Adrian Gaxha (, mk, Адријан Гаџа; born 13 February 1984) is a Macedonian-Albanian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and entrepreneur.

Life and career

Adrian Gaxha was born on 13 February 1984 into an Albanian family in the city of

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

, then part of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, present-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. Gaxha discovered his passion for music at an early age and started to play the

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

. He commenced his early music career in 2001 simultaneously with his participation in Nota Fest. There, he won first prize, the first time a newcomer won both, the jury and the audience votes. Within a short time, Adrian became one of the most popular singers in Macedonia and Albania and other Albanian-speaking territories. Until today he has recorded four albums, three in Albanian and one in Macedonian. His performances usually include a lot of skillful dance choreography. He has also participated in festivals such as Videofest in

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

, Makfest in Štip, and has won the first prize at

Ohrid Fest Ohridski Trubaduri - Ohrid Fest is a music festival that takes place in Ohrid, North Macedonia every summer. It began in 1994 as a showcase for Macedonian summer folklore. In 1997, a pop evening was introduced to motivate Macedonian lyricists an ...

. In 2006, he finished second at the Macedonian national preselection for Eurovision, singing the song "Ljubov e" with the Macedonian-Romani legendary singer Esma Redzepova. In 2008, Gaxha, alongside

Tamara Todevska Tamara Todevska ( mk, Тамара Тодевска, pronounced , born 1 June 1985), also known mononymously as Tamara, is a Macedonian pop singer. Tamara began her music career in 2003 following the release of her debut studio album '' Sino' ...

and

Vrčak Rade Vrčakovski ( mk, Раде Врчаковски ; born 17 November 1980 in Strumica) better known by his stage name Vrčak (Врчак) is a Macedonian singer. He represented North Macedonia Skopje Fest Skopje Fest ( mk, Скопје фест) or Festival na zabavni melodii Skopje (Фестивал на забавни мелодии Скопје) is one of the main musical events in North Macedonia. SkopjeFest began in 1968 in the Universal Hall ...

and represented Macedonia in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

with the song " Let Me Love You". After their performance in the second semi-final, the country failed to qualify for the grand final constituting its first overall non-qualification placing 10th with 64 points. Since 2008, Gaxha has been focusing more in the Albanian-language songs and the Albanian market. He participated in

Kënga Magjike Kënga Magjike (; ) is an annual music competition organised by the Albanian television broadcaster Televizioni Klan. The music competition has been broadcasting annually since its inauguration in 1999 with the exception of 2020. The first ed ...

2012, with Florian Beqiri singing the song "Ngjyra e kuqe" (The red color) and placed Top 10. The song was an instant hit on the radios and on social media, especially on YouTube where the song counts more than 27 million views (As of 28 May 2017). After the festival, he released "Kjo zemër" (This heart), who received the similar success.

Discography

Albums

* ''Luj, Luj, Luj'' (2003) * ''Thuaj Mamit'' (2004) * ''300 Godini'' (2008) * ''Brenduar'' (2010)

Singles

As lead artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaxha, Adrian 1984 births 21st-century Albanian male singers Albanian musicians from North Macedonia Albanian record producers Albanian songwriters Albanian dancers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for North Macedonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2008 Living people 21st-century Macedonian male singers Macedonian record producers Macedonian songwriters Musicians from Skopje