Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Albanian entry was selected through Festivali i Këngës 52, a national final format that consisted of two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Albanian broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar. Albania was represented by the song "One Night's Anger" written by Gentian Lako and Jorgo Papingji and performed by Hersi. The entry failed to qualify from the first semi-final placing 15th and scoring 22 points.
Festivali i Këngës 52
Festivali i Këngës 52 was the 52nd annual edition of the Albanian music competition Festivali i Këngës and the 11th time the competition was used to determine the artist and song that would represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest, this time selecting their 2014 Contest entry. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 26 and 27 December 2013 and a final on 28 December 2013, held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. Enkel Demi hosted all three shows with Xhesika Berberi and Marinela Meta co-hosting the first two shows and Klea Huta co-hosting the final.Competing entries
RTSH invited interested artists and composers to submit their entries until the deadline on 22 October 2013. On 4 November 2013, the sixteen artists and songs that participated in the competition were announced with two previous Albanian Eurovision Song Contest entrants, Luiz Ejlli and Frederik Ndoci, among the competitors. Orges Toçe was originally selected to compete with the song "Jeta në orën 4", however the entry was withdrawn and replaced with the song "Jehona" performed by the group NA.| Artist | Song | English translation | Music / Lyrics |
| Besiana Mehmeti and Shkodran Tolaj | "Jam larg" | I'm far away | Vullnet Ibrahimi |
| Blerina Braka | "Mikja ime" | My friend | Gramoz Kozeli |
| Edmond Mancaku and Entela Zhula | "Vetëm për ty" | Only for you | Edmond Mancaku, Alma Meraj |
| Frederik Ndoci | "Një ditë shprese" | One hopeful day | Frederik Ndoci, Agim Doçi |
| Hersiana Matmuja | "Zemërimi i një nate" | One night's anger | Genti Lako, Jorgo Papingji |
| Klodian Kaçani | "Me ty" | With you | Klodian Qafoku, Florian Zyka |
| Luiz Ejlli | "Kthehu" | Come back | Marjan Deda, Sokol Marsi |
| Lynx | "Princesha" | The Princess | Lynx |
| Marjeta Billo | "Ti mungon" | You're missing | Lambert Jorganxhi, Florian Zyka |
| NA | "Jehona" | Echo | Enis Mullaj |
| Renis Gjoka | "Mjegulla" | Fog | Renis Gjoka, Edmond Tupe |
| Rezarta Smaja | "Në zemër" | In the heart | Sokol Marsi |
| Sajmir Braho | "Grua" | Wife | Endri Sina, Sajmir Braho |
| Venera Lumani and Lindi Islami | "Natë e pare" | First night | Endrit Shani, Olti Curri |
| Xhejn & Enxhi Kumrija | "Kur qielli qan" | When the sky cries | Xhejn Kumrija, Enxhi Kumrija |
| Xhejsi Jorgaqi | "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra" | Dreams are dreams | Xhejsi Jorgaqi |
Semi-finals
The first semi-final took place on 26 December 2013 and the second semi-final took place on 27 December 2013. Each semi-final featured the showcasing of eight of the competing songs. Both evenings were non-competitive and the eight songs from each semi-final all proceeded to the final. In addition to the performance of the songs, each of the competing artists performed a duet of a past competing entry from the history of Festivali i Këngës with another Albanian artist. The first semi-final featured an opening performance of last year's winning song "Identitet" performed by Adrian Lulgjuraj and Bledar Sejko and the second semi-final featured an opening performance by the RTSH orchestra performing the song "Fëmija i parë", the winning song of the first edition of Festivali i Këngës.Semi-final 1
Semi-final 2
Final
The final took place on 28 December 2013 where all sixteen songs were performed and a jury panel determined the winner of the competition. In addition to the performances of the competing entries Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest and The Voice of Italy winner and previous Festivali i Këngës participant Elhaida Dani performed as guests.Each jury member awarded points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12 to their top ten songs and the song which had the most points at the conclusion of the voting won the competition. The jury panel that selected the winner consisted of:
- Agim Krajka, composer
- Aleksandër Lalo, composer
- Haig Zacharian, composer
- Xhevahir Spahiu, writer
- Petrit Malaj, actor
- Eriona Rushiti, musicologist
- Bojken Lako, singer
| Draw | Artist | Song | A. Krajka | A. Lalo | H. Zaharian | E. Rushiti | P. Malaj | X. Spahiu | B. Lako | Total | Place |
| 1 | Hersiana Matmuja | "Zemërimi i një nate" | 8 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 69 | 1 |
| 2 | Besiana Mehmeti and Shkodran Tolaj | "Jam larg" | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 13 | |||
| 3 | Luiz Ejlli | "Kthehu" | 5 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 10 | |||
| 4 | Frederik Ndoci | "Një ditë shprese" | 5 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 33 | 5 | |
| 5 | NA | "Jehona" | 12 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 25 | 7 | |||
| 6 | Klodian Kaçani | "Me ty" | 7 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 45 | 2 | ||
| 7 | Venera Lumani and Lindi Islami | "Natë e pare" | 10 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 37 | 4 | ||
| 8 | Blerina Braka | "Mikja ime" | 6 | 10 | 16 | 12 | |||||
| 9 | Xhejsi Jorgaqi | "Ëndërrat janë ëndërra" | 0 | 16 | |||||||
| 10 | Xhejn & Enxhi Kumrija | "Kur qielli qan" | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 6 | ||
| 11 | Lynx | "Princesha" | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | ||||
| 12 | Marjeta Billo | "Ti mungon" | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 11 | ||
| 13 | Sajmir Braho | "Grua" | 5 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 3 | |
| 14 | Rezarta Smaja | "Në zemër" | 12 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 7 | ||||
| 15 | Edmond Mancaku and Entela Zhula | "Vetëm për ty" | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 14 | |||
| 16 | Renis Gjoka | "Mjegulla" | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 9 |
At Eurovision
During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Albania was drawn to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 6 May 2014. In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Albania would perform 6th, following Iceland and preceding Russia. Albania failed to qualify from the first semi-final, placing 15th and scoring 22 points.At the contest, Hersi performed the Albanian entry in English under the title "One Night's Anger". The final contest version of the song and the music video were released on 16 March 2014. On stage, Hersi was joined by two backing vocalists, a guitarist and a drum player. The Albanian performance featured Hersi performing on a platform with dark blue LED projections of cloudy skies.
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.
Points awarded to Albania
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Albania
Semi-final 1
Points awarded in first semi-final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Final
Points awarded in the final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Albanian jury:- Edmond Zhulali – Chairperson – composer/producer
- Alfred Kacinari – composer/producer
- Jetmir Barbullushi – composer, conductor, musician
- Mira Tuci – journalist for art and culture
- Engjell Ndocaj – journalist, producer, director
Semi-final 1