Eurovision 2015 representative Elhaida Dani will be the new artistic director for Festivali i Këngës – Albania’s selection format to choose their Eurovision artist and song.
Elhaida’s return comes with great anticipation after fans expected her to compete to represent Albania in Turin two years ago due to her musical prominence in Italy. She won The Voice of Italy in 2013 with a staggering 70% of the vote and went on to become one of Albania’s most successful artists ever since. Although her return in 2022 did not come to fruition, fans have responded very warmly to her appointment as the new artistic director of the festival.
“It is a great pleasure and responsibility. I was born and grew up at the RTSH Festival, and thanks to this festival I also stepped on the Eurovision stage. I know what this Festival means for Albanian artists. I know the importance. I will give my best in this Festival, but also in the next ones. It is a golden opportunity to show off Albania in the best possible way. We are aiming to choose a team as professional as possible, as serious as possible, and to do a great job for this Festival and the next ones”, Dani commented.
Elhaida’s comments confirm that she was not offered a single year contract, but rather a multi-year one if her tenure goes as expected. Director General at RTSH Alfred Peza comments that:
“The arrival of Elhaida is happy news for me, the staff and the entire public opinion, because it will be an added value for the festival, given her extraordinary career starting from her victories in many music competitions. Bojken Lako, who was the director of the 62nd Festival, who made one of the best festivals that RTSH has made, will also work with her,” said Mr. Peza.
Now that the news is out, fans have commented on the changes that they would like to see implemented in the festival and it appears that on top of the list is the early release of the songs, similar to what happened in FiK 60 where the studio versions were released in early December. Perhaps more than that, Albanian fans are eager to see established artists from the Albanian music scene that would normally opt not to compete in Festivali i Këngës, take the chance to win the Albanian ticket for the country’s representation at Eurovision 2025.
Who would you like to see represent Albania in Switzerland?