Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Albania participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk, Belarus with the song "Barbie" performed by Efi Gjika. The Albanian broadcaster RTSH was responsible for the organization of their representative at the contest. Their entry was selected through Junior Fest 2018, a national selection process consisting of sixteen artists competed in order to become the Albanian representative on 23 September 2018.
| Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Albania | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Junior Fest 2018 | |||
| Selection date(s) |
| |||
| Selected entrant | Efi Gjika | |||
| Selected song | "Barbie" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Hristina Gjika Efthimia Gjika | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 17th, 44 points | |||
| Albania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Background
Prior to the 2018 contest, Albania had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest four times since its first entry in 2012, only opting not to participate at the 2013 and 2014 contests. Albania has never won the contest, with their best result being in 2015, with the song "Dambaje" performed by Mishela Rapo, achieving fifth place with a score of 93 points. In 2016, Klesta Qehaja represented Albania in Valletta, Malta with the song "Besoj".[1] The country ended in 13th place out of 17 countries, achieving 38 points. In 2017, Ana Kodra represented Albania in Tbilisi, Georgia with the song "Don't Touch My Tree" and participated in the 2018 national final but did not win.
Before Junior Eurovision
National final
The national final Junior Fest 2018 took place on 23 September 2018. It consisted of sixteen competing acts participating in a televised production at Amphitheater of the Lake Park in Tirana.
| Draw [2] | Artist [3] | Song [4] | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hera Hysi | "Melodi pranverore" (Spring Melodies) | Albanian |
| 2 | Emmi Rushiti | "Mbrëmje feste" (Party Feast) | Albanian |
| 3 | Kristiana Veshaj | "Sot" (Today) | Albanian |
| 4 | Efi Gjika | "Barbie" | Albanian |
| 5 | Jasmina Hako | "Happy" | Albanian, English |
| 6 | Sindi Goga | "Me tinguj fantazi" (With Sound Fantasy) | Albanian |
| 7 | Iris Sula & Samanta Qoshku | "Çdo gjë do dashuri" (Everything will love you) | Albanian |
| 8 | Era Rakipllari | "Panorama" | Albanian, English |
| 9 | Merlin Xhai | "Botë e re" (New World) | Albanian |
| 10 | Laura Boriçi | "Është koha" (It's Time) | Albanian |
| 11 | Iris Dollani | "Ylberi im" (My Pavonine) | Albanian |
| 12 | Sajana Kodhelaj | "Ylli im" (My Star) | Albanian |
| 13 | Ana Kodra | "Prindër ju lutem" (Parents, Please) | Albanian |
| 14 | Melodajn Mancaku | "Ëndërroj" (Daydream) | Albanian |
| 15 | Speranca Bregasi | "Ditari" (Diary) | Albanian |
| 16 | Uendi Goga | "Qiellin dhe yjet i dua" (Heaven and stars, I love) | Albanian |
Artist and song information
Efi Gjika | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Efthimia Gjika |
| Born | 26 September 2008 |
| Origin | Albania |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| "Barbie" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | Efi Gjika |
| Languages | Albanian, English |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Don’t Touch My Tree" (2017) | |
| "Mikja ime fëmijëria" (2019) ► | |
Efi Gjika
Her official name is Efthimia Gjika, she composed the song herself.
Barbie
"Barbie" is a song by Albanian child singer Efi Gjika. It represented Albania at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
At Junior Eurovision
During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 19 November 2018, Albania was drawn to perform fourth on 25 November 2018, following Kazakhstan and preceding Russia.
Voting
The results of the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be determined by national juries and an online audience vote. Every country will have a national jury that will consist of three music industry professionals and two kids aged between 10 and 15 who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury will be asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The first phase of the online voting will start on 23 November 2018 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances will be shown on junioreurovision.tv before the viewers can vote. After this, voters will also have the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant’s rehearsal. This first round of voting will stop on Sunday, 25 November, at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting will take place during the live show and will start right after the last performance and will be open for 15 minutes. International viewers can vote for a minimum of three countries and a maximum of five. They can also 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 receives 20% of the votes, thus it will receive 20% of the available points. The public vote will count for 50% of the final result, while the other 50% will come from the professional juries.
Points awarded to Albania
| Jury | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
- Albania received 34 points from Online voting.
Points awarded by Albania
| 12 points |  France |
| 10 points |  Macedonia |
| 8 points |  Poland |
| 7 points | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
| 6 points |  Azerbaijan |
| 5 points |  Malta |
| 4 points |  Kazakhstan |
| 3 points |  Armenia |
| 2 points |  Ukraine |
| 1 point |  Israel |
Split voting results
| Split voting results from Albania | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Country | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Average Rank | Points | |
| 01 | Ukraine |
6 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 2 | |
| 02 |  Portugal |
16 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 15 | ||
| 03 | Kazakhstan |
8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
| 04 | Albania |
||||||||
| 05 |  Russia |
17 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 19 | ||
| 06 |  Netherlands |
15 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 07 | Azerbaijan |
4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 6 | |
| 08 |  Belarus |
7 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 09 |  Ireland |
19 | 17 | 19 | 12 | 9 | 17 | ||
| 10 |  Serbia |
10 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 16 | ||
| 11 |  Italy |
14 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 13 | ||
| 12 | Australia |
5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| 13 |  Georgia |
12 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 11 | ||
| 14 | Israel |
13 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 1 | |
| 15 | France |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | |
| 16 | Macedonia |
3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 | |
| 17 | Armenia |
11 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 3 | |
| 18 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 18 | ||
| 19 | Malta |
9 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 5 | |
| 20 | Poland |
2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 8 | |
References
- Malaj, Eris (1 June 2016). "JESC 2016: Klesta Qehaja to represent Albania with Besoj". eurovisionary.com. EuroVisionary. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- https://www.escxtra.com/2018/09/21/albanias-junior-fest-participants-revealed-ana-kodra-returns/
- https://www.escxtra.com/2018/09/21/albanias-junior-fest-participants-revealed-ana-kodra-returns/
- https://www.escxtra.com/2018/09/21/albanias-junior-fest-participants-revealed-ana-kodra-returns/