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)	Genti Lako Jorgo Papingji
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Failed to qualify (15th)
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

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. Up until this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2004.

"One Night's Anger" 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 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. The nation placed 15th in the semi-finals with 22 points.

Background[edit]

Prior to the 2014 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten 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 three times, most recently in 2013.^[1] Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) was the Albanian broadcaster for the 2014 contest and was tasked with organising the selection process for its entry: Festivali i Këngës.^[2]

Before Eurovision[edit]

Festivali i Këngës[edit]

The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 52nd edition of Festivali i Këngës with the aim of determining 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 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]

Competing entries[edit]

From 8 and 9 October 2013, interested artists were able to submit their entries to RTSH.^[4] The broadcaster received approximately 40 submissions. On 4 November 2013, RTSH announced the 16 artists and songs selected for the competition by a special committee.^[5] "Jeta në orën 4" performed by Orges Toçe was later withdrawn and replaced by "Jehona" performed by NA.^[6]

Key:   Withdrawn   Replacement entry

Shows[edit]

Semi-finals[edit]

The two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 26 December and 27 December 2013 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET).^[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.^[6]

Final[edit]

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, and Hajg Zaharian, determined Hersiana Matmuja as the winner of the contest for the song "Zemërimi i një nate".^[12]

Key:   Winner   Second place   Third place

Preparation and promotion[edit]

Following "Zemërimi i një nate"'s win, the song was revamped and released in English as "One Night's Anger" for its Eurovision participation. A music video for the song premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 16 March 2014 alongside the premiere of the new version.^[14][15] For promotional purposes, Matmuja embarked on a small tour with live performances at various events related to the contest in Hungary, Montenegro, the Netherlands and San Marino.^[16][17][18]

At Eurovision[edit]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 took place at B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark; it consisted of two semi-finals held on 6 and 8 May, respectively, and the final on 10 May 2014.^[19] 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 the each semi-final progressing to the final.^[20][21] 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.^[22] 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.^[22]

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.^[23] The contest was broadcast within Albania on the RTSH network, with Andri Xhahu providing commentary, a role he also performed during the previous year's contest.^[24]

Performances[edit]

Hersi took part in technical rehearsals on 28 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 5 and 6 May.^[25] 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.^[26] At the end of the first semi-final, the country was not 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][27] When the results were revealed, Albania placed 15th with 22 points, including the top 12 points from Montenegro.^[28]

Voting[edit]

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 were citizens of the country they represented. This jury judged each entry based on vocal capacity; 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 could not vote impartially and independently.^[20] The nation awarded its 12 points to Montenegro in the first semi-final and Spain in the final.^[28][29] Xhahu was the Albanian spokesperson who announced the country's voting results during the shows.^[24][30]

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.

Points awarded to Albania[edit]

Points awarded to Albania (Semi-final 1)[28] Score Country 12 points  Montenegro 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points  San Marino 4 points 3 points 2 points  Belgium  Denmark 1 point  Netherlands Points awarded by Albania[edit] Points awarded by Albania (Semi-final 1)[28] Score Country 12 points  Montenegro 10 points  Hungary 8 points  San Marino 7 points  Azerbaijan 6 points  Sweden 5 points  Armenia 4 points  Moldova 3 points  Ukraine 2 points  Netherlands 1 point  Portugal Points awarded by Albania (Final)[29] Score Country 12 points  Spain 10 points  Italy 8 points  Hungary 7 points  Sweden 6 points  Montenegro 5 points  Austria 4 points  Germany 3 points  San Marino 2 points  Greece 1 point  Malta Detailed voting results[edit] The following members comprised the Albanian jury:[31] Edmond Zhulali (jury chairperson) Alfred Kacinari Jetmir Barbullushi Mira Tuci Engjëll Ndocaj Detailed voting results from Albania (Semi-final 1)[32] Draw Country E. Zhulali A. Kacinari J. Barbullushi M. Tuci E. Ndocaj Jury Rank 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 Detailed voting results from Albania (Final)[33] Draw Country E. Zhulali A. Kacinari J. Barbullushi M. Tuci E. Ndocaj Jury Rank 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[edit] ^ a b "Countries: Albania". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021. ^ "All about Albania". Eurovision.tv. 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