Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
| Eurovision Song Contest 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Albania | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Festivali i Këngës 52 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 26 December 2013 27 December 2013 Final: 28 December 2013 | |||
| Selected entrant | Hersi | |||
| Selected song | "One Night's Anger" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (15th, 22 points) | |||
| Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
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. Prior to the contest, the song was promoted by a music video and several live performances across Europe. Albania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 6 May 2014. Performing as number 6th, the nation was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the final, marking Albania's fifth non-qualification in the contest.
Background
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 three times, with the 2013 entry being the most recent non-qualifier.[2]
Before Eurovision
Festivali i Këngës
The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 52nd edition of Festivali i Këngës with the aim to determine the country's participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.[3] The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December, respectively, and the grand final on 28 December 2013.[3] The three live shows were held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana and hosted by Albanian journalist Enkel Demi, with models Xhesika Berberi and Marinela Meta co-hosting the two semi-finals as well as actress Klea Huta co-hosting the final.[3] From 8 and 9 October 2013, interested artists were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster.[4] However, Orges Toçe withdrew from the contest and was replaced by the band NA.[5]
Contestants
Key: Withdrawn Replacement entry
| Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Besiana Mehmeti and Shkodran Tolaj | "Jam larg" | Vullnet Ibrahimi |
| Blerina Braka | "Mikja ime" | Gramoz Kozeli |
| Edmond Mancaku and Entela Zhula | "Vetëm për ty" |
|
| Frederik Ndoci | "Një ditë shprese" |
|
| Hersiana Matmuja | "Zemërimi i një nate" |
|
| Klodian Kaçani | "Me ty" |
|
| Luiz Ejlli | "Kthehu" |
|
| Lynx | "Princesha" | Lynx |
| Marjeta Billo | "Ti mungon" |
|
| NA | "Jehona" | Enis Mullaj |
| Orges Toçe | "Ne mes" | Orges Toçe |
| Renis Gjoka | "Mjegulla" |
|
| Rezarta Smaja | "Në zemër" | Sokol Marsi |
| Sajmir Braho | "Grua" |
|
| Venera Lumani and Lindi Islami | "Natë e pare" |
|
| Xhejn and Enxhi Kumrija | "Kur qielli qan" |
|
| Xhejsi Jorgaqi | "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra" | Xhejsi Jorgaqi |
Shows
Semi-finals
The two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 26 December and 27 December 2013 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET) on the respective dates.[7][8] In each of the semi-finals, the contestants performed their entries alongside another Albanian artist, singing a past entry from Festivali i Këngës.[5]
Final
The final of Festivali i Këngës took place on 28 December 2013 and was broadcast at 20:45 (CET).[11] Italian-Albanian singer Elhaida Dani and Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, were the interval acts of the final.[12] The jury, consisting of Agim Krajka, Bojken Lako, Aleksander Lalo, Petrit Malaj, Erjona Rushiti, Xhevahir Spahiu, Hajg Zaharian, determined Hersiana Matmuja as the winner of the contest with the song "Zemërimi i një nate".[12]
Key: Winner Second place Third place
| Draw | Artist(s) | Song | Results[13] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Place | ||||
1
|
Hersiana Matmuja | "Zemërimi i një nate" | 69 | 1 | |
2
|
Besiana Mehmeti and Shkodran Tolaj | "Jam larg" | 12 | 13 | |
3
|
Luiz Ejlli | "Kthehu" | 20 | 10 | |
4
|
Frederik Ndoci | "Një ditë shprese" | 33 | 5 | |
5
|
NA | "Jehona" | 25 | 7 | |
6
|
Klodian Kaçani | "Me ty" | 45 | 2 | |
7
|
Venera Lumani and Lindi Islami | "Natë e pare" | 37 | 4 | |
8
|
Blerina Braka | "Mikja ime" | 16 | 12 | |
9
|
Xhejsi Jorgaqi | "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra" | 0 | 16 | |
10
|
Xhejn and Enxhi Kumrija | "Kur qielli qan" | 28 | 6 | |
11
|
Lynx | "Princesha" | 6 | 15 | |
12
|
Marjeta Billo | "Ti mungon" | 18 | 11 | |
13
|
Sajmir Braho | "Grua" | 40 | 3 | |
14
|
Rezarta Smaja | "Në zemër" | 25 | 7 | |
15
|
Edmond Mancaku and Entela Zhula | "Vetëm për ty" | 10 | 14 | |
16
|
Renis Gjoka | "Mjegulla" | 22 | 9 | |
Promotion
A music video for "One Night's Anger" premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 16 March 2014.[14] For promotional purposes, Matmuja embarked on a small tour with live performances at various events related to the contest, including in Hungary, Montenegro, the Netherlands and San Marino.[15][16][17]
At Eurovision
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 final on 10 May 2014.[18] 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 final.[19][20] On 20 January 2014, an allocation draw was held at the Copenhagen City Hall in Copenhagen that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in.[21] 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.[21] 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, to prevent similar songs being placed next to each other; Albania was set to perform in position 6, following Iceland and preceding Russia.[22] The contest was broadcast within Albania on the RTSH network, with Andri Xhahu providing commentary, a role he also performed at the prior years contest.[23]
Hersi took part in technical rehearsals on 28 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 5 and 6 May.[24] This included the jury final on 6 May where the professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[25] 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][26]
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12 as determined by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[19] In the first semi-final, Albania placed 15th with 22 points, which included the top 12 points from Montenegro.[27] The nation awarded its 12 points to Montenegro in the first semi-final and Spain in the final.[27][28] Xhahu was the Albanian spokesperson who announced the country's voting results during the shows.[23][29]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to and awarded by Albania in the first semi-final and final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, respectively. The points awarded by Albania in both the first semi-final and the final were based solely on the jury's vote due to an insufficient number of votes cast during the televote period.