Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Prior to the 2018 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in . The nation's highest placing in the contest, to this point, had been the fifth place, which it achieved in with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu. In October 2017, the national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), officially confirmed Albania's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. RTSH broadcasts the contest within Albania and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since its debut in 2004, it has consistently selected its entry through the long-standing competition Festivali i Këngës. == Before Eurovision ==

Festivali i Këngës . Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) organised the 56th edition of Festivali i Këngës in order to select the nation's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The event consisted of two semi-finals on 21 and 22 December, and the grand final on 23 December 2017. The three live shows were hosted by television presenter and journalist Adi Krasta, who had previously hosted the event five times prior to 2018. In October 2017, RTSH confirmed that the nation would participate in the contest and that once again, Festivali i Këngës would be used as the selection process for the entry. Over 70 acts submitted applications to the broadcaster for consideration during the submission period held from 2 November to 10 November 2017. The names of the 22 songs and singers selected to compete in the two semi-finals were released on 13 November. Shows Semi-finals The semi-finals took place on 21 and 22 December 2017 and were broadcast at 20:45 (CET), respectively. The allocation draw of the participating entries for each semi-final was published on 19 December, a few days before the event. The interval acts for the first semi-final included performances from Italian singer-songwriter Riccardo Cocciante and Albanian singer Elhaida Dani, the latter of whom represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The results of the semi-finals are outlined in the tables below, however of the 22 entries, 14 progressed to the grand final. Final The grand final took place on 23 December 2017 and was broadcast at 20:45 (CET). It consisted of the fourteen entries that had qualified for the final, including eight from the first semi-final and six from the second semi-final. The results were determined by a jury panel consisting of Adrian Hila, Ilirian Zhupa, Limoz Dizdari, Markelian Kapedani and Zana Çela. After gathering the maximum points from the jury, "Mall" by Eugent Bushpepa emerged as the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest. The results of the final are summarized in the table below: Key: Winner Second place Third place Promotion An accompanying music video for "Mall" premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 26 March 2018. Apart from the music video, Eugent Bushpepa traveled to the city of Aveiro on the Atlantic Ocean to film his introductory postcard, serving as an introduction for each participating country and artist. The postcard shows him visiting the fishermen's houses, fish warehouses and the salt mines of Aveiro. In addition, he was scheduled to perform in London but was forced to withdraw due to issues obtaining a visa. == At Eurovision ==

during a rehearsal for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 took place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 8 and 10 May and the grand final on 12 May 2018. According to the rules, each participating country, except the host country and the "Big Five", consisting of , , , , and the , were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the grand final, although, the top ten countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final. In January 2018, a special allocation draw was held at the City Hall of Lisbon that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Albania was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Albania was set to perform in position three, following and preceding . Four days later at the grand final on 12 May, Albania appeared twelfth in the running order, following and preceding . Voting Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points, including one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Songs were given points ranging from 1 though 8, then 10 and 12, from lowest to highest ranking. Each nation's jury consisted of five music professionals, who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on vocal capacity, the stage performance, the song's composition and originality, and the act's overall impression. 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. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. The tables below visualise a breakdown of points awarded to Albania in the first semi-final and final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, as well as by the nation on both occasions. In the semi-final, Albania finished in eighth place, being awarded a total of 162 points, including 12 by the televoters from , and the same number of points by the juries from and . In the final, Albania reached the 11th place with 184 points, including 12 by the televoters from and Macedonia, and 12 by the juries from . Points awarded to Albania Points awarded by Albania Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Albanian jury: • (jury chairperson)singer, music producer, pianist • (Ben Andoni)journalist • Bojken Lakosinger, TV and theater director • Rosela Gjylbegusinger • singer == References ==