2021 was the 60th edition of the annual

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 ...

n music competition . It was organised by (RTSH) at 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 ...

, Albania, and consisted of two semi-finals on 27 and 28 December, respectively, and the final on 29 December 2021. The three live shows were hosted by Ardit Gjebrea, Isli Islami,

Jonida Maliqi Jonida Maliqi (; born 26 March 1983) is an Albanian singer and media personality. Throughout her career, Maliqi has won six awards at Kënga Magjike and first place in 2008. She is also a double winner of accolades at the Top Fest in 2006 and 2 ...

, Kelvi Kadilli and Xhemi Shehu.

Ronela Hajati Ronela Hajati (; born 2 September 1989), also known mononymously as Ronela, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Tirana, she began performing in various singing and dancing competitions as a child before pursuing a ca ...

with the song "" emerged as the winner of the contest and represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy.

Format

The 60th edition of was organised by (RTSH) in order to determine Albania's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in

, Italy. The contest consisted of two semi-finals on 27 and 28 December and the grand final on 29 December 2021. The three live shows were hosted by Albanian presenters Ardit Gjebrea, Isli Islami, Kelvi Kadilli, Xhemi Shehu and singer

. In contrast to the prior year's outdoor location due to the ongoing

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COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the contest was again held as per tradition at the

, Albania.

Contestants

RTSH opened an application period for interested artists and composers to submit their applications between 2 July and 30 September 2021 to the broadcaster before extending it to 15 October. A provisory list of 20 artists followed on 9 November 2021, shortlisted by a jury panel consisting of Gjebrea, Arta Marku, Elton Deda, Klodian Qafoku, Marjan Deda, Redi Treni and Zefina Hasani to compete in the semi-finals of the contest. Their songs were made available to listen to on the RTSH's official

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channel on 3 December 2021.

Shows

Contestants night

OlimpiaSmajlaj Performing festivali i Kenges 60

The first show took place on 27 December 2021 at 21:00 (

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast Ente ...

). Three out of six contestants of the New artists section were selected by a seven-member jury panel, consisting of Anxhela Peristeri, Agim Doçi, Anxhela Faber, Osman Mula,

Rozana Radi Rozana Radi (; born 6 July 1979) is an Albanian singer-songwriter and actress. Radi emerged as the winner of the 18th edition of in 2016. Life and career 1979–2012: Early life and career beginnings Rozana Radi was born on 6 July 1979 in ...

, Olsa Toqi and Olti Curri, to advance to the third show of the contest. However, all 14 contestants of the Established artists section advanced to the third show with no qualifications taking place beforehand. Key: Qualifier

Duet night

The second show took place on 28 December 2021 at 21:00 (CET). The contestants performed in a duet with previous personalities of except the three newcomers, who presented acoustic versions of their songs.

Eurovision night

The third show took place on 29 December 2021 at 21:00 (CET). For the first time, the contestants were permitted to perform in English or any other language. The winner of the contest was determined by the combination of the votes by the seven-member jury panel of the first show of the contest.

with the song "" emerged as the winner and was thus announced as Albania's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Key: Winner Second place Third place

References

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2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2021 in Albanian music 2021 in Albanian television 2021 song contests December 2021 events in Europe Eurovision Song Contest 2022