Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Albania is set to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Stand By You" by Anna Gjebrea. The country is to return to the contest after an absence of one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Albanian entry for the 2021 contest in Paris, France was selected through a national final organised by the Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). The national final consisted of nineteen competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by 100% votes of jury members made up of music professionals. Anna Gjebrea won the Junior Fest 2021 with the song "Stand By You" on 23 October 2021.
| Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Albania | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Junior Fest 2021 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 23 October 2021 | |||
| Selected entrant | Anna Gjebrea | |||
| Selected song | "Stand By You" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Background
Prior to the 2021 contest, Albania had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest six times since its first entry in 2012, only opting not to participate at the 2013, 2014 and 2020 contests. Albania has never won the contest, with their best result being in 2015, with the song "Dambaje" by Mishela Rapo achieving fifth place with a score of 93 points.[1] The country did not participate in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] but on 18 August 2021, RTSH announced that Albania will participate at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 following their one-year absence.[3]
Before Junior Eurovision
National final
The national final, Junior Fest 2021, took place on 23 October 2021. The national final consisted of nineteen competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by 100% votes of jury members made up of music professionals.[4]
Key: Winner Second place Third place
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adea Rreshka | "Botën ndal" | — |
| 2 | Viola Gjyzeli | "A më njihni" | — |
| 3 | Iris Çarçani | "Per ty mam" | — |
| 4 | Sergita Varfi | "Tek një flutur krahët marr" | — |
| 5 | Kristel Qarri | "Nesër" | — |
| 6 | Violeta Beshiri | "Mbi krahët e tu" | — |
| 7 | Sajana Kodheli | "Si ty" | — |
| 8 | Stelios & Artemis Tollkuci | "Këngë e klases tonë" | — |
| 9 | Dea & Eva Çutra | "Mesazh nga e ardhmja" | — |
| 10 | Ajlis Disha | "Një këshillë" | — |
| 11 | Klara Leti | "Ëndrra ime e vërtetë" | 3 |
| 12 | Dea Moniku | "Dhurata më ë bukur" | — |
| 13 | Marina Daka | "Shoqja ime" | 2 |
| 14 | Altea Kamberi | "Atdheun kam" | — |
| 15 | Anna Gjebrea | "Stand By You" | 1 |
| 16 | Uarda Dibra & Rosela Gropaj | "Qeni i rruges" | — |
| 17 | Sibora Teqja | "Jemi ne e ardhmja" | — |
| 18 | Keit Hitaj | "Sekreti është sekret" | — |
| 19 | Eizhen Qinami | "Mom" | — |
Promotion
On 20 November, Anna Gjebrea travelled to North Macedonia to perform "Stand By You" on MRT 2, along with the North Macedonian entrant Dajte Muzika.[5]
Artist and song information
Anna Gjebrea
Anna Gjebrea | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Anna Gjebrea |
| Born | 26 January 2009 |
| Origin | Albania |
| Genres | Pop |
| Instruments | Vocals |
Anna Gjebrea (born 26 January 2009)[6] is an Albanian singer from Tirana. She is the daughter of Ardit Gjebrea,[7] with whom she also released the duet "Per ty" in 2017.[8]
Stand By You
| "Stand By You" | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2021 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | Anna Gjebrea |
| Lyricist(s) |
|
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Mikja ime fëmijëri" (2019) | |
"Stand By You" is a song by Anna Gjebrea, written by Adam Watts, Gannin Arnold, Sanni M'Mairura and Endi Çuçi.[9] The music video was filmed on 27 October 2021 in a school, and released two days later.[10][11]
At Junior Eurovision
After the opening ceremony, which took place on 13 December 2021, it was announced that Albania will perform eleventh on 19 December 2021, following Kazakhstan and preceding Ukraine.[12]
Voting
The same voting system that was introduced in the 2017 edition will be used, where the results will be determined by 50% online voting and 50% jury voting.
The online voting consists of two phases. The first phase of the online voting began on 17 December 2021 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances is shown on junioreurovision.tv before the viewers can vote. After this, voters also have the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant's rehearsal. This first round of voting will end on Sunday 19 December at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting will take place during the live show and begin right after the last performance and will be open for 15 minutes. International viewers will be able vote for a maximum of three songs.[13] They will also be able to vote for their own country's song. These votes will then be turned into points which will be determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song received 20% of the votes, it received 20% of the available points.
References
- "Albania". Junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021.
- Granger, Anthony (17 September 2020). "Albania: RTSH Cites COVID-19 As Reason Behind Junior Eurovision Withdrawal". Eurovoix. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- Farren, Neil (18 August 2021). "🇦🇱 Albania: Junior Eurovision 2021 Participation Confirmed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- Granger, Anthony (23 October 2021). "🇦🇱 Albania: Anna Gjebrea Selected For Junior Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- Granger, Anthony (21 November 2021). "🇦🇱 Albania: Anna Gjebrea Promotes "Stand By You" in North Macedonia". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021.
- Gjebrea, Anna [@annagjebreaofficial] (26 January 2021). "Duke festuar ditëlindjen me shoqet e klasës 🎂🍾❤" (in Albanian) – via Instagram.
- "Albania's Anna Gjebrea to join the party! 🇦🇱". Junior Eurovision. European Broadcasting Union. 24 October 2021. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
- Anna & Ardit Gjebrea - Per ty. Kënga Magjike. 12 December 2017 – via YouTube.
- Christou, Costa (24 October 2021). "Anna Gjebrea wins Junior Fest 2021". ESCXTRA.
- Anna Gjebrea - Stand By You - Albania 🇦🇱 - Official Music Video - Junior Eurovision 2021. Junior Eurovision. European Broadcasting Union. 28 October 2021 – via YouTube.
- Herbert, Emily (27 October 2021). "🇦🇱 Albania: Anna Gjebrea Films Music Video For "Stand By You"". Eurovoix.
- "Junior Eurovision: Running order revealed… 🇫🇷". Junioreurovision.tv. 13 December 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
- "You can vote on the winner of Junior Eurovision! 🗳". Junioreurovision.tv. EBU. 13 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020.
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