| Albania | |
| Contest: | JESC |
| Member Station: | Albanian: [[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar]]|italic=unset (RTSH) |
| Apps: | 9 |
| Highest: | 5th: |
| Current: | 2023 |
Albania debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in . Albanian: [[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar]]|italic=unset (RTSH), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been responsible for the selection process of their participants since their debut.
The nation's first representative was Igzidora Gjeta in 2012 with the song "Albanian: Kam një këngë vetëm për ju|italic=unset" in, which achieved a score of thirty-five points, finishing in twelfth place out of twelve participating entries. The country was subsequently absent in and . Albania returned to the contest in, when Mishela Rapo represented them with the song "Albanian: Dambaje|italic=unset", achieving ninety-three points and finishing in fifth place out of seventeen participating countries; this remains the country's best score to date. Albania subsequently competed every year until, when they had their first absence from the contest in six years after withdrawing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] However, on 18 August 2021, RTSH announced that they would return to the contest in .[2] The country has participated in every contest since.
In 2005, Albanian broadcaster Albanian: [[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar]]|italic=unset (RTSH) broadcast that year's contest in Hasselt. On 14 August 2012, RTSH announced that they would be making their Junior Eurovision debut at the 2012 contest in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 1 December 2012.[3] The mechanism used at the time in order to select their representative was a national pre-selection show entitled Albanian: Junior Fest Albania 2012.[4] It consisted of a televised production in which the participants voted for each other, giving one, two, or three points to each other with no jury or public vote.[5] Child-singer, Igzidora Gjeta, was the first participant to represent Albania with the song "Albanian: Kam një këngë vetëm për ju|italic=unset",[6] which finished in twelfth place achieving a score of thirty-five points. This was Albania's worst result in their contest history.[7]
On 27 September 2013, RTSH announced that their withdrawal from the 2013 contest, with the EBU stating that the withdrawal was due to financial and organisational issues.[8] Albania continued to be absent from the contest in 2014,[9] and it was not until 13 March 2015 that RTSH announced their return to the competition.[10] The national selection show which was organised in order to select the 2015 participant was entitled Albanian: Festivali i Këngës për Femije, and was won by Mishela Rapo with the song "Albanian: [[Dambaje]]|italic=unset".[11] At the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, Rapo finished in fifth place, achieving ninety-three points and their best result to date.[12]
On 1 June 2016, Klesta Qehaja won the Albanian: Festivali i Këngës për Femije with the song "Albanian: Besoj|italic=unset", earning the right to represent Albania at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Valletta. She received thirty-eight points, therefore finishing thirteenth out of seventeen participating countries.[13] Albania went on to appear at every Junior Eurovision Song Contest until 2020.
Following a brief withdrawal from the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RTSH returned to competing in 2021, with Anna Gjebrea placing fourteenth out of nineteen with "Stand By You".[14] On 16 July 2022, RTSH confirmed it would participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia.[15] The broadcaster organised Junior Fest to select the Albanian entry for the fifth time, resulting in the selection of Kejtlin Gjata with the song "Pakëz diell".[16] Gjata placed twelfth at the contest with 94 points. On 5 July 2023, RTSH confirmed that the Albanian representative for the 2023 contest in Nice, France would be chosen via the national selection competition Junior Fest 2023.[17] [18] Bojken Lako was named as the creative director for the competition, which was to undergo changes as compared to previous years.[17] Viola Gjyzeli was ultimately selected to be the Albanian representative with the song "Bota ime". At the contest, Albania achieved its second best result in history, placing eighth overall with 115 points and fifth with the professional juries. This also marked the first Albanian entry in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to receive more than 100 points.
| + Table key | ||
| 1 | First place | |
| 2 | Second place | |
| 3 | Third place--> | |
| ◁ | Last place | |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete | |
| † | Upcoming event--> |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Igzidora Gjeta | "Albanian: Kam një këngë vetëm për ju|i=unset" | Albanian | 12 ◁ | 35 | |
| Mishela Rapo | "Albanian: Dambaje|i=unset" | Albanian, English, Imaginary | 5 | 93 | |
| Klesta Qehaja | "Albanian: Besoj|i=unset" | Albanian, English | 13 | 38 | |
| Ana Kodra | "Don't Touch My Tree (Albanian: Mos ma prekni pemën|i=unset)" | Albanian, English | 13 | 67 | |
| Efi Gjika | "Barbie" | Albanian, English | 17 | 44 | |
| Isea Çili | "Albanian: Mikja ime fëmijëri|i=unset" | Albanian | 17 | 36 | |
| Anna Gjebrea | "Stand By You" | Albanian, English | 14 | 84 | |
| Kejtlin Gjata | "Pakëz diell" | Albanian | 12 | 94 | |
| Viola Gjyzeli | "Bota ime" | Albanian | 8 | 115 | |
The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov.[19] The Albanian broadcaster, RTSH, sent their own commentator to each contest in order to provide commentary in the Albanian language. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Albania. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2012.
| Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| Andri Xhahu | Keida Dervishi | ||
| - | |||
| Andri Xhahu | Majda Bejzade | [20] [21] | |
| Juna Dizdari | [22] [23] | ||
| Sabjana Rizvanu | [24] | ||
| Daniil Lazuko | [25] [26] | ||
| Efi Gjika | [27] | ||
| [28] | |||
| Andri Xhahu | Alex | [29] | |
| Mariam Gvaladze | [30] | ||
| Guilia Moulay | [31] [32] |