Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 – Participation

Albania was represented by Anjeza Shahini and the song “The Image of You”. The Albanian National Final “Festivali i Këngës” took place on December 18, 19, and 20th, 2003 at the Palace of Congress in Tirana, hosted by Adi Krasta and Ledina Çelo. Twenty-nine songs were presented in the Albanian language and divided into two semi-finals. Eleven songs from the first semi-final and seven songs from the second semi-final qualified for the competition on December 20. Out of the eighteen songs competing in the final night, Anjeza Shahini was declared the winner with the song “Imazhi Yt”.

At Eurovision, Anjeza sang a new version of the song, which was now in English and was reduced to three minutes. The tempo of the song was faster in its Eurovision form. During the semi-final Anjeza wore a light purple dress while her back-up singers wore teal shirts with white pants. Anjeza moved on to the final and was one of two performers from the semi-finals to change their appearance during the final. For the final, Anjeza wore a red and black short dress.

1.Festivali i Këngës 42

1.1.Competing entries

Draw	Singer	Song	Place
1	Arbër Arapi	“Bota ime”	—
2	Kujtim Prodani	“Ju të dashurat e mia”	4/5
3	Anisa Dervina	“Sytë e zemrës”	—
4	Françesk Radi	“Syri i saj po më verbon”	—
5	Rudi & Ingrid Jushi	“Me ty”	4/5
6	Edmond Mancaku	“Trill vjeshte”	—
7	Evis Mula	“E dashuruar”	—
8	Kozma Dushi	“E nesërmja tjetër kujt i takon”	—
9	Klajdi Musabelliu	“Një shpresë për jetën time”	—
10	Rovena Dilo	“Njëmijë zemra”	—
11	Mariza Ikonomi	“Mbi urë”	2
12	Anjeza Shahini	“Imazhi yt”	1
13	Eneda Tarifa	“Qëndroj”	—
14	Rosela Gjylbegu	“Hirushja”	3
15	Ermiona Lekbello	“Ç’punë ke ti me dashurinë”	—
16	Orges Toçe	“Eja”	—
17	Voltan Prodani	“Kthehu dhe kujto”	—
18	Andi Kongo	“Sikur të rroja sa kjo botë”	—

1.1.Semi-finale 1

Semi-Finale 1 – 18 December, 2003

Draw	Singer	Song
1	Orges Toçi	“Eja”
2	Fazile Syla	“Jeto jetën tënde”
3	Arjan Hasanbelliu	“Nata”
4	Elvana Gjata	“Pranë teje”
5	Rudi & Ingrid Jushi	“Me ty”
6	Voltan Prodani	“Kthehu dhe kujtohu”
7	Aurel Thëllimi	“Dashuri dhe lojë”
8	Arbër Arapi	“Bota ime”
9	Kozma Dushi	“E nesërmja tjetër kujt i takon”
10	Ermiona Lekbello	“Ç’punë ke ti me dashurinë”
11	Klajdi Musabelliu	“Një shpresë për jetën time”
12	Evis Mula	“E dashuruar”
13	Saimir Çili	“Sa herë vjen pranvera”
14	Rovena Dilo	“Njëmijë zemra”

1.2.Semi-finale 2

Semi-finale 2 – 19 December 2003

Draw	Singer	Song
1	Andi Kongo	“Sikur të rroja sa kjo botë”
2	Erida Rexhepi	“Kthehu”
3	Kujtim Prodani	“Ju të dashurat e mia”
4	Edmond Mancaku	“Trill vjeshte”
5	Anila Jonuzi	“E kam një sekret”
6	Gjergj Jorgaqi	“Dua dhe s’dua”
7	Anisa Dervina	“Sytë e zemrës”
8	Rijet Pirani	“Ike”
9	Anjeza Shahini	“Imazhi yt”
10	Bashkim Rodoni	“Rritu pa mbarim”
11	Eneda Tarifa	“Qëndroj”
12	Rosela Gjylbegu	“Hirushja”
13	Françesk Radi	“Syri i saj po më verbon”
14	Saimir Braho	“Fjala”
15	Mariza Ikonomi	“Mbi urë”

1.3.Finale

Finale – 20 December, 2003

Draw	Singer	Song	Place
18	Andi Kongo	“Sikur të rroja sa kjo botë”	–
3	Anisa Dervina	“Sytë e zemrës”	–
12	Anjeza Shahini	“Imazhi yt”	1
1	Arber Arapi	“Bota ime”	–
6	Edmond Mancaku	“Trill vjeshte”	–
13	Eneda Tarifa	“Qëndroj”	–
15	Ermiona Lekbello	“Ç’punë ke ti me dashurinë”	–
7	Evis Mula	“E dashuruar”	–
4	Françesk Radi	“Syri i saj po më verbon”	–
9	Klajdi Musabelliu	“Një shpresë për jetën time”	–
8	Kozma Dushi	“E nsërmja tjetër kujt i takon”	–
2	Kujtim Prodani	“Ju të dashurat e mia”	–
11	Mariza Ikonomi	“Mbi urë”	2
16	Orges Toçi	“Eja”	–
14	Rosela Gjylbegu	“Hirushja”	3
10	Rovena Dilo	“Njëmijë zemra”	–
5	Rudi & Ingrid Jushi	“Me ty”	–
17	Voltan Prodani	“Kthehu dhe kujtohu”	–

2.At Eurovision For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest.Albania made debut so country was forced had competed in the first semi-final of the 2004 Contest. In the Semifinal she performed thirteenth, following Lithuania and preceding Cyprus. She advanced to the Final placing fourth with 167 points. In the final she performed ninth, following Germany and preceding Ukraine. At the end of the voting Albania placed seventh with 106 points, getting 12 points from Macedonia.Meaning that Albania automatically qualified for the final in the 2005 contest.

2.1.Voting

2.1.1.Points Awarded by Albania

2.1.1.1.Semi-final

12 points	Greece
10 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina
8 points	Macedonia
7 points	Finland
6 points	Malta
5 points	Israel
4 points	Serbia and Montenegro
3 points	Ukraine
2 points	Monaco
1 point	Estonia

2.1.1.2.Final

12 points	Greece
10 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina
8 points	Turkey
7 points	Serbia and Montenegro
6 points	Macedonia
5 points	Ukraine
4 points	Sweden
3 points	Malta
2 points	Germany
1 point	France

2.1.2.Points Awarded to Albania

2.1.2.1.Semi-final

12 points	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points
Macedonia	Switzerland	Germany  Greece  Malta  Norway	Austria  Croatia  Denmark  Sweden	Andorra  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Finland  Romania  Serbia and Montenegro  Turkey  United Kingdom
5 points	4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point
Belgium  Ireland  Latvia  Slovenia  Netherlands	Iceland  Israel	Monaco	Portugal  Spain	Cyprus  Estonia  Ukraine

2.1.2.2.Final

12 points	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points
Macedonia	Greece  Malta	Serbia and Montenegro	Sweden   Switzerland	Croatia  Turkey
5 points	4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point
Austria  Germany	Bosnia and Herzegovina  Denmark  Iceland  Slovenia	Finland  Norway	Ireland	Belgium  France  Latvia  Romania  Netherlands  United Kingdom

 Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 – Artist

Anjeza Shahini (born 4 May 1987) is an Albanian singer. She represented Albania at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “The Image of You” in the country’s debut year in the ESC.

1.Eurovision 2004 Anjeza Shahini Connolly was born in Tirana the capital of Albania. In 2003, at the age of 16, Anjeza Shahini won the first edition of “Ethet e së premtes mbrëma” (Friday Night Fever), the Albanian version of Pop Idol. In December of the same year, along with 29 other singers, she competed at the three-day RTSH song festival (Festivali I Këngës 42) at the Tirana Palace of Congress with the song “Imazhi yt”, a synthesized pop tune. After two preliminary rounds, Shahini reached the final on 20 December, at the end of which, hosts Adi Krasta and Ledina Çelo presented her as the winner of the combined jury and televote. That meant she would represent Albania in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, Turkey, in Albania’s debut year in the competition.

For the ESC finals, a three-minute English version of the song entitled “The Image of You” was created. (The original song was four and a half minutes in length). Anjeza sang in the semi-final of ESC on 12 May 2004, and finished fourth out of twenty-two. This top-ten finish, secured Anjeza a place in the final where on 15 May she competed with contestants from twenty-four other countries and finished seventh with a total of 106 points.

2.After Eurovision In 2004, Anjeza recorded a song (“Në mes nesh”) with the Kosovo band Marigona. In 2005 she signed a contract with an artist management agency based in Vienna. During her two years in Vienna she continued private studies in music and released several singles with well known Austrian composer Harald Hanisch, including the song “Pse Ndal” (Why Stop) which was used at the Albanian National Song Festival (Festivali i Këngës), the Albanian selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest. Anjeza Shahini made it through the two semi-finals to the last twenty at the National Final and was one of the favourites to win. However, at the final, which aired on 18 December 2005, the winner was announced as the song “Zjarr e ftohtë“, sung by Luiz Ejlli.

On 3 June 2006, Anjeza Shahini was a special guest performer at the Euro Video Grand Prix contest, which was held in Albania. She opened the contest with the song “Welcome to Europe”, which was also produced as a single by same studio production in Vienna.

After completing her studies in Austria in 2007, Anjeza returned to Albania and signed a contract with the Albanian record label “Eurostar”. She performed at Këngët e Shekullit 2, a successful series on TV Klan consisting of remakes of the best Albanian songs from the past century. She took part in Kënga Magjike 2007 with the song “Nxënësja më e mirë” (“The best student”), where the other singers’ votes landed her in 4th place, but she did receive the critics’ award.

In August 2008, Anjeza Shahini released her first album, Erdhi momenti, containing only new songs, all in Albanian. Some of the songs were composed by Adrian Hila, but she also collaborated with other well known composers such as Pirro Cako and Genti Myftaraj and some of the lyrics were written by Anjeza’s sister, Bela. The songs “Erdhi Momenti” and “Lot Pendimi” were promoted with a music video produced by Max Production.

Shahini took part in the Albanian national Festival 2009 with the ballad “Ne Pasqyre” (In the mirror) for Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The song was well received by the public, but the jury placed her second.

In 2010 Anjeza Shahini finished her contract with Eurostar and became an independent artist. In the same year she completed her studies in International Relations at the European University of Tirana.

In 2011 Shahini participated for the first time in the modern Albanian Festival Top Fest 8 performing a duet with Kosovo band Dren Abazi & ZZOrchestra”. Their song “Ti dhe une” was awarded for “Best Interpretation”. A music video was released after the festival in partnership with “PinkMoon” production. This song was very successful in Albania and Kosovo.

In 2012 Anjeza released the ballad “Te desha shume”, composed by Endrit Shani and produced by Sebastian Video Production.

Anjeza Shahini took part in the Albanian Eurovision Song Contest Selection for 2013 with the song “LOVE”, when she again finished in second place. In the same year, she collaborated with German artist Martin Kilger for the song “Kastanien Lied” where she appeared as a guest singer.

During 2014 she released three singles in collaboration with the songwriter Mario Deda. Together they produced “Ujë në shkretëtirë” a triphop ballad. The video was released in partnership with ID Production. The video for the song “Magnet” (electronic pop-dance) was used for a company publicity promotion. The collaboration with Deda continued with “Energji” (Energy), an electronic pop-drum & bass, which was performed by Anjeza Shahini in the Festival Kenga Magjike and received the award “Tendence” (Best Trend Song).

Anjeza appeared on the BBC Eurovision 2017 semi-final show with Scott Mills and Lucie Jones and performed at the second annual Eurostarz event in London, together with other Eurovision former acts, including Anne Marie David, Kurt Kalleja, Mihal Traistariu Karl William Lund and Salena Mastroianni.

3.Discography

3.1Albums Erdhi Momenti (2008)

3.2.Singles Nëse të ndodh (2003), The Image of You (2004), Mes nesh ft. Marigona Band (2004), Pse ndal (2005), Welcome to Europe (2006), Nxënësja më e mirë (2007), Ne pasqyrë (2009), Ti dhe unë ft. Dren Abazi & ZZOrchestra (2011), Të desha shume (2012), Nesër nuk do të jetë njësoj (2012), Love (2012), Ujë në shkretëtirë (2014), Magnet (2014), Energji (2014)

Guest appearance Kastanien Lied (2013)

Soundtracks Dashuria e Bjeshkëve te Nemuna 2 (2013 film)

4.Awards and nominations

Ethet e së premtes mbrëma

 Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 – Song

Anjeza Shahini performing “The Image of You” at the semi-final.

“The Image of You” was the debut entry for Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest, being performed in English by Anjeza Shahini in the semi-final of the 2004 Contest.

The song was performed 13th in the semi-final, following Lithuania’s Linas & Simona with “What’s Happened To Your Love?” and preceding Cyprus’ Lisa Andreas with “Stronger Every Minute”. The song ended in fourth place with 167 points, qualifying for the final.

Drawn ninth in the final, the song followed Germany’s Max with “Can’t Wait Until Tonight” and preceded the Ukraine’s Ruslana with “Wild Dances”. At the close of voting, the song had received 106 points to finish seventh, which guaranteed Albania a final berth at the 2005 Contest.

The song itself begins with Shahini singing over a piano melody before it quickly builds to a moderately-paced dance number. The lyrics deal with the singer’s feelings in what appears to be a whirlwind romance.

An Albanian version of the song was also released, entitled “Imazhi yt” (“Your Image”).