Hersjana Matmuja (born 1 February 1990), also known as Hersi Matmuja or simply Hersi, is an Albanian singer and songwriter. After winning the 52nd edition of

Festivali i Këngës Festivali i Këngës (; ), also referred to as simply FiK, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, it has also determ ...

, she represented Albania in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...

Life and career

Hersi Matmuja was born on February 1, 1990, in

Kukës Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 16 ...

. She started singing when she was 8 years old and as a child participated in many festivals and talent shows. During that time, she also studied Canto at Liceu "Jordan Misja" in Tirana, where she received the highest possible grade of 10/10 upon completion. In 2003, she provided the singing voice of

Melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

in the Albanian dub of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, when she was only 13 years old. While Hersi was studying at the Liceu, she participated for the first time at the Festivali i Kenges, when she was 16 years old, winning First Prize in the Youth Category for her rendition of the song "Ah jetë, oh jetë" composed by Frederik Ndoci. She returned to participate in the Festivali i Këngës three more times. Hersi also participated twice 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 edi ...

. In 2009, she auditioned for enrollment at the "Santa Cecilia" Conservatory in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(qualifying first among all applicants), where she studied

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

and started committing professionally to music, participating in concerts and Classical music competitions. In October 2014, she graduated from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory with the maximum score of 30/30 and the title of "Maestro". Despite her classical music training, Hersi says her musical influences include Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Björk and ABBA. She studies at

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

. Matmuja was among the 16 participants taking part at the 52nd edition of Festivali i Këngës. Her song "Zemërimi i një nate" (One night's anger) was written by Jorgo Papingji and composed by Genti Lako. She performed on the first presentation night and shortly became a favourite to win the show. She opened the final night and received 69 points from the jury, thus getting the rights to represent

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 ...

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She left Klodian Kaçani and "Me ty" behind with 24 points. The Eurovision version of Zemërimi i një nate (One Night's Anger) and official video was released on 20 March. Matmuja performed in the first semi final, on 6 May, but placed fifteenth out of sixteen acts in the semi-final and did not qualify for the final on 10 May.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

* 2006: ''Ah jetë, oh jetë'' * 2010: ''Me cilin rri ti dashuri'' * 2011: ''Natë moj natë'' * 2011: ''Aty ku më le'' * 2012: ''Kthehu'' (ft. Gjergj Leka) * 2012: ''Animon'' * 2012: ''Kush ta dha këtë emër'' * 2013: ''Zemërimi i një nate'' * 2014: ''

One Night's Anger "One Night's Anger" is a song by Albanian singer Hersi Matmuja. The track was first released as part of a CD compilation on 11 April 2014 by CMC Records and Universal Music. The English-language rock song was written by Jorgo Papingji and compo ...

'' * 2021: ''Kënga e çobanit''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matmuja, Hersjana 1990 births Living people People from Kukës 21st-century Albanian women singers Albanian expatriates in Italy Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2014 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Albania Festivali i Këngës winners Articles containing video clips Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni