| Year: | 2024 |
| Contest: | Junior |
| Country: | Albania |
| Preselection: | Albanian: Junior Fest Albania 2024 |
| Preselection Date: | 27 September 2024 |
| Entrant: | Nikol Çabeli |
| Song: | Albanian: Vallëzoj|i=unset |
Albania is set to take part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Madrid, Spain, with "Albanian: Vallëzoj|i=unset" performed by Nikol Çabeli. The Albanian broadcaster Albanian: [[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar]]|italics=no (RTSH) organised the national final Albanian: Junior Fest Albania 2024 in order to select the country's entry for the 2024 contest.
See main article: Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2024 contest, Albania had participated in the contest nine times since its first entry in the . Albania has never won the contest, with their best result being in, when Mishela Rapo represented the country with "Dambaje", placing 5th.[1] The nation opted not to take part in the contest in and, and in (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[2] In, Viola Gjyzeli competed for Albania with the song "Albanian: Bota ime|i=unset", which ended up in 8th place with 115 points; this marked the first top ten entry for Albania since 2015.[3]
Albanian: Junior Fest Albania 2024 was the seventh edition of Albanian: Junior Fest Albania, the national final format developed by RTSH to select Albanian entries for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The submission process for interested artists aged between nine and fourteen and composers to submit their entries for the competition was open between 29 July 2024 and 31 August 2024.[4] [5] Eighteen finalists were selected by a jury panel composed of music industry professionals and announced on 3 September 2024,[6] with one-minute snippets of the songs published on 12 September.[7]
RTSH had announced their intention to apply changes to the format of the competitionwhich took place on 27 September 2024 at the RTSH Symphony Orchestra Hall in Tirana, hosted by Angelo Shkreli and Julian Hurdha, and broadcast on RTSH1, RTSH Muzikë and Radio Tirana 1[8] stating it would take place under a "brand new formula, in the form of a spectacle". and were appointed the artistic and musical director of the event, respectively.[9] The slogan for the competition was "Albanian: Ti lulëzo|italic=no" ("You bloom"), inspired by the theme art and slogan of the 2024 contest.[10]
The winner of the competition was determined by the combination of the votes by a five-member jury panel, with the final also seeing several acts receive special awards for their participation. These included the prize for best vocals to Eden Dani, the prize for best lyrics to Ami Kokurti and the encouragement prize to Ema Deda.[11] Nikol Çabeli, born in Ioannina, Greece and residing in Gjirokastër, Albania,[12] was declared the winner with the song "Albanian: Vallëzoj|i=unset".[13] In addition to the competing entries, the guest performers included (winner of Albanian: [[Festivali i Këngës 62]]|i=no) with "Albanian: {{ill|Çmendur|de", with "Albanian: Marinela|i=unset" and Viola Gjyzeli with "Albanian: Bota ime|i=unset", after which a children's choir also performed "Footloose" and the finalists performed a rendition of the common song. Retkoceri was also one of the members of the jury panel.[14] [15]
Key: Winner Second place Third place
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kejt Hitaj | "Albanian: Ëndërrojnë|i=unset" | Adrian Hila | |
| 2 | Elora Tahitri | "Albanian: Me lajka|i=unset" | Enis Mullaj | |
| 3 | Gjon Gjipali | "Albanian: S'ka problem|i=unset" | Renis Gjoka | |
| 4 | Arbëri Dajko | "Albanian: Ëndrra në detin blu|i=unset" | Fabian Basha | |
| 5 | Doris Canaj | "Albanian: Jemi njësoj|i=unset" | Melodajn Mancaku | |
| 6 | Armina Kajnozi | "Albanian: Mama|i=unset" | ||
| 7 | Boris Metaj | "Albanian: Se jemi ne|i=unset" | ||
| 8 | Nikol Çabeli | "Albanian: Vallëzoj|i=unset" | ||
| 9 | Hana Lamaj | "Albanian: Medaljon|i=unset" | Arbër Koçllari | |
| 10 | David Kerri | "Albanian: Thirrja e tokës|i=unset" | ||
| 11 | Ema Deda | "Albanian: Hapat|i=unset" | Mario Deda | |
| 12 | Eden Dani | "Albanian: Ti më sjell fat|i=unset" | Alban Kondi | |
| 13 | Gedis Germani | "Albanian: Flutura prej letre|i=unset" | ||
| 14 | Ami Kokurti | "Albanian: Reale|i=unset" | ||
| 15 | Kejsi Xheladini | "Albanian: Dua të këndoj|i=unset" | Reinald Foçi | |
| 16 | Klejda Bashota | "Albanian: Një këngë për ty|i=unset" | ||
| 17 | Marina Daka | "Albanian: Nuk do ndalem|i=unset" | ||
| 18 | Kristel Xhafka | "Party" | Metila Dervishi |
In early October 2024, the producers behind "Albanian: Vallëzoj|i=unset" confirmed that it would undergo a revamp ahead of the contest; among them was Enis Mullaj, who had previously worked an analogous position on various past Eurovision entries for Albania, including and, as well as the Junior Eurovision entry in .[16] It was released on 8 October, alongside an accompanying music video.[17]
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is set to take place at Spanish; Castilian: [[Caja Mágica]]|i=unset in Madrid, Spain on 16 November 2024. Albania will perform 3rd, following and preceding .[18]