Festivali i Këngës

Festivali i Këngës is an Albanian song contest, organised by the Albanian national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Since its beginnings in 1966 all performers have been required to perform live, with a jury or televote selecting the winner. Since 2003 it has been used to select Albania's entry for the international Eurovision Song Contest.

The contest has developed over time, from its humble beginnings with many neutral themes in its competing songs to a tool for the governing Communist Party of Albania in promoting their ideals. The 1972 contest became a turning point for the contest, in which dictator Enver Hoxha prosecuted the organisers of Festivali i Këngës 11 after they were declared "enemies of the public" for accusations of endangering the country with "immoral aspects" in the songs and the performances on the night. Afterwards the ruling Communist Party imposed many sanctions on the contest's creativty, with a strict censorship on anything deemed inappropriate by the government.

After the fall of communism in Albania in 1991 the contest was again allowed to diversify the themes of its competing songs, with many competing and winning songs featuring new themes, such as immigration/travel and religion (both illegal under the communist regime).

Until 1999 Festivali i Këngës was the biggest music event in Albania, however its popularity began to waver after the introduction of other competitions like Top Fest and Kënga Magjike, who began to produce higher ratings. However with Albania's introduction in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Festivali i Këngës once again became the centre of attention after Anjeza Shahini, winner of Albanian Idol, won the contest in 2003.

However Festivali i Këngës remains controversial, with many believing the contest and its song quality to be outdated, especially with Eurovision participation, compared to mainstream Albanian music. Along with this the decision made of the winner has been controversial, with a lack of transparency between 2003 and 2005, and allegations of jury bias, fraud and racism regularly arising, for example in the 2007 contest.

History

Impressive Record

Festivali i Këngës, began on December 21, 1962 in the ILA Venue in Tirana, Albania. 20 songs competed in its semifinal round, but only 12 made it through to the final. The first winner of Festivali i Këngës was the legendary Vaçe Zela with her famous song "Fëmija I Parë" (The First Child). Vaçe Zela is the singer with the most victories in FIK history to date, an impressive 10 times.

Singers with consecutive wins include:

• 1. Vaçe Zela (1966, 1967, 1968 duet; 1976 & 1977)
• 2. Alida Hisku (1974 & 1975)
• 3. Manjola Nallbani (1992 trio & 1993 solo)
• 4. Elsa Lila (1996 & 1997)

Harsh Censorship

Before 1972, the songs had a neutral nature, covering many topics of life. However, after Festivali i Këngës 11, dictator Enver Hoxha intervened by imprisoning the main organisers of the show and unjustly accused them of consipiring against the country and corrupting its youth^[1][2]. The contest dwelled in a period of extreme pressure and censorship. The songs were highly monitored and the topics were generally related to the country's development and even the government. This oppression continued all the way until 1984 when the dictator died. The following year, the change in lyrics was very abrupt, and censorship was not as strict.

The Winds Of Change

With the fall of dictatorship during the 1990s, Festivali i Këngës had a temporary boost in both quality and diversity. The winning songs reflected the status of the country at the time. The 1991 winner "Ardit Gjebrea - Jon" and the 1992 winner Osman Mula's song "Aleksandër Gjoka, Manjola Nallbani & Viktor Tahiraj - Pesha E Fatit" were both songs with an "immigration/freedom" theme, which was the reality at the time in Albania as well. During this period, the contest was also introduced to the word God for the first time. Prior to that, religion was illegal in Albania and the word God was not allowed to be pronounced in public. The participation of Albanian singers from outside the borders was also an addition to the history of the festival in this decade. Before that, the country was in a period of isolation.

Troubled Times

In 1996, the stage of Festivali i Këngës welcomed newcomer Elsa Lila, a sweet and innocent girl that stole the hearts of everyone with her wonderful voice. She won the contest with "Pyes Lotin" in 1996, and she pulled off another victory the following year with "Larg Urrejtjes" in 1997. These songs were also a mirror to the country's difficult reality in those years after the collapse of the pyramid schemes, an event which wreaked havoc all throughout Albania. Despite the difficult times, Festivali i Këngës never stopped its broadcast and went ahead as scheduled in the final weeks of December every year since its start.

In 1998, Albërie Hadërgjonaj became the first Kosovar-Albanian singer to win the contest with the ballad "Mirësia Dhe E Vërteta". The song had a humanitarian anti-war message and is often referred to as a song for Kosovo, relating to the 1998–1999 war.

Cool Off

By the year 2000, Festivali i Këngës had lost a lot of its admirers to the competition of Kënga Magjike, a similar song contest taking place in the Fall, as well as Top Fest, which started a few years later as a reality series on Top Channel leading to a big Spring finale. However, another talented newcomer graced the stage of FIK in 2003, idol winner Anjeza Shahini. She had just won the "Ethet E Së Premtes Mbrëma" talent show a few months before competing in FIK and the public was madly in love with her voice, her beautiful stage presence and her charming ways.

Eurovision Era

Anjeza Shahini won the 42nd edition of Festivali i Këngës as everyone expected, putting hopeful professional singer Mariza Ikonomi in second place. Mariza ended up leaving the stage when the results were announced in sign of protest. Much was at stake in this edition because the winner would be the first ever representative of Albania in Eurovision. Anjeza went on to sing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, landing herself in a respectable 7th place with the song "The Image Of You".

In December 2004, Ledina Çelo won the 43rd edition of FIK but failed to create the same success in the 2005 contest, and in December 2005 Luiz Ejlli won the 44th edition of FIK, but he also failed to impress in the 2006 contest, failing to qualify in the semi-final. In 2006, Frederik Ndoci & Aida Ndoci were the winners of Festivali i Këngës, making this the second time Frederik wins this contest, the first one being in 1989. He also failed to reach the final in Eurovision Song Contest 2007. FIK 2007 was won by Olta Boka who performed in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. She was able to qualify for the final by a thin margin, however the final scoreboard did not work in her favor, placing 17th of 25.

Hosts

Winners

Recurring Winners

• Some artists have won Festivali i Këngës more than once:

Eurovision Results

Trivia

• In the early editions of Festivali i Këngës, each song would be interpreted two or three times by different singers.
• In 1980, it has been rumoured that the government intervened in the selection of the winner, giving the victory to "Shoqet tona ilegale" by Vaçe Zela instead of "Njerëzit e agimeve" by Alida Hisku.
• In 1987, it was said that Kozma Dushi with the song "Lot me ty o djalë" was set to be declared the winner, however minutes before the jury made their decision, the wife of the country's ruler, Nexhmije Hoxha, declared that she did not want that song to win, so another song was chosen to win.
• In 1994, Mariza Ikonomi became the youngest singer to compete in the festival at the age of 12, in a duet with Françesk Radi and their song "Telefonatë zemrash".
• In 1995, the song "E Doni Dashurinë" by Luan Zhegu & Ledina Çelo was reported to be the most applauded song in Festivali i Këngës history to date, a total applause time of 7 minutes and 11 seconds.
• In 1997, Alma Bektashi had a wardrobe malfunction on stage when her dress fell off, revealing her breast. The cameras managed to avoid the incident, however the audience received a full view of the incident.
• In 1998 the first Kosovar-Albanian singer, Albërie Hadërgjonaj with the song "Mirësia dhe e vërteta", was declared the winner.
• In 1999, the song "Apokalipsi" by Irma & Eranda Libohova was claimed to be the real winner instead of Aurela Gaçe's "S'jam tribu".
• In 2004, Ledina Çelo was the center of attention when it was rumored that she had not done any stage praeparantion before her performance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Scandals

• In 1963, Besnik Taraveshi was the first singer to be prosecuted by the Communist Dictatorship, ahead of many to come throughout the history of the festival. This was due to his interpretation and mispronunciation of a word in the song "Djaloshi dhe shiu".
• In 1964, head of the jury Llazar Siliqi decided that no first place will be awarded, due to the low quality of the songs. Instead, "Dritaren kërkoj" by Vaçe Zela was awarded second place, and two other songs awarded third place.
• In 1972, paranoid Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha deemed the organisers of Festivali i Këngës 11 to be "Enemies of The People", a name given to all the subjects who he considered a danger to the country. Unluckily, many of them were prosecuted after being accused of endangering the country's mentality by introducing an immoral aspect to the show, and plotting against the government by influencing the Albanian youth at the time. RTSH general director at the time Todi Lubonja, together with the festival's director Mihal Luarasi and singer Sherif Merdani were sentenced and would remain imprisoned for sixteen years until 1989, while many of the others involved were banned from working in television and/or were deported to remote Albanian cities^[1][2] .

The claims were out of context and these punishments were used as an example and a statement for future organisers. There is a whole book dedicated to this event: Festivali i Njëmbëdhjetë (The 11th Festival), written by Skifter Këlliçi.

• In 1999, Irma & Eranda Libohova protested against the jury by leaving the Palace of Congresses when it was announced that their song had come in 2nd place.
• In 2003, the same scenario happened, this time with singer Mariza Ikonomi, who was eager to represent Albania for the first time in the Eurovision Song Contest. She lost to Anjeza Shahini.
• In 2004, the producers of the song "Nesër shkoj" filed a law-suit against Ledina Çelo because she had signed contracts with a phone company without previously consulting them. She was also accused of not attending the conferences set up the producers and that she had not rehearsed the song enough. The suit was dropped within the week that it was filed.
• In 2006, Greta Koçi was so disappointed from her 5th placing with the song "Eja zemër" that she burst out in tears, while her mother faced off the festival's 7 member jury with allegations of corruption and incompetence.
• In 2007, Blero dropped out of the competition, claiming that he was asked for a large amount of money in exchange of a victory by an anonymous caller. He also claimed that the first three positions were already decided by the organizers prior to the event. The jury and the festival administration replied in a press statement that it was Blero who had asked for the first prize by sending an SMS which stated that he would withdraw if his victory was not guaranteed.
• Also in 2007, Manjola Nallbani accused the festival authorities that they had sabotaged her song. Her voice was not heard at all in the hall, instead the public only heard the orchestra and the playback. This was confirmed by the general director of the festival Zamira Koleci. Nallbani declared that she would no longer participate in this event and called certain organizers mafiosos.
• The 2007 edition also provoked a huge public reaction and massive press attention after the song of "Jeta kërkon dashuri" by Flaka Krelani and Doruntina Disha placed second, prompting corruption accusations about the jury, namely Gjergj Xhuvani and Alban Skënderaj. These two judges did not give any points to this song, while four judges awarded it maximum points and Rudina Magjistari awarded it the second highest points. General Director Zamira Koleci in a press interview called the two judges "gangsters and racists" after their boycott of the song from the Kosovo Albanian singers. Edmond Zhulali, composer of the song and artistic director of FIK, submitted a request to the RTSH council for the jury's votes to be disqualified. The council however turned down this request after 2 hours of debate.

Twin Contests

• Kënga Magjike
• Sanremo Music Festival
• Eurovision Song Contest

References

See also

• Radio Televizioni Shqiptar

External links

• Official Festivali i Këngës Website RTSH