| Year: | 2017 |
| Country: | Albania |
| Preselection: | Festivali i Këngës 55 |
| Preselection Date: | Semi-finals: 21 December 2016 22 December 2016 Final: 23 December 2016 |
| Entrant: | Lindita Halimi |
| Song: | World |
| Sf Result: | Failed to qualify (14th) |
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine, with the song "World" performed by Lindita Halimi. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2016. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 13 times since its first entry in . Prior to the contest, the song was promoted by a music video and live performances in Israel, the Netherlands and Spain. Albania was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 May 2017. Performing as number fourth, the nation was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify for the grand final, marking Albania's seventh non-qualification in the contest.
See main article: Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Prior to the 2017 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 13 times since its first entry in .[1] The country'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.[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 grand final six times, with the entry being the most recent non-qualifier.[2] The country's national broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organises Festivali i Këngës in order to select the nation's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. In September 2019, the broadcaster confirmed Albania's participation in the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine.[3]
The national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), organised the 55th edition of Festivali i Këngës to determine their participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.[4] The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 21 and 22 December, respectively, and the grand final on 23 December 2016.[5] [6] [7] The three live shows were hosted by Albanian singer Ledina Çelo and actor Kasem Hoxha.[8] On 13 November, RTSH published a provisory list of 24 artists and songs shortlisted to compete in the two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës.[9] On 19 December 2016, it published the allocation draw of the participating contestants for each semi-final.[10]
Key: Withdrawn
| + Competing entries | |||
| Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albulena Jashari | "Fjalët ia lë zemrës" | ||
| Classic Boys | "Dashuria për jetën" | ||
| Dilan Reka | "Mos harro" | ||
| Edea Demaliaj | "Besoj në ëndrra" | ||
| Edona Vatoci | "Mirëmëngjës" | Edona Vatoci | |
| Elson Braha | "Edhe një herë" | ||
| Erlind Zeraliu | "Dhimbja e gëzimit" | ||
| Agnesa Çavolli and Fabiola Agalliu | "Shkon e vjen" | ||
| Festina Mejzini | "Atje lart" | Eriona Rushiti | |
| Flaka Krelani | "Osiris" | Qëndrim Krelani | |
| Franc Koruni | "Macka" | Franc Koruni | |
| Genc Salihu | "Këtu" | Genc Salihu | |
| Lindita Halimi | "Botë" | ||
| Linda Rukaj | "Vija e lumit" | Linda Rukaj | |
| Lorela | "Me ty" | ||
| Lynx | "Sot" | Lynx | |
| Luka Hajdani and Serxhio Hajdini | "Koha plaket" | ||
| Neki Emra | "Dashuri dhe urrejtje" | ||
| Orges Toçe | "Shi diamantësh" | Orges Toçe | |
| Rezarta Smaja | "Pse prite gjatë" | ||
| Tiri | "Më zgjo" | ||
| Xhejni Lito | "Pritja" | Indrit Lelo | |
| Xhesika Polo | "Eva jam unë" | ||
| Xuxi | "Metropol" | ||
| Yll Limani | "Shiu" |
The semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 21 December and 22 December 2016, and were broadcast at 20:30 and 21:00 (CET) on the respective dates.[5] [6] [11] [12] 12 contestants participated in each semi-final, with the highlighted ones progressing to the grand final.[13]
| + Semi-final 121 December 2016 | |||
| Draw | Artist | Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flaka Krelani | "Osiris" | |
| 2 | Xhejni Lito | "Pritja" | |
| 3 | Genc Salihu | "Këtu" | |
| 4 | Erlind Zeraliu | "Dhimbja e gëzimit" | |
| 5 | Xhesika Polo | "Eva jam unë" | |
| 6 | Festina Mejzini | "Atje lart" | |
| 7 | Edea Demaliaj | "Besoj në ëndrra" | |
| 8 | Neki Emra | "Dashuri dhe urrejtje" | |
| 9 | Yll Limani | "Shiu" | |
| 10 | Franc Koruni | "Macka" | |
| 11 | Orges Toçe | "Shi diamantësh" | |
| 12 | Lynx | "Sot" |
| + Semi-final 222 December 2016 | |||
| Draw | Artist | Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elson Braha | "Edhe një herë" | |
| 2 | Lorela | "Me ty" | |
| 3 | Tiri | "Më zgjo" | |
| 4 | Agnesa Çavolli and Fabiola Agalliu | "Shkon e vjen" | |
| 5 | Rezarta Smaja | "Pse prite gjatë" | |
| 6 | Dilan Reka | "Mos harro" | |
| 7 | Albulena Jashari | "Fjalët ia lë zemrës" | |
| 8 | Xuxi | "Metropol" | |
| 9 | Luka Hajdini and Serxhio Hajdini | "Koha plaket" | |
| 10 | Classic Boys | "Dashuria për jetën" | |
| 11 | Linda Rukaj | "Vija e lumit" | |
| 12 | Lindita Halimi | "Botë" |
The grand final of Festivali i Këngës took place on 23 December 2016 and was broadcast at 20:30 (CET).[7] In it, the results of the competition were determined by a combination of votes from a jury panel (12/13) and a public internet vote (1/13).[7] [14] [15] Before the end of the show, Lindita Halimi emerged as the winner and was simultaneously announced as the representative of Albania for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.[15] [16]
| + Final23 December 2016 | |||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song | Votes[17] | Points | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jury | Internet | ||||||
| 1 | Franc Koruni | "Macka" | 12 | 0 | 12 | 11 | |
| 2 | Lorela | "Me ty" | 8 | 0 | 8 | 12 | |
| 3 | Xhesika Polo | "Eva jam unë" | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14 | |
| 4 | Xuxi | "Metropol" | 30 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| 5 | Agnesa Çavolli and Fabiola Agalliu | "Shkon e vjen" | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | |
| 6 | Dilan Reka | "Mos harro" | 43 | 7 | 50 | 3 | |
| 7 | Lindita Halimi | "Botë" | 80 | 5 | 85 | 1 | |
| 8 | Flaka Krelani | "Osiris" | 27 | 3 | 30 | 5 | |
| 9 | Rezarta Smaja | "Pse prite gjatë" | 20 | 4 | 24 | 7 | |
| 10 | Edea Demaliaj | "Besoj në ëndrra" | 23 | 0 | 23 | 9 | |
| 11 | Yll Limani | "Shiu" | 40 | 10 | 50 | 3 | |
| 12 | Lynx | "Sot" | 13 | 1 | 14 | 10 | |
| 13 | Orges Toçe | "Shi diamantësh" | 24 | 0 | 24 | 7 | |
| 14 | Genc Salihu | "Këtu" | 52 | 2 | 54 | 2 | |
A music video for "World" was premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 13 March 2017.[18] [19] For further promotional purposes, Halimi embarked on a small tour with live performances at various events related to the contest, including in Amsterdam, Madrid and Tel Aviv.[20] [21] [22]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine, and consisted of two semi-finals held on 9 and 11 May, respectively, and the grand final on 13 May 2017.[23] According to the rules, all participating countries, apart from the host nation 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 10 countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final of the contest.[24]
On 31 January 2017, a special allocation draw was held in Kyiv that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.[25] Albania was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[25] Once all the competing songs for the 2017 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 in position four, following and preceding .[26] 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 seventh non-qualification in the Eurovision Song Contest.[1] [27]
The tables below visualise a breakdown of points awarded to Albania in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, as well as by the country for both the first semi-final and grand final. In the semi-final, Albania finished in 14th place with a total of 76 points, including 12 by the televoters from and 10 from, and 10 points by the juries from, and Montenegro.[28] In the grand final, its televoters and juries awarded their 12 points to and 10 points to .[29]
The following members comprised the Albanian jury:[30]
| + | |||||||||||
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||||||||
| 01 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 02 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 17 | |||
| 03 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 04 | |||||||||||
| 05 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 06 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 11 | ||||
| 07 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |||
| 08 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | |||
| 09 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 11 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 12 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 13 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 4 | |||
| 14 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | ||||
| 15 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 3 | |||
| 16 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 13 | |||
| 17 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | ||||
| 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 14 | ||||
| + | |||||||||||
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||||||||
| 01 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 15 | ||||
| 02 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 25 | ||||
| 03 | 20 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 16 | 20 | 17 | ||||
| 04 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 24 | 22 | ||||
| 05 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 24 | |||
| 06 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | ||||
| 07 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 11 | ||||
| 08 | 26 | 18 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 5 | 6 | |||
| 09 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 10 | 14 | 11 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 23 | ||||
| 11 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 12 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 12 | |||
| 13 | 21 | 14 | 13 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 4 | 7 | |||
| 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 13 | |||
| 15 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 16 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 26 | 26 | 26 | ||||
| 17 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 25 | 22 | 19 | ||||
| 18 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | |||
| 19 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 11 | 19 | 15 | 16 | ||||
| 20 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 21 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 21 | ||||
| 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 20 | ||||
| 23 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 5 | |||
| 24 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 2 | |||
| 25 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 26 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 1 | ||