Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria, with the song "I'm Alive" performed by Elhaida Dani. Dani was chosen through the national selection competition, Festivali i Këngës, organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2014. Dani emerged as the winner of contest with the song "Diell"; however the song withdrawn as the Albanian entry at the request of one of the song's songwriters and replaced with "I'm Alive". Prior to the 2015 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 11 times since its first entry in 2004.
"I'm Alive" was promoted by a music video and live performances in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in the lead up to the contest. Albania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 May 2015. Performing 14th, the nation was among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final. In the final on 23 May, the entry was performed 26th and placed 17th out of the 27 finalists.
Prior to the 2015 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 11 times since its first entry in 2004. Its first entry was the song "The Image of You" performed by Anjeza Shahini, which finished in seventh place, the nation's second-highest placing as of 2023. The country's highest placing by 2015 had been fifth, which it achieved in 2012 with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu. Albania had previously failed to qualify for the final four times, most recently in 2014.[1]
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) was the Albanian broadcaster for the 2015 contest and was tasked with organising the selection process for its entry.[2] The Albanian contest Festivali i Këngës, which has been held every year since 1964, was once again used to select the entry, as had been customary since the nation's contest debut in 2004.[2] Details regarding the 53rd edition ofFestivali i Këngës were announced on 12 September 2014, however the Albanian broadcaster formally confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 on 1 November 2014.[3][4]
The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës with the objective of determining the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[5] The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December, respectively, and the final on 28 December 2014.[5] The three live shows were held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana and hosted by Floriana Garo, Turjan Hyska and Liberta Spahiu.[5][6] Shpetim Saraçi assumed the position of artistic director, while Bledar Laço directed the contest.[7] Mira Tuci was responsible for the screenplay and the music production was led by Alfred Kaçinari and Edmond Zhulali.[7]
Competing entries
RTSH invited interested artists and composers to submit their entries between 14 and 15 October 2014. All songs were required to be in the Albanian language, all performers were required to be at least 16 years of age, and singers and composers could only submit one song while lyricists could only submit two songs.[8] The broadcaster received approximately 50 submissions. On 30 October 2014, RTSH announced the thirty artists and songs selected for the competition by a special committee.[9] Three entries were later withdrawn: "Më shiko drejt në sy" written by Andos Sinani and to have been performed by Andos Sinani, "Koha kalon" written by Besa Krasniqi and to have been performed by Besa Krasniqi and "Kënga jeta jonë" written by Enver Shëngjergji and Ylli Mestani and to have been performed by Kozma Dushi. "Kjo natë" performed by Estela Brahimllari was named as the only replacement entry.[10]
The two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 26 December and 27 December 2014 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET).[12][13] In each semi-final, a total of 13 songs competed, of which nine entries selected by a jury advanced to the final.[14][15][16]
The final of Festivali i Këngës took place on 28 December 2014 and was broadcast at 20:45 (CET).[17] The jury, consisting of Fatos Baxhaku, Genc Dashi, Agim Doçi, Alida Hisku, Rona Nishliu, Evi Reçi and David Tukiçi, determined Elhaida Dani as the winner of the contest for the song "Diell".[18][19]
On 23 February 2015, Dani announced the withdrawal of "Diell" in a social media statement, attributing the decision to one of its authors, Aldo Shllaku, who revoked permission for its usage.[20] Martin Leka, the director of RTSH, explained that Shllaku declined to transfer the rights to the song to the broadcaster, citing his exclusion from subsequent involvement despite the song's success at Festivali i Këngës.[21][22] This prompted Dani to reconfirm her agreement with the broadcaster to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest, though with a different song.[22] Subsequently, on 24 February, it was revealed that Dani would perform "I'm Alive", a song composed at the contest in collaboration with Sokol Marsi and Albanian producers Zzap & Chriss.[23][24]
Promotion
A music video for "I'm Alive" debuted on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 15 March 2015 at 20:30 (CET).[25] As part of promotional efforts, both an Albanian-language rendition and an acoustic version were released on the same platform in May 2015.[26][27] Preceding the scheduled live shows, Dani engaged in a tour between March and April. This included participation as one of 24 entries of 2015 in the Eurovision in Concert series in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 18 April,[28] as well as performing at the London Eurovision Party.[29]
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria; it consisted of two semi-finals held on 19 and 21 May and the final on 23 May 2015.[30] 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, with the top 10 countries from each semi-final progressing to the final.[31][32] In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[33] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous 10 years.[34] On 26 January 2015, an allocation draw was held that placed each nation into one of the two semi-finals and determined which half of the show they would perform in.[35] Therein, it was announced that Albania was scheduled to perform in the second half of the first semi-final of the contest.[35]
Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other.[36] Albania was set to perform at position 14, succeeding Denmark and preceding Romania.[36] All three shows were broadcast in Albania on TVSH, RTSH HD, RTSH Muzikë and Radio Tirana with commentary by Andri Xhahu.[37]
Preceding the first semi-final, Dani participated in technical rehearsals held on 12 and 15 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May.[38][39] These also included the jury final, during which professional juries from each country, responsible for 50 percent of their respective votes, observed and evaluated the entries.[40] The stage show featured Elhaida Dani dressed in a black costume with an attached cape that had embedded crystals. Dani delivered the song from the centre of the stage while three female backing vocalists were set to her side, dressed in black outfits. The stage lighting created a dark atmosphere with the background LED screens displaying moving rays and shapes in yellow and cream colours.[38][39]
Albania's advancement to the final was announced after the semi-final show, with the country securing a place in the top ten.[41] Immediately after the first semi-final, a winner's press conference convened for the ten countries that qualified, allowing their artists to participate in a draw determining their performance segment in the final.[42] Albania was designated to compete in the second half.[43] Following this draw, the show's producers, akin to their role in the semi-finals, arranged the running order for the final; Albania was positioned to perform in position 26, succeeding Russia and preceding Italy.[44] At the 23 May final, the nation placed 17th out of the 27 finalists with 34 points.[45]
Voting during the three live shows of the Eurovision Song Contest consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation.[46] The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represented, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency.[46] This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on vocal capacity, the stage performance, the song's composition and originality, and the overall impression of the act.[46] In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they could not vote impartially and independently.[46] After the final, the individual rankings of each jury member were released.[47] During the first semi-final, Albania achieved the eighth place in the televote, with 66 points, and ninth place in the jury vote, with 61 points.[48] In the final, Albania was ninth place in the televote, with 93 points, and 26th in the jury vote, with four points.[49]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Albania and awarded by Albania in the first semi-final and final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
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