As the 2025 Eurovision season rolls on, last week, Albania’s contenders were released, so you know what that means: Festivali i Këngës 63 rankings.
In total, 30 songs will compete to win Albania’s national song competition, and the winner will go to the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. As per tradition, Albania will host their competition in mid to late December, ahead of most other countries. Montenegro, for all its difficulties after the show, held theirs in November. A full schedule of national finals known so far can be found here.
We took our scoring rubric and assessed all 30 songs. As we tend to remind you here, nothing but love and respect to all of the artists and we wish them all luck at Festivali i Këngës 63 in a few weeks.
Since there are a lot of songs here, we will give our top ten and see where the rest of them fall on 22 December.
Festivali i Këngës 63 Songs
| Song | Performer(s) |
|---|---|
| “A thu” | Laorjan Ejlli & Adelina Corraj |
| “Amane” | Ardit Çuni |
| “Antihero” | Mal Retkoceri |
| “Bosh” | Algert Sala |
| “Dashuri ndiej” | Klea Dina |
| “E kishim nis” | Stine |
| “E vërteta” | Gresa Gjocera |
| “Frymë” | Lorenc Hasrama |
| “Gjallë” | Jet |
| “I parë” | Orgesa Zaimi |
| “Ishe ti” | Endrik Beba |
| “Ka momente” | Devis Xherahu |
| “Karnaval” | Elvana Gjata |
| “Kur bota hesht” | Kejsi Jazxhi |
| “Kur nata vjen si bora” | Santino de Bartolo |
| “Kurajo dhe Zjarr” | Epos |
| “Larg jetës pa ty” | Gjergj Kaçinari |
| “Larg” | Djemtë e Detit |
| “Lutem” | Vesa Smolica |
| “Mbaje” | Erma Mici |
| “Mjegull” | Alis Kallacej |
| “Nëse qaj” | Martina Serreqi |
| “N’zemër” | Ronaldo Mesuli |
| “Porositë e babait” | Mihallaq Andrea |
| “Qiell apo ferr” | Luna Çausholli |
| “Rreziko” | Frensi Revania |
| “Sot” | Rea Nuhu |
| “Ta dija” | Kleansa Susaj |
| “Zemrës” | Nita Latifi |
| “Zjerm” | Shkodra Elektronike |
Festivali i Këngës 63 Rankings: Top 10
Note: These are the pre-contest rankings and are, as such, incomplete.
10. “Nëse qaj” (Martina Serreqi)
I found the music kind of classy and it was not a bad composition.
9. “Rreziko” (Frensi Revania)
I am hoping the vocals can deliver at the contest because the underlying song was good.
8. “Bosh” (Algert Sala)
My only critique is that it was a little slow, but aside from that, it had a few things going for it.
7. “Gjallë” (Jet)
This song got better as it went along, and while some of the vocals might be an acquired taste, the beat was unique.
6. “Ta dija” (Kleansa Susaj)
It was not bad and it was actually kind of pretty.
5. “Zjerm” (Shkodra Elektronike)
This song is a wild card, and depending on how the live performances go, it can shoot up – or down – the rankings. It could very well evolve into something fun on stage.
4. “Karnaval” (Elvana Gjata)
This song is considered by some to be the favorite. It ends up being fun but it’s kind of a slow-loader and generic pop. Would love to see some personality to it at Festivali i Këngës 63.
3. “Mbaje” (Erma Mici)
Not bad at all. This had some pace to it and I liked her singing.
2. “I parë” (Orgesa Zaimi)
One of the best songs on the ticket in terms of listenability. It was fun but I thought it could have gone even harder. The song does have lyrics which some consider to be nationalistic, which will not sit well with everyone.
1. “Frymë” (Lorenc Hasrama)
Average in terms of how fun it was, but the best vocals. There was a lot of power behind his voice and I think he can surprise people with a strong showing.
Festivali i Këngës 63 Rankings: Honorable Mentions
Below were the songs that finished 11, 12, and 13 on our scorecard.
“Qiell apo ferr” (Luna Çausholli)
It was pretty and she is a decent singer. I wanted a little more out of it in general.
“Dashuri ndiej” (Klea Dina)
This was a little slow, but I thought she was one of the better vocalists. If it goes to Eurovision, it will need to trim out about 20-30 seconds.
“Amane” (Ardit Çuni)
It had a very nice Albanian sound to it, which was its best quality.
