Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Country	Albania
National selection
Selection process	Festivali i Këngës 50
Selection date(s)	Semi-final 26 December 2011 27 December 2011 Final 29 December 2011
Selected entrant	Rona Nishliu
Selected song	"Suus"
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (2nd, 146 points)
Final result	5th, 146 points
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 • 2012 • 2013►

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Albanian entry was selected through Festivali i Këngës, a national selection that consisted of two semifinals and a final, organised by the Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Rona Nishliu represented Albania with the song "Suus", which qualified from the first semi-final and went on to place 5th in the final, scoring 146 points.^[1][2]

Festivali i Këngës 50

RTSH confirmed participation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in the show called "Historia nis këtu" (The Story Begins Here). This year's Festivali i Këngës had its 50th anniversary, and it was held in December 2011, as it is known as the "End of Year Festival".^[3][4][5] The shows were hosted by Enkeleida Zeko, Hygerta Sako & Nik Xhelilaj. The guest of honor in Semi-Final 1 was Eddy Wata who sang "Señorita" and "I Love My People".

Participants

On 22 October 2011, RTSH revealed the participants of Festivali i Këngës 50^[6] and on 17 December 2011, RTSH announced all song titles, lyric composers and music composers.^[7]

Semi-Final 1

Semi-Final 2

Final

At Eurovision

During the Semi-Final Allocation draw which was held on 25 January 2012, it was announced Albania were scheduled to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 22 May.^[8] On 20 March 2012 the Running Order draw was held, which determined the order of which the participants performed. Albania performed 5th in the first semi-final and has advanced to the final for the second time in 3 years.^[9]

In Albania, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on TVSH, RTSH Muzikë and Radio Tirana with commentary by Andri Xhahu. The Albanian spokesperson revealing the result of the Albanian vote in the final was Andri Xhahu.

The telecast of the first semifinal was delayed by more than 2 hours due to breaking news coverage of the Qafa e Vishës bus accident. As a result, Albania used its jury votes during the first semifinal and in the final on 26 May.

Points Awarded by Albania^[10]

Semi final[11] 12 points  Montenegro 10 points  San Marino 8 points  Greece 7 points  Hungary 6 points  Cyprus 5 points  Romania 4 points  Moldova 3 points   Switzerland 2 points  Belgium 1 point  Finland

Final[12] 12 points  Greece 10 points  Turkey 8 points  Macedonia 7 points  Italy 6 points  Cyprus 5 points  Sweden 4 points  Azerbaijan 3 points  Russia 2 points  Germany 1 point  Serbia

Points Awarded to Albania

Semi-Final 1

Finals

See also

• Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 2012

References

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 2000s Anjeza Shahini Ledina Çelo Luiz Ejlli Frederik Ndoci Olta Boka Kejsi Tola 2010s Juliana Pasha Aurela Gaçe Rona Nishliu Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko Hersi Elhaida Dani Eneda Tarifa   Songs 2000s "The Image of You" "Tomorrow I Go" "Zjarr e ftohtë" "Hear My Plea" "Zemrën e lamë peng" "Carry Me in Your Dreams" 2010s "It's All About You" "Feel the Passion" "Suus" "Identitet" "One Night's Anger" "I'm Alive" "Fairytale Love" (Note: Entries scored out are when Albania did not compete)