Festivali i Këngës 44 took place in the Palace of Congresses in Tirana

Tirana

Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. There were two semifinals (16 & 17 December 2005) and a final (18 December 2005). This contest was used to select the third Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 entry for Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. 34 songs competed for the win but only 20 made it to the final. In the end, Luiz Ejlli

Luiz Ejlli

Luiz Ejlli is an Albanian singer.-Biography:Luiz Ejlli was born in Shkodra and between 1991 and 2002 he attended the "Prenk Jakova" secondary school in Shkodra. In 1995, he won the Best Voice Prize in "Child National Fesitival" in Shkodra. In 1998, he participated as a soloist in the "Gold...

 won the first prize and went on to represent Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 in Eurovision. Era Rusi was the runner up. The amount of points for each singer was not announced. Instead, only the Top 3 places were made public. The winner was determined by a 50% jury vote and 50% televote. The RTSH orchestra was present, but the option of playback was also available. The director was Leonard Gjata, and last year's winner Ledina Çelo

Ledina Çelo

Ledina Çelo is an Albanian singer and model.In December 2003 she hosted the Albanian national Final for the Eurovision Song Contest. One year later she participated herself and won with Nesër Shkoj, on the Eurovision she decided to sing in English with Tomorrow I Go...

 made a guest appearance.

Results

Draw	Artist	Song	Rank	Points
1	Kujtim Prodani	Theva kokën si pa dashur	N/A	N/A
2	Manjola Nallbani	S'mjafton një jetë	N/A	N/A
3	Edona Llalloshi	Vetëm një puthje	N/A	N/A
4	Eri Feat. Perfect Bliss	Dumbade	N/A	N/A
5	Marsida Saraçi	Do të doja	N/A	N/A
6	Mateus Frroku	Ti ëngjëll, unë promete	N/A	N/A
7	Mariza Ikonomi & Erion Korini	Edhe fati qan	N/A	N/A
8	Kozma Dushi	Nuk plaken ëndrrat	N/A	N/A
9	Denisa Macaj & Entela Zhula	Kur zemra prek një dashuri	N/A	N/A
10	Sonida Mara	Vjeshtë me ty	N/A	N/A
11	Anjeza Shahini Anjeza Shahini Anjeza Shahini is an Albanian singer. She represented Albania at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "The Image of You" in the country's debut year in the ESC.-Eurovision 2004:...	Pse ndal	N/A	N/A
12	Albërie Hadërgjonaj	Ah sikur kjo jetë	N/A	N/A
13	Sajmir Çili	Hipokrizi	N/A	N/A
14	Evis Mula	Ku t'a gjej unë këngën	3	N/A
15	Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli is an Albanian singer.-Biography:Luiz Ejlli was born in Shkodra and between 1991 and 2002 he attended the "Prenk Jakova" secondary school in Shkodra. In 1995, he won the Best Voice Prize in "Child National Fesitival" in Shkodra. In 1998, he participated as a soloist in the "Gold...	Zjarr e ftohtë Zjarr E Ftohtë "Zjarr e ftohtë" was the Albanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Albanian by Luiz Ejlli. This was the first time that the Albanian entry in the contest was sung in Albanian....	1	N/A
16	Erti Hizmo & Flaka Krelani	Për ty	N/A	N/A
17	Miriam Cani Miriam Cani Miriam Cani is a German singer and television host of Albanian descent. At the age of six she moved together with her family to Heidelberg, Germany were she soon attained German citizenship along with the rest of her family. She was a member of the successful German pop girl group Preluders...	Shko	N/A	N/A
18	Era Rusi	Nuk je ëndërr	2	N/A
19	Agim Poshka	Nostalgji	N/A	N/A
20	Erinda Dhima	Për ju	N/A	N/A

Semi Final 1

Draw	Artist	Song	Finalist
1	Besart Halimi	Loja Dashuri	NO
2	Sfinks SFINKS In cryptography, SFINKS is a stream cypher algorithm developed by An Braeken, Joseph Lano, Nele Mentens, Bart Preneel, and Ingrid Verbauwhede. It includes a message authentication code. It has been submitted to the eSTREAM Project of the eCRYPT network....	Heshtje	NO
3	Rudi	Qyteti Im	NO
4	Edmond Mancaku	Ish Dashuri Dhe Jo Mëkat	NO
5	Aurel Thëllimi	Dhe Kur Kujtesa...	NO
6	Julian Lekoçaj	Niki	NO
7	Erinda Dhima	Për Ju	YES
8	Edona Llalloshi	Vetëm Një Puthje	YES
9	Tonin Marku	Sytë E Dashurisë	NO
10	Agim Poshka	Nostalgji	YES
11	Evis Mula	Ku T'a Gjej Unë Këngën	YES
12	Mateus Frroku	Ti Ëngjëll, Unë Prometë	YES
13	Era Rusi	Nuk Je Ëndërr	YES
14	Ermiona Lekbello	Gjysëm Ëndërr Je O Grua	NO
15	Erti Hizmo & Flaka Krelani	Për Ty	YES
16	Joe Artid Fejzo	Zhurma E Heshtjes	NO
17	Kozma Dushi	Nuk Plaken Ëndrrat	YES

Semi Final 2

Draw	Artist	Song	Finalist
1	Eri Eri Eri can refer to:* Eri , a Japanese feminine given name* Erie International Airport in Erie, Pennsylvania, IATA airport code* Eri, a biblical figure* Eri , the progenitor of the Nri-Igbo* Eri, a type of silk from Assam, India...  Feat. Perfect Bliss Perfect Bliss "Perfect Bliss" was the Irish girl group Bellefire's debut single, taken from their album After the Rain. It peaked at #2 in Ireland.-Track listing:#"Perfect Bliss"#"Don't Let Me Down"#"Dancing Inside"...	Dumbade	YES
2	Sonida Mara	Vjeshtë Me Ty	YES
3	Armando Dimi	Mall	NO
4	Guximtar Rushani	Lotë Dashurie	NO
5	Yllka Kuqi	Të Gjeta	NO
6	Pandora Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts...	Pritja	NO
7	Denisa Macaj & Entela Zhula	Kur Zemra Prek Një Dashuri	YES
8	Sajmir Çili	Hipokrizi	YES
9	Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli is an Albanian singer.-Biography:Luiz Ejlli was born in Shkodra and between 1991 and 2002 he attended the "Prenk Jakova" secondary school in Shkodra. In 1995, he won the Best Voice Prize in "Child National Fesitival" in Shkodra. In 1998, he participated as a soloist in the "Gold...	Zjarr e ftohtë Zjarr E Ftohtë "Zjarr e ftohtë" was the Albanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Albanian by Luiz Ejlli. This was the first time that the Albanian entry in the contest was sung in Albanian....	YES
10	Ingrid Jushi	Po Dhe Jo	NO
11	Kujtim Prodani	Theva Kokën Si Pa Dashur	YES
12	Albërie Hadërgjonaj	Ah Sikur Kjo Jetë	YES
13	Manjola Nallbani	S'mjafton Një Jetë	YES
14	Marsida Saraçi	Do Të Doja	YES
15	Anjeza Shahini Anjeza Shahini Anjeza Shahini is an Albanian singer. She represented Albania at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "The Image of You" in the country's debut year in the ESC.-Eurovision 2004:...	Pse Ndal	YES
16	Miriam Cani Miriam Cani Miriam Cani is a German singer and television host of Albanian descent. At the age of six she moved together with her family to Heidelberg, Germany were she soon attained German citizenship along with the rest of her family. She was a member of the successful German pop girl group Preluders...	Shko	YES
17	Mariza Ikonomi & Erion Korini	Edhe Fati Qan	YES

Eurovision Result

ESC Edition	Artist	Song	Language	Semi Final	Final
ESC 2006 Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...	Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli Luiz Ejlli is an Albanian singer.-Biography:Luiz Ejlli was born in Shkodra and between 1991 and 2002 he attended the "Prenk Jakova" secondary school in Shkodra. In 1995, he won the Best Voice Prize in "Child National Fesitival" in Shkodra. In 1998, he participated as a soloist in the "Gold...	Zjarr e ftohtë Zjarr E Ftohtë "Zjarr e ftohtë" was the Albanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Albanian by Luiz Ejlli. This was the first time that the Albanian entry in the contest was sung in Albanian....	Albanian Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...	14 / 23	-

Other Prizes

• Youth Prize: "Kur Zemra Prek Një Dashuri" - Denisa Macaj & Entela Zhula