Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song "Fairytale" performed by Eneda Tarifa. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2015. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve 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 second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing as number 17th, the nation was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the final, marking Albania's sixth non-qualification in the contest.
Prior to the 2016 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve 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 2014 entry being the most recent non-qualifier.[1] The Albanian broadcaster for the 2016 Contest, who broadcast the event in Albania and organised the selection process for its entry, was Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH).[2] The Albanian contest Festivali i Këngës has been organised every year since 1964 and has been used as the country's selection method since its debut in 2004.[2]
Before Eurovision
Festivali i Këngës
The national broadcaster of Albania, RTSH, organised the 54th edition of Festivali i Këngës with the objective to determine the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.[3][4] The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 25 and 26 December, respectively, and the grand final on 27 December 2015.[3] The three live shows were held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana and hosted by Blerta Tafani and Pandi Laço.[5] The contest featured Laço as the screenwriter and Elton Deda as the artistic director.[5][6] From 29 to 30 September 2015, interested singers and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster.[7][8] On 16 October, a provisional list of 30 artists selected to compete in the semi-finals of the contest was unveiled.[3] However, Edea Demaliaj withdrew from the contest and was replaced by the Orgesa Zaimi.[9]
The two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 25 December and 26 December 2015 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET) on the respective dates.[10] In each semi-final, a total of 15 songs competed of which 11 entries in each semi-final, selected by a jury, advanced to the final.[5][11][12]
The final of Festivali i Këngës took place on 27 December 2015 and was broadcast at 20:45 (CET).[11] A jury determined Eneda Tarifa as the winner of the contest with the song "Përrallë".[13][14]
A music video for "Fairytale" was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 13 March 2016.[15][16] For further promotion, Tarifa embarked on a small tour with live performances at various Eurovision Song Contest-related events, including in Amsterdam, London and Tel Aviv.[17][18][19][20]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 took place at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on 10 and 12 May, respectively, and the finalon 14 May 2016.[21] According to the rules, all participating countries, apart from the host nation and the "Big 5", 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 grand final, although the top 10 countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final of the contest.[22] On 26 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held at the City Hall of Stockholm that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.[23] Albania was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[23] Once all the competing songs for the 2016 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 at position 18, following Georgia and preceding Belgium.[24] However, the nation's performing position shifted to 17, following Romania's disqualification from the contest on 22 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final.[25] At the end of the first semi-final, the country was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the grand final, marking Albania's sixth non-qualification in the Eurovision Song Contest.[1][26] It was later revealed that Albania placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 45 points: 35 points from the televoting and 10 points from the juries.[27]
Voting during the three live shows of the Eurovision Song Contest was conducted under a new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting.[28] Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency.[28] 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.[28][29] 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.[28] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[28]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Albania and awarded by Albania in the second semi-final and final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Albania
