Albania debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been responsible for the selection process of their participants since their debut.
The nation's first representative was Igzidora Gjeta in 2012 with the song "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju" in, which achieved a score of thirty-five points, finishing in twelfth place out of twelve participating entries. The country was subsequently absent in 2013 and 2014. Albania returned to the contest in 2015, when Mishela Rapo represented them with the song "Dambaje", achieving ninety-three points and finishing in fifth place out of seventeen participating countries; this remains the country's best score to date. Albania subsequently competed every year until 2020, when they had their first absence from the contest in six years after withdrawing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] However, on 18 August 2021, RTSH announced that they would return to the contest in 2021.[2] The country has participated in every contest since.
History
Mishela Rapo at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, in
Sofia, Bulgaria
Efi Gjika at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in
Minsk, Belarus
In 2005, Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) broadcast that year's contest in Hasselt. On 14 August 2012, RTSH announced that they would be making their Junior Eurovision debut at the 2012 contest in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 1 December 2012.[3] The mechanism used at the time in order to select their representative was a national pre-selection show entitled Junior Fest Albania 2012.[4] It consisted of a televised production in which the participants voted for each other, giving one, two, or three points to each other with no jury or public vote.[5] Child-singer, Igzidora Gjeta, was the first participant to represent Albania with the song "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju",[6] which finished in twelfth place achieving a score of thirty-five points. This was Albania's worst result in their contest history.[7]
On 27 September 2013, RTSH announced that their withdrawal from the 2013 contest, with the EBU stating that the withdrawal was due to financial and organisational issues.[8] Albania continued to be absent from the contest in 2014,[9] and it was not until 13 March 2015 that RTSH announced their return to the competition.[10] The national selection show which was organised in order to select the 2015 participant was entitled Festivali i Këngës për Femije, and was won by Mishela Rapo with the song "Dambaje".[11] At the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, Rapo finished in fifth place, achieving ninety-three points and their best result to date.[12]
On 1 June 2016, Klesta Qehaja won the Festivali i Këngës për Femije with the song "Besoj", earning the right to represent Albania at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Valletta. She received thirty-eight points, therefore finishing thirteenth out of seventeen participating countries.[13] Albania went on to appear at every Junior Eurovision Song Contest until 2020.
Following a brief withdrawal from the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RTSH returned to competing in 2021, with Anna Gjebrea placing fourteenth out of nineteen with "Stand By You".[14] On 16 July 2022, RTSH confirmed it would participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia.[15] The broadcaster organised Junior Fest to select the Albanian entry for the fifth time, resulting in the selection of Kejtlin Gjata with the song "Pakëz diell".[16] Gjata placed twelfth at the contest with 94 points. On 5 July 2023, RTSH confirmed that the Albanian representative for the 2023 contest in Nice, France would be chosen via the national selection competition Junior Fest 2023.[17][18] Bojken Lako was named as the creative director for the competition, which was to undergo changes as compared to previous years.[17] Viola Gjyzeli was ultimately selected to be the Albanian representative with the song "Bota ime". At the contest, Albania achieved its second best result in history, placing eighth overall with 115 points points and fifth with the professional juries. This also marked the first Albanian entry in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to receive more than 100 points.
For the most recent participation see
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