH, edicionin e 52-të vetëm 16 këngë konkurente" (in Albanian). Agjencia Kombëtare e Lajmeve NOA. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  4. Sahiti, Gafurr (19 December 2013). "Albania: 3 new Festivali i Këngës hosts announced". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. Qendro, Helio (4 November 2013). "Albania: Dates change and 16 competing acts revealed". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  6. "Zbulohet juria dhe drejtuesit e festivalit të Këngës në RTSH" (in Albanian). Agjencia Kombëtare e Lajmeve NOA. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  7. Sahiti, Gafurr (14 September 2013). "Albania: RTSH calls for songs, deadline 9th of October". Esctoday. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. "Krijimet në konkurim" (in Albanian). Radio Televizioni Shqiptar. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  9. "Nis edicioni i 52 i Festivalit të Këngës në RTSH, të gjitha këngët në garë!" (in Albanian). 77news.al. 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  10. "Sonte nata e parë e Festivalit në RTSH. Këngët dhe konkurrentët pjesëmarrës" (in Albanian). Republika. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  11. Omelyanchuk, Olena (28 December 2013). "Hersi Matmuja wins Festivali i Këngës!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  12. Mile, Alma (13 December 2013). "Fituesja e Eurosong 2013, kumbarja e Festivalit në RTSH" (in Albanian). Gazeta Panorama ONLINE. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  13. "Eurovision Song Contest–Copenhagen 2014". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  14. "Eurovision Song Contest–Rules". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  15. Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  16. Siim, Jarmo (24 March 2014). "Running order for Eurovision Semi-Finals decided". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  17. Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  18. "Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 First Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  19. "Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.