Besa Kokëdhima (born 29 May 1986), also known mononymously as Besa, is an Albanian singer.

Biography

Kokëdhima was born on 29 May 1986 into an Albanian family in the city of Fier, then part of the People's Socialist Republic and now in

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 ...

. At the age of 15, she emigrated to the United Kingdom to pursue higher education. In 2003, Besa released her debut song "Më Beso", which was written by producer Florian Mumajesi and featured the then newly formed Albanian group Produkt 28. The song was awarded "Mikorofoni I Artë" in 2003. Besa released her debut album which was titled "Besa", in 2006. The album was written in collaboration with well-known Albanian music industry personalities, including as Dorian Gjoni, Flori Mumajesi, Genti Lako, Andy DJ, and

Stine Stine is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: *Brad Stine (born 1960), American comedian and author *Brad Stine (tennis coach) (born 1958), American tennis coach *Charles Stine (1882–1954), American chemist *Charles J. Stine (1864� ...

. Besa has participated in a number of music contests including "Notafest" where she was awarded first prize for the R&B single "Lëshoje Hapin." In 2006, Besa was chosen to represent Albania at the MTV Exit Concert. In 2009, Besa took part in Romanian national selection in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, and reached the semi-finals of the national selection. Besa competed in Ohrid Fest, where she won Best Performance. Besa has also participated in a number of televised music competitions, including the Albanian television competitions "

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 edi ...

", and

Top Fest Top Fest was an Albanian music competition organised by Top Channel. It began airing in 2004 with its last edition being in 2015. The event was annually held in Tirana, Albania. The songs were usually performed in Albanian with artists from Albani ...

. In 2010, Besa competed in

, and won Best Female Singer with her single "Kalorësi i Natës." In 2009, Besa participated in the

Selecţia Naţională Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut in , and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in , and by Paula Seling and Ovi in , who both finished ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

for the

, with the English-language song "Nothin' Gonna Change" and reached the semi-finals. Since 2010, Besa has released a number of singles and, including the single "Fishekzjarre", in 2012, the single "Burning" in 2013, and "Zemrën Dot Nuk ta Lexoj" in 2014. These singles were commercially successful and well received. Besa has also published two holiday albums titled "Besa për Festat" and "Ti Je Festa Ime". Besa për Festat consisted of 8 traditional English songs adopted in the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

. The tracks were accompanied by music videos featuring Besa and the National Orchestra. The album also featured a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Version of the song "Tatuazh ne Zemer." The album Ti Je Festa Ime received positive reviews, and one article called the album "one of the most well-received projects of the year". She also won

in 2013. Besa was a judge on the Albanian television show

The Voice of Albania ''The Voice of Albania'' is an Albanian television reality singing competition created by John de Mol and is part of ''The Voice'' franchise. It began airing on Top Channel on October 21, 2011 and ended after six seasons on May 19, 2017. Top C ...

. In December 2016 Besa announced she was joining the panel of

as a judge and coach for the new season. She was voted as Albania's favorite judge later in the series by

Top Channel Top Channel is a national commercial television network based in Tirana, Albania, founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001. In January 2008, Top Channel was awarded national frequency coverage by making it the third such channel in Albania. In 2009, it ...

polls. Besa made her debut in France with her French ballad "En Equilibre" in June 2022. The debut single got positive feedback. "En Equilibre" is the first of her upcoming debut album in the French Music Industry.

Discography

Albums

* ''Besa'' (2006) * ''Evolution'' (2011) * ''Besa për festat'' (2013) * ''Ti je festa ime'' (2014)

Singles

As lead artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besa 1986 births 21st-century Albanian women singers Albanian songwriters Festivali i Këngës contestants Kënga Magjike winners Living people People from Fier