Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

participated in the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the fifteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place on 26 November 2017 at the ...

, which took place in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on 26 November 2017. The Albanian broadcaster

RTSH Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

was responsible for the organization of their representative at the contest. Their entry was selected through ''Junior Fest 2017'', a national selection process consisting of sixteen artists who competed in order to become the Albanian representative on 14 October 2017. Ana Kodra is an Albanian singer who won the selection with the song "Mos ma prekni pemën", meaning "Don't Touch My Tree".

Background

Prior to the 2017 contest, Albania had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in 2012, only opting not to participate at the 2013 and 2014 contests. Albania has never won the contest, with their best result being in , with the song "

Dambaje Albania selected their Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 entry through ''Festivali i 52-të Mbarëkombëtar i Këngës për Fëmijë''. The competing songs will be broken down into one semi-final taking place on 26 May 2015. Mishela Rapo and he ...

" performed by Mishela Rapo, achieving fifth place with a score of 93 points. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Klesta Qehaja represented Albania in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

with the song "Besoj". The country ended in 13th place out of 17 countries, achieving 38 points.

Before Junior Eurovision

''Junior Fest 2017''

The national final ''Junior Fest 2017'' took place on 14 October 2017. It consisted sixteen competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by a jury panel. Sixteen songs took part in ''Junior Fest 2017'', which was held in the

Palace of Congresses The Palace of Congresses () is a venue in Tirana, Albania, where numerous multi-genre concerts, exhibition, festivals, competitions and other events are held, including the annual Festivali i Këngës and Kënga Magjike and the Tirana Book Fair. ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. A three-member professional jury, made up of Fatma Methasani, Andi Bajgora and Lum Veseli, selected Ana Kodra as the winner of the selection with the song "Mos ma prekni pemën". The song was later entitled "Don't Touch My Tree" along with the release of the official video on 14 November 2017.

Artist and song information

Ana Kodra

Ana Kodra (born 23 March 2007) is an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

singer. She represented

in the

with the song "Mos ma prekni pemën". She finished in 13th place with 67 points. Ana began performing at the age of eight years old when she participated in the TV show ''Tú sí que vales''. Despite her young age, she managed to go to the final and to create her own fan base. At the age of nine, Ana became part of the TV show ''Gjeniu i vogël''. In addition to that, she won the second prize at the National Children's Festival in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

. Ana participated in the '' second series of The Voice Kids Albania'' where she gave a very impressive and confident performance in the Blind Auditions of the song '' Evil Like Me'' from the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie, Descendants. All judges turned their chair, and she picked

Miriam Cani Miriam Cani (; born 30 May 1985) is an Albanian singer, songwriter and television host. She was a member of the successful German pop girl group Preluders. Beyond her music career, Cani has been featured as a judge on the Albanian television ta ...

as her coach. She finished in the top 6. In 2019, she auditioned for Britain's Got Talent.

Don't Touch My Tree

"Don't Touch My Tree" (originally ''Mos ma prekni pemën'') is a song performed by Albanian child singer Ana Kodra. It represented Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

At Junior Eurovision

During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which took place on 20 November 2017, Albania was drawn to perform tenth on 26 November 2017, following Georgia and preceding Ukraine.

Voting

Detailed voting results

References

{{Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...