In December, Eugent Bushpepa won Festivali i Këngës 56 and will represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. He has now revealed more details about his preparations for Lisbon.
As reported by ESCKAZ, Eugent posted on Facebook that he will be attending various promo events around Europe ahead of Eurovision 2018. He will be visting:
- Podgorica – 17th February
- London – 5th April
- Tel Aviv – 8-11th April
- Amsterdam – 13-15th April
- Madrid – 20-22nd April
After Madrid, he will be competing in the first-semi final of Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon on Tuesday 8 May.
Eugent also announced that the final version of his song, Mall, is already completed and will be revealed “very soon.” The version of the song which won Festivali i Këngës exceeded the three minute rule for Eurovision entries and will need to be significantly shortened.
Eugent has already stated that he wants to keep the lyrics of the song in Albanian as they fit with the melody. The last time that a song in Albanian represented Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest was in 2013, when Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko performed Identitet in Malmo, they failed to qualify for the final.
Eugent, 33, is a rock singer-songwriter from Rrëshen, Albania. He first sang at Festivali i Këngës in 2008 in a duet with Rovena Dilo, where they placed 12th in a field of 20.
Source: ESCKAZ/Eugent Bushpepa
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
Albania made their debut at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2004, the same year the televised semi final was originally introduced to the competition. Albania succeeded in their first showing with Anjeza Shahini’s “The Image of You”, sailing through the semi final in 4th place and eventually landing in a respectable 7th place at the grand final. Albania have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest every single year since their debut, making 2018 their 15th appearance. Since the success in their original attempt, they have reach the grand final a further six times. They bettered their 2004 score in 2012 with Rona Nishliu’s song “Suus” who finished the contest in fifth place with 146 Points, their first time reaching the top 5 and their best placing to date.
