Arilena Ara (; born 17 July 1998) is an Albanian singer and television presenter. Ara rose to national recognition in Albania, upon her victory at

X Factor Albania ''X Factor Albania'' is the Albanian version of ''The X Factor''. The first season started on 8 January 2012 and was broadcast by TV Klan. The judges are: Macedonian-Albanian singer Tuna, Albanian singer Soni Malaj, Albanian-American singer Bleo ...

in 2013. After her participation in the 18th edition of the music contest , her song "" found significant success in Romania and Eastern Europe, peaking at number-one in the Romanian Airplay chart. Following her forthcoming success at the 58th edition of the music contest in 2019, she was designated as the Albanian representative at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The con ...

, before the contest's cancellation.

Life and career

1998–2018: Early life and career beginnings

Arilena Ara was born on 17 July 1998 into an Albanian family in the city of

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 ...

, Albania. Ara performed in various dancing and singing competitions as a child, including at the children's talent show finishing in third place. She won the second series of the talent show ''

'' on 31 March 2013. Her first single, "", was released in February 2014. Finishing in third place, Ara participated in the 18th edition of the music contest with the song "" in November 2016. The song subsequently experienced commercial success abroad, peaking at

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

on the

Romanian Radio The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company ( ro, Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune), informally referred to as Radio Romania ( ro, Radio România), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM broadcasting, FM and AM broadcasting, ...

and TV Airplay rankings as well as reaching number 3 in Bulgaria and number 38 in Hungary. In early 2017, the song's remixes, including " (Bess Remix)" and " (Beverly Pills Remix)", further reached the top 20 in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS). In the course of 2017, Ara performed at the Europa Plus Festival in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia, and won the award for the song of the year at the Astana Dausy Music Awards in

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

, Kazakhstan.

2019–present: ''Pop Art'' and continued success

As of 2019, Ara has been a juror for the third series of the singing show '' The Voice Kids Albania''. After winning the 58th edition of the music contest with the song "" in late December 2019, (RTSH) designated Ara as the Albanian representative for the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, the Netherlands. In February 2020, following several months spent in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the singer announced that she had started working on her debut studio album. In March 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(EBU) cancelled the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. After a short hiatus, she was featured on Albanian singer

Alban Skënderaj Alban Skënderaj (; born 20 April 1982) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer, actor, producer and television personality. Born in Lushnjë and raised in Vlorë, Skënderaj has established himself as a viable artist in Albania and the Alba ...

's "A i sheh" in December 2020, which peaked at number 29 in Albania. Ara released her debut studio album, ''Pop Art The Album'', on 6 November 2021. Prior to its release, four singles, "Murderer", "Aligator", "Thirr Policinë" and "Ke me mungu", were released from the record. Containing R&B and hip hop music, "Murderer" featuring Albanian rapper

Noizy Rigels Rajku (; born 27 September 1986), known professionally as Noizy, is an Albanian rapper. Life and career 1986–2010: Early life and career beginnings Rigels Rajku was born on 27 September 1986 into a multi-religious Albanian family ...

was released as the record's lead single in July 2021. Its second single, "Aligator", followed on 9 August 2021 and peaked at number five in Albania. For the record's third single titled, "Thirr Policinë", the singer collaborated with Kosovo-Albanian musician

Dafina Zeqiri Dafina Zeqiri (; born 14 April 1989), also known mononymously as Dafina, is a Swedish-born Kosovo-Albanian singer. Life and career Dafina Zeqiri was born on 14 April 1989 into an Albanian family from Kosovo in the city of Varberg, Sweden. ...

and reached number six in Albania. Ara scored her first number-one single with "Ke me mungu" in October 2021. In April 2022, she debuted as a television presenter, hosting the investigative show .

Artistry

Ara names

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

as her major musical and artistic influence.

Discography

Albums

* ''Pop Art'' (2021)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ara, Arilena 1998 births 21st-century Albanian women singers Albanian songwriters Albanian-language singers Albanian television presenters Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Albania Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2020 Festivali i Këngës winners Living people Musicians from Shkodër The X Factor winners