Alban Skënderaj is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer, actor, recording producer and television personality. He was born in Lushnjë and has established himself as a viable alternative and pop rock artist in Albania and the Albanian-speaking world. Skënderaj rose to essential prominence following his victory in Top Fest. His success continued with the release of his debut albums Melodi and Fllad Ne Shkretirë. He and his future wife Miriam Cani participated in Festivali i Këngës in 2010 with the song "Ende Ka Shpresë" whereas they finished second. In 2011, Skënderaj resumed his music career with the release of his third album Ende Ka Shpresë with whom he began to adopt a more mature image. He participated in Kënga Magjikefor the first time in 2012 and won the competition rosing again to great prominence in Albania and the neighbouring countries. Beyond his music career, Skënderaj has been featured as a judge on the Albanian televisiontalent competition series The X Factor Albania and The Voice of Albania.
Biography
Life
Alban Skënderaj was born on 20 April 1982 into an Albanian family in the city of Lushnjë, then part of the People's Republic of Albania, present Albania. His father Qerim Skënderaj has served in the Albanian Armed Forces while his mother has worked in a laboratory of the town's aqueduct. He and his family left Albania for political reasons due to the Albanian Civil War in 1997 and relocated to Pistoia in Italy. He has three brothers: Martin, Arbër and Taulant.
After relocating to Italy, his brothers encouraged Skënderaj to pursue music whereas he began to compose songs for himself in the English and Italian languages. He additionally started taking music lessons and began to play guitar. The master and composer Sandro Bartolozzi, his music coach, discovered his talent and took him to Florence, to the Artestudio53 of the arranger Franco Poggiali Berlinghieri, to show him his musical work by which he was inspired. However, he continued singing with different bands at pubs, clubs and other venues.
Career
In 2005, Skënderaj competed in a festival called Top Fest Albania, he won first place with "Vetem Ty". The verses and the lyric of this song was a real attraction for the teens in all the countries around the world. Then he issued an album named «Fresh in the Desert» with the self-authored songs. On August 3 the same year he appeared at Albanian TV with his music video "Thirrje e Dëshperuar". A year later he again won first place in the same festival, this time performing in a duet with Kosovar band "Kthjellu"; the winning song was titled "Diçka". In 2008, Skënderaj was invited to perform in a live concert held in Tirana, Albania together with some other Albanian singers, there, when he met for the first time Miriam Cani and then fell in love with each other. In 2013 he made her a proposal at Maldive islands singing his song "Nese thua po" which became a hit. After 7 years together, on "Albanian Independence Day" November 28, 2015 Miriam gave birth to their first child. He won "Best Overall Singer" in the Videofest festival for the first time in 2007 with "Ky Ritëm". In June 2012 he won for second time in the Videofest festival with his clip "Mirësevjen në shpirtin tim" He is also part of the jury in the X Factor. In June 2006 he played the role of Romeo in the Albanian version of Gerard Presgurvic's musical Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour. He sought to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany in a duet with Albanian singer and his fiancée Miriam Cani. In 2018 Alban held a recital concert in Palace of Congresses in Albania.
