1.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
2.
Folk music
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Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century, but is applied to music older than that. Some types of music are also called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways, as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers and it has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Starting in the century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms. Smaller, similar revivals have occurred elsewhere in the world at other times and this type of folk music also includes fusion genres such as folk rock, folk metal, electric folk, and others. Even individual songs may be a blend of the two, a consistent definition of traditional folk music is elusive. The terms folk music, folk song, and folk dance are comparatively recent expressions and they are extensions of the term folklore, which was coined in 1846 by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe the traditions, customs, and superstitions of the uncultured classes. Traditional folk music also includes most indigenous music, however, despite the assembly of an enormous body of work over some two centuries, there is still no certain definition of what folk music is. Some do not even agree that the term Folk Music should be used, Folk music may tend to have certain characteristics but it cannot clearly be differentiated in purely musical terms. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers, the fashioning and re-fashioning of the music by the community that give it its folk character. Such definitions depend upon processes rather than abstract musical types, one widely used definition is simply Folk music is what the people sing. For Scholes, as well as for Cecil Sharp and Béla Bartók, Folk music was already. seen as the authentic expression of a way of life now past or about to disappear, particularly in a community uninfluenced by art music and by commercial and printed song. In these terms folk music may be seen as part of a schema comprising four types, primitive or tribal, elite or art, folk. Music in this genre is often called traditional music. Although the term is only descriptive, in some cases people use it as the name of a genre
3.
Classical music
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Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music, including both liturgical and secular music. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period, Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches, tempo, meter and rhythms for a piece of music. This can leave less room for such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation. The term classical music did not appear until the early 19th century, the earliest reference to classical music recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, the written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them, J. S. The use of written notation also preserves a record of the works, Musical notation enables 2000s-era performers to sing a choral work from the 1300s Renaissance era or a 1700s Baroque concerto with many of the features of the music being reproduced. That said, the score does not provide complete and exact instructions on how to perform a historical work, even if the tempo is written with an Italian instruction, we do not know exactly how fast the piece should be played. Bach was particularly noted for his complex improvisations, during the Classical era, the composer-performer Mozart was noted for his ability to improvise melodies in different styles. During the Classical era, some virtuoso soloists would improvise the cadenza sections of a concerto, during the Romantic era, Beethoven would improvise at the piano. The instruments currently used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century and they consist of the instruments found in an orchestra or in a concert band, together with several other solo instruments. The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for music and includes members of the string, woodwind, brass. The concert band consists of members of the woodwind, brass and it generally has a larger variety and number of woodwind and brass instruments than the orchestra but does not have a string section. However, many bands use a double bass. Many of the used to perform medieval music still exist. Medieval instruments included the flute, the recorder and plucked string instruments like the lute. As well, early versions of the organ, fiddle, Medieval instruments in Europe had most commonly been used singly, often self accompanied with a drone note, or occasionally in parts. From at least as early as the 13th century through the 15th century there was a division of instruments into haut, during the earlier medieval period, the vocal music from the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was monophonic, using a single, unaccompanied vocal melody line. Polyphonic vocal genres, which used multiple independent vocal melodies, began to develop during the medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later 13th
4.
Albania
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Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a population of 3.03 million as of 2016, Tirana is the nations capital and largest city, followed by Durrës and Vlorë. The country has a coastline on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west. Albania is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. In antiquity, the area of Albania was home to several Illyrian, Thracian. After the Illyrian Wars, it part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. In 1190, the first Albanian state, the Principality of Arbanon was established by archon Progon in the region of Krujë, the territory of Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, of which it remained part of for the next five centuries. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, following the Balkan Wars, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist Peoples Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established, Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the economy, followed by the industrial. After the fall of communism in Albania, Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy, Albania has a high HDI and provides universal health care system and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and it is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Albania is one of the members of the Energy Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is home to the largest lake in Southern Europe and one of the oldest lakes in Europe, Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country. The name may have a continuation in the name of a settlement called Albanon and Arbanon. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni, Albanians today call their country Shqipëri. As early as the 17th century the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria, the two terms are popularly interpreted as Land of the Eagles and Children of the Eagles
5.
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar
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Radio Televizioni Shqiptar is the public broadcaster of Albania, founded in 1938 in Tirana. RTSH runs two analogue and digital television stations RTSH1 HD and RTSH2 HD, five digital thematic television stations known as RTSH, in addition, four regional radio and TV stations serve in Gjirokastër, Korçë, Kukës, and Shkodër. The international radio service broadcasts radio programmes in Albanian and seven other languages via medium wave, and uses the theme from the song Këputa një gjethe dafine as its signature tune. Since 1999, RTSH has been a member of the European Broadcasting Union, RTSH is the official organizer of the Albanian Song Festival Festivali i Kenges, the winner of which represents Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest. RTSH is funded by a combination of advertising, a licence fee of US$12.00. The beginnings of RTSH date to the creation of Radio Tirana on 28 November 1938, the first Albanian radio station was launched by King Zog I and Queen Geraldine Apponyi in a ceremony at the former building of the Municipality of Tirana. This officially marked the first broadcast of Radio Tirana, in 1987,66 hours of programmes were broadcast in 20 foreign languages every day. In 1959, Radio Tiranas director by that time, Petro Kita, founded the first Experimental Television Center to provide the basis for the latter Albanian television, TVSH. The first test programme was held on 29 April 1960, at 6,00 pm and was introduced by the journalist Stoli Beli, the official launch was set for 1 May 1960. Children movies and then programmes were broadcast, three times a week for about one hour. Television programs were launched by 1971. Color broadcasts started in 1981, and became regular by 1982, in 2002 TVSH ranked second with an audience share of 17. 1%. The second channel, TVSH2, began broadcasts in 2003. In 2012, several digital channels were launched under the RTSH logo. Despite the countrys size and isolationist policies, Radio Tirana was a fairly major international broadcaster during the Cold War. Its programmes had a reputation for being more than dull propaganda. During Albanias alliance with China in the 1960s and 1970s, Radio Tirana had to walk a line between being anti-West whilst also being anti-Soviet. As such, Radio Tirana kept close to the policy of the Peoples Republic of China
6.
Eurovision Song Contest
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The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956 and it is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia was invited back as a participant in the 2016 contest after their success in 2015, following their success again in 2016, Australia will compete again in 2017. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet via the Eurovision website, winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA, Bucks Fizz and Céline Dion, all of whom launched successful careers after their wins. Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times—including four times in five years in 1992,1993,1994 and 1996. Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner is Jamala of Ukraine who won the 2016 contest in Stockholm, under the previous system, in place from 1975 to 2015, the highest scoring winner is Alexander Rybak of Norway with 387 points in 2009. Satellite television did not exist, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network, the name Eurovision was first used in relation to the EBUs network by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951. The first contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland, seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in more than one song per country was performed, since 1957. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland, the programme was first known as the Eurovision Grand Prix. This Grand Prix name was adopted by Denmark, Norway and the Francophone countries, the Grand Prix has since been dropped and replaced with Concours in French, but not in Danish or Norwegian. The Eurovision network is used to carry news and sports programmes internationally. However, in the minds of the public, the name Eurovision is most closely associated with the Song Contest, a country as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster from that country, typically, but not always, that countrys national public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of the participant countries, during this programme, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries songs, nations are not allowed to vote for their own song. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared as the winner, the programme is invariably opened by one or more presenters, welcoming viewers to the show
7.
Party of Labour of Albania
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The Party of Labour of Albania was the vanguard party of Albania during the communist period as well as the only legal political party. It was founded on November 8,1941, as the Communist Party of Albania, in 1991, the party was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Albania. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary, Enver Hoxha, in the 1920s, Albania was the only Balkan country without a Communist party. The first Albanian communists emerged from the followers of Albanian clergyman and politician Fan S. Noli, once in Moscow, they formed the National Revolutionary Committee and became affiliated to the Comintern. In August 1928, the first Albanian Communist Party was formed in the Soviet Union, the most prominent figure of the party was Ali Kelmendi who left Albania in 1936, to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He was later regarded as the leader of a group of Albanian Communists in France. However, no unified organization existed in Albania until 1941, following the German attack on Russia, Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito under Comintern directives sent two Yugoslav delegates Miladin Popović and Dušan Mugoša to Albania. These two helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941, after intensive work, the Albanian Communist Party was formed on November 8,1941 by the two Yugoslav delegates with Enver Hoxha from the Korça branch as its leader. The PKSh was the dominant element of the National Liberation Movement, the LNC drove out the German occupiers on 29 November 1944. From that day onward, Albania was a full-fledged Communist state, in every other Eastern European country, the Communists were at least nominally part of a coalition government for a few years before seizing power at the helm of out-and-out Communist dictatorships. King Zog was barred from returning to Albania, though the monarchy was not formally abolished until 1946. Under Hoxha, the party became the most rigidly anti-revisionist party in the Soviet bloc, the party even went as far as to engineer an Albanian version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. When it became apparent that Maos successors were moving away from his legacy in 1978, Hoxha led the party and state more or less without resistance until his death in 1985. His successor, Ramiz Alia, was forced to initiate reforms in order to revive the countrys stagnant economy. However, in late 1989, various elements of society began to speak out against the still in place. The execution of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu led Alia to fear hed be next, in response, he allowed Albanians to travel abroad, ended the regimes longstanding policy of state atheism, and slightly loosened government control of the economy. However, these only served to buy Alia more time. Finally, bowing to the inevitable, on 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had abandoned power, the PPSh won the Constitutional Assembly elections of 1991
8.
Enver Hoxha
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Enver Halil Hoxha was the communist leader of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania and commander-in-chief of the forces from 1944 until his death. He served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at times served as foreign minister. His rule was characterized by the use of Stalinist methods to destroy associates who threatened his power. Hoxhas government was characterized by his firm adherence to anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism from the mid-1970s onwards. After his break with Maoism in the 1976–78 period, numerous Maoist parties around the world declared themselves Hoxhaist, the International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations is the best known association of these parties today. Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër, a city in southern Albania that has home to many prominent families. He was the son of Halil Hoxha, a Muslim Tosk cloth merchant who travelled widely across Europe and the United States, and Gjylihan Hoxha. The Hoxha family was attached to the Bektashi tradition, fourteen years before Enver set off for France to study, at age 16, Hoxha helped found and became secretary of the Students Society of Gjirokastër, which protested against the monarchist government of Zog I. After the government closed the Society, he moved to Korçë, there he learned French history, literature and philosophy, and read the Communist Manifesto for the first time. In 1930, Hoxha went to study at the University of Montpellier in France on a scholarship given to him by the Queen Mother for the faculty of natural sciences. He attended the lessons and the conferences of the Association of Workers organised by the French Communist Party, after a year, lacking interest in biology, and after not having passed any university exams, he left Montpellier to go to Paris hoping to continue his studies. He attended philosophy classes at Sorbonne, but, again, did not sit for any exam, in Paris, it is said that he collaborated with LHumanité, writing articles on the situation in Albania under the pseudonym Lulo Malësori. He also got involved in the Albanian Communist Group under the tutelage of Llazar Fundo and he dropped out once more, and from 1934 to 1936 he was a secretary at the Albanian consulate in Brussels, attached to the personnel office of the Queen Mother. He was dismissed after the consul discovered that his employee kept Marxist materials and he returned to Albania in 1936 and taught grammar school in the French Lyceum of Korçë. His extensive education left him fluent in French with a knowledge of Italian, Croatian, English. As a leader, he would often reference Le Monde and the International Herald Tribune, on 7 April 1939, Albania was invaded by Fascist Italy. The Italians established a government in Albania under Mustafa Merlika-Kruja
9.
Tirana
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Tirana /tᵻˈrɑːnə/ is the capital and largest city of Albania and as well the heart of Albanias cultural, economic and governmental activity. It is located on the center of the country surrounded by hills with the Dajti Mountain on the east. The city is located some 700 kilometres north of Athens,290 km west of Skopje,250 km south-east of Pristina and 160 km south of Podgorica. Tirana is a city with a history dating from the Paleolithic times back 10,000 to 30,000 years ago to the present day. The oldest settlement located in the area of the city was the Cave of Pellumbas, as argued by various archaeologists, Tirana and its suburbs are filled with ancient Illyrian toponyms as its precincts are some of the earliest regions in Albania to be inhabited. One of the ancient monuments, the Tirana Mosaic is believed to have part of a 3rd century ancient Roman house. Later, in the 5th and 6th centuries, a Paleo-Christian Basilica was built around this site, Tirana was founded as a city in 1614 although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. An almost unimportant centre until the beginning of the 20th century, the Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed Tirana as the capital of Albania, Tirana is one of largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula ranking 7th with a population of 800,000 and the largest Albanian-speaking city in the world. The municipality, has a population of 800,986. It is also the biggest Metropolitan area in Albania and the one with a population of over 800.000. Being Albanias primate city, Tirana is the political, social and cultural center of Albania. Almost all of the largest companies, media and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city, the city is ranked in the Top 10 of the sunniest cities in Europe with a total of 2,544 hours of sun. As argued by various archaeologists, Tirana and its suburbs are filled with Illyrian toponyms, as its precincts are some of the earliest inhabited regions in Albania. A castle possibly called Tirkan or Theranda, whose remnants are found along Murat Toptani Street, was built by Emperor Justinian in 520 A. D. the area had no special importance in Illyrian and classical times. Records from the first land registrations under the Ottomans in 1431–32 show that Tirana consisted of 60 inhabited areas, Tirana is mentioned since 1572 as Borgo di Tirana. In 1614, Sulejman Bargjini, a ruler, built the Old mosque, a small commercial centre. During this period, the Ethem Bey Mosque, built by Molla Bey of Petrela, was constructed and it employed the best artisans in the country and was completed in 1821 by Mollas son Etëhem, who was also Sulejman Bargjinis grandnephew. In 1800, the first newcomers arrived in the settlement, the so-called ortodoksit and they were Vlachs from villages near Korçë and Pogradec, who settled around modern day Park on the Artificial Lake
10.
Trio (music)
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In music, a trio is a method of instrumentation or vocalization by three different sounds or voices to make a melodious music or song. In general, trio denotes a group of three instruments or voices. The term is used to describe a composition for such a group. The most common types of compositions are the piano trio—piano, violin and cello—and the string trio—violin, viola. In vocal music, the term terzet is sometimes preferred to trio, from the 17th century onward the word trio is used to describe a contrasting second or middle dance appearing between two statements of a principal dance, such as a minuet or bourée. This second dance was called a trio from the 17th-century practice of scoring it for three instruments, for example two oboes and bassoon. Later examples continued to be referred to as trios, even when they involved a number of parts. In the 18th century, the trio was also used to describe any instrumental composition for three unaccompanied musical strands, regardless of the number of instruments actually involved. Trios for a keyboard instrument are found in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, for example his organ trios, BWV 525–30. Trio also occurs in the name for the musical form trio sonata, a trio sonata is written for two solo melodic instruments and basso continuo, making three parts in all, hence the name trio sonata. However, because the basso continuo is usually made up of at least two instruments, performances of trio sonatas typically involve at least four musicians, in rock music, bands most typically have four to five members, but there are also many three-person bands. Notable examples of trios following this pattern include Rush, The Police, Motörhead, however, there are other variations, for example Emerson, Lake & Palmer, where the guitar is replaced by a keyboard. Jimi Hendrix, although often remembered as a soloist, often performed as part of a trio, the Bee Gees were a popular trio during the Disco music era. A trio may also rely on a combination of instrumentation and vocal harmonization, crosby, Stills, & Nash began as a trio noted for their vocal congruence. Some trios rely entirely on the skills of the performers working in front of pre-recorded instrumental tracks. These include groups like Destinys Child and TLC, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera,4 vols. ISBN9780935859928, ISBN9780333485521, ISBN9780333734322, ISBN9781561592289, the Harvard Dictionary of Music, fourth edition. Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell
11.
Solo (music)
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In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. Performing a solo is to solo, and the performer is known as a soloist, the plural is soli or the anglicised form solos. Furthermore, the word soli can be used to refer to a number of simultaneous parts assigned to single players in an orchestral composition. In the Baroque concerto grosso, the term for such a group of soloists was concertino, cadenza Concerto Drum solo Guitar solo Piano solo Tutti Virtuoso
12.
Ardit Gjebrea
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Ardit Gjebrea is an Albanian singer, songwriter, producer and television presenter. Born in Tirana, Albania, he began singing at the age of five and he continued to sing in the Childrens Festivals, and is known for songs like I ëmbël zëri i gjyshës, Kur kendoj per ty moj nënë and Balladë për pionierin dëshmor. On 17 December 1991, he made a breakthrough in his career, in 1995, he won the same prize with his song Eja. Ardit has released three albums in his career, beginning with the eponymous Ardit Gjebrea in 1992, in 1997 he launched Projekt Jon, the best-selling album in Albania. His 2004 release Ja ku jam, a mostly covered in Gjebreas musical translations of inner wandering, sentimental and melancholic moods. While no official data exists, Ardit Gjebrea is allegedly the highest selling singer in Albania. As a singer/song-writer he has held some 250 concerts, in Albania, as well as performances in USA, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Belgium. In 1996 he was host of the Miss Europe Contest, held that year in Albania, in 2007 Gjebrea hosted the 19th edition of the Miss Model of the World contest held in China. The first Kenga Magjike was held in 1999, and the last edition took place in November 2016. Kenga Magjike is broadcast live in Albania by Klan TV, Ora News and STV, in Kosovo by RTV21, in Macedonia by Alsat and across the Balkans by the Bugarian network Ballkanika Music Television. Since 2008, Ardit Gjebrea is the producer and host of E Diela Shqiptare, E Diela Shqiptare includes debates, ballet, live music, performances, guests, sport results, games etc. E Diela Shqiptare is broadcast live on Klan TV from 14.00 PM -19.30 PM, “The Albanian Sunday”, the most popular programme for all the Albanian families, every Sunday afternoon. “The Albanian Sunday” is a program that encompasses a marathon airtime of 6 hours of live transmission, Ardit Gjebrea on TV Klan presents a TV spectacle that is breaking and setting new records of audience and duration. VIP in the Kitchen – the four VIP guests, having concluded the debate, offering a new side of their character and personality, politicians, singers, sportsmen, actors and other VIP of the Albanian society cook different receipts in the studio of the Albanian Sunday. Music – the best singers from Albania and Kosovo perform live, Albanian Telebingo – a weekly national lottery, with live in-studio draws and surprise calls to viewers offering prizes. Ballet – performances from the troupe of choreographer Albi Nako. The Interview - The most important and interesting individuals in Albania appear live in the studio of ‘The Albanian Sunday” in a interview with host Ardit Gjebrea. The public present in the votes for the most favorite couple
13.
God
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In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God
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Albanians
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Albanians are an ethnic group, native to Albania, Kosovo and neighboring countries. The term is used to refer to the citizens of the Republic of Albania. Ethnic Albanians speak the Albanian language and more than half of ethnic Albanians live in Albania, a large Albanian population lives in the Republic of Macedonia and Italy, with smaller Albanian populations located in Serbia and Montenegro. The majority of Albanians are nominally Muslims, and a minority are nominally Christians, during the 17th and 18th century Albanians in large numbers converted to Islam, often to escape higher taxes levied on Christian subjects. As Muslims, some Albanians attained important political and military positions within the Ottoman Empire, Albania gained its independence in 1912 and between 1945–1992, Albanians lived under a repressive communist regime. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, sizable numbers of Albanians migrated from the area of contemporary Albania to escape either various socio-political difficulties and/or the Ottoman conquest. Another population, who became the Arbëreshë settled in southern Italy and form the oldest continuous Albanian diaspora producing influential, smaller populations dating to migrations during the 18th century are located on Croatias Dalmatian coast and scattered communities across southern Ukraine. The Albanian diaspora also exists in a number of other countries, one of these is located in Turkey. Due to the Ottoman legacy, smaller populations of Albanians also exist in Egypt, in Western countries, a large and influential Albanian population exists in the United States formed from continuous emigration dating back to the 19th century. The Albanians and their country Albania have been identified by many ethnonyms, from these ethnonyms, names for Albanians were also derived in other languages that were or still are in use. The term for a people located in the area of contemporary Albania is first encountered in the works of Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates. He referred to them as Albanoi having taken part in a revolt against the Byzantine Empire in 1043 and these references have been disputed as to whether they refer to Albanians in an ethnic sense. A later reference to Albanians from the same Attaliates regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078 is undisputed. In later Byzantine usage, the terms Arbanitai and Albanoi with a range of variants were used interchangeably, the first reference to the Albanian language dates to the latter 13th century. The ethnonym Albanian has been hypothesized to be connected to and stem from the Albanoi, linguists believe that the alb part in the root word originates from an Indo-European term for a type of mountainous topography, of which other words such as alps is derived from. Through the root word alban and its rhotacized equivalents arban, albar, and arbar, the Albanian language was referred to as Arbnisht and Arbërisht. Two etymologies have been proposed for this ethnonym, one, derived from the etymology from the Albanian word for eagle, in Albanian folk etymology, this word denotes a bird totem, dating from the times of Skanderbeg as displayed on the Albanian flag. The other is within scholarship that connects it to the verb to speak from the Latin excipere, in this instance the Albanian endonym like Slav and others would originally have been a term connoting those who speak
15.
Bleona Qereti
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Bleona Qereti, professionally known as Bleona is an Albanian singer and actress. As of 2009, Bleona has resided in the United States where she has worked with such as Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins. She has released four singles since, titled Show Off, Without You and Pass Out, on September 10,2013 she released the single Take It Like A Man. Bleona was born on 14 May 1979 in Korçë, Albania and she began her career at Skampa Theater in Elbasan, and then moved to Tirana to pursue her singing career. At age 15, she began singing and performing at Albanian music festivals and she released her first single, Lermeni in 1996, and a year later released her first album, Kam Qejfin Tim. Bleonas first major tour took place that year, and she performed over 25 summer shows at concert halls in Switzerland, in 1997 she toured in support of the Albanian Democratic Party, and released a music video for the track Kam Qejfin Tim. Since then she has released one new music video a year. At age thirteen, Bleonas father and mother encouraged her to leave singing and her parents later sent her to a German school to learn the language. Which she can speak and sing in English, Albanian, Italian, German and she studied the Stanisklavski System of acting, graduating with a BA from the Academy of Performing Arts in Tirana. From 1999 through 2002, Bleona released three albums, all of which reached the charts in southeastern Europe. In 1999 she headlined the Humanitarian Tour for the People of Kosovo, from 2000 to 2001 she performed at 80 concerts in Europe and the United Kingdom, and by 2002 she was headlining outdoor concerts. In that same year she released the DVD, Nje xhiro neper Shqiperi, in 2003 Bleona released the album Ti Nuk Di As Me Ma Lyp, Within 3 months of being released the album had sold 300,000 copies. Over the next four years she toured throughout Kosovo, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Bleona’s 2005 album, Boom Boom was recorded in both English and Albanian and that same year her single Sdua won the Media Award at the Magic Song Festival Awards, Albanias version of the Grammy Awards. In 2006 Bleona became the youngest recipient of Albania’s VMA Excellent Career Award in the awards history. In 2007 she campaigned for the then-newly formed New Kosovo Alliance, Bleonas first tour of the United States was in 2004, when a club promoter invited her to New York City to perform at New York City’s legendary Webster Hall. Since then, she has continued to perform in both the United States, the Middle East and in Europe, Bleona moved to the U. S. in September 2010. Shortly afterwards she met producer Timbaland while both were attending the Grammy Awards ceremony, after a year of delays, she began working with him on three new tracks
16.
Adelina Ismajli
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Adelina Ismajli is a Kosovar singer, actress, and beauty pageant. Ismajli started singing at a young age, becoming one of Kosovos most influential singers during the 90s. She started competing in various festivals in the Albanian territories, such as the Akordet e Kosovës, Festivali i këngës për fëmijë në RTSH. During her teenage years, Adelina released many songs that spoke about childrens rights and she was one of the first singers in Kosovo who managed to touch topics that others of her age couldnt. She is also recognised as a sex symbol for her provocative videos. Her songs that brought a lot of attention were, Amaneti, Qe 1 vjet e 7 ditë and she sang a lot of songs dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo War for instance Lavdi ushtarit tim Adelina was crowned Miss Kosovo in 1997. 100% Zeshkane Nuk Jam Sex Bombe Prej Fillimit Mretereshe E Robereshe Feniks Ku Ma Ke Urdher I Ri Dy Motra Nji Frajer BRAVO
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Albanian Rebellion of 1997
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The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. By January 1997 Albanian citizens, who had lost a total of $1.2 billion—the population being only three million—took their protest to the streets, beginning in February thousands of citizens launched daily protests demanding reimbursement by the government, which they believed was profiting from the schemes. On March 1 Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi resigned and on March 2 President Sali Berisha declared a state of emergency, on March 11 the Socialist Party of Albania won a major victory when its leader, Bashkim Fino, was appointed prime minister. However, the transfer of power did not halt the unrest, all major population centers were engulfed in demonstrations by March 13 and foreign countries began to evacuate their citizens. These evacuations included Operation Libelle, Operation Silver Wake and Operation Kosmas, the United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1101, authorized a force of 7,000 on March 28 to direct relief efforts and to restore order to Albania. The UN feared the unrest would spread beyond Albanias borders and send refugees throughout Europe, on April 15 the 7,000 troops launched Operation Sunrise, an Italian-led mission that helped restore the rule of law. After the unrest, looted weapons were available to the Kosovo Liberation Army. The period has described as anarchy, as a civil war, or near civil war. In 1992 the Democratic Party of Albania won the nations first free elections, in the mid-90s Albania was adopting a market economy, after years of socialist planned economy during the Peoples Socialist Republic of Albania. The rudimentary financial system dominated by Ponzi schemes, and government officials endorsed a series of pyramid investment funds. By January 1997 the schemes could no longer make payments, the number of investors who had been lured by the promise of getting rich quick grew to include two-thirds of the population. It is estimated close to $1.5 billion was invested in companies offering monthly interest rates ranging from 10%-25%. People sold their homes to invest, immigrants working in Greece and Italy transferred additional resources to the schemes. On May 26,1996, general elections were held and the Democratic Party won by a large margin, the Socialists accused the government of fraud and rejected the results. PS left the process and boycotted the parliament. On October 20 local elections were held, the Democratic Party won again, but the Socialists also rejected this result. The pyramid schemes started operations in 1991 and their activity was based on making payments to old investors using money contributed by new investors. The first scheme was that of Hajdin Sejdisë, who fled to Switzerland with several million dollars
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Kosovo
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Kosovo is a disputed territory and partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe that declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo is landlocked in the central Balkan Peninsula, with its strategic position in the Balkans, it serves as an important link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea. Its capital and largest city is Pristina, and other urban areas include Prizren, Pejë. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, the Republic of Macedonia to the southeast, Montenegro to the west, while Serbia recognises administration of the territory by Kosovos elected government, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In antiquity, the Dardanian Kingdom, and later the Roman province of Dardania was located in the region, the area was inhabited by several ancient Illyrian tribes. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian Empires, Kosovo was the core of the medieval Serbian state and it has been the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate. After being part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century, the war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate under UNSCR1244. On 17 February 2008 Kosovos Parliament declared independence and it has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 111 UN member states, Taiwan, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Cook Islands and Niue. Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as a state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013 it has accepted the legitimacy of Kosovar institutions, the entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova or Kosovë. The name of the plain was applied to the Kosovo Province created in 1864, Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania, the name of a Roman province located in Central Balkans that was formed in 284 AD which covered the territory of modern Kosovo. The name is derived from the Albanian word dardha/dardā which means pear, the former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a Dardanian identity and the Kosovan flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, the name Kosova remains more widely used among the Albanian population, the official conventional long name of the state is Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, and is used to represent Kosovo internationally. This arrangement, which has dubbed the asterisk agreement, was agreed in an 11-point arrangement agreed on 24 February 2012. By the independence declaration in 2008, its long name became Republic of Kosovo. In prehistory, the succeeding Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, the area in and around Kosovo has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years. During the Neolithic age, Kosovo lay within the area of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black, bronze and Iron Age tombs have been found in Metohija. However, life during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is not confirmed yet, therefore, until arguments of Paleolithic and Mesolithic man are confirmed, Neolithic man, respectively the Neolithic sites are considered as the chronological beginning of population in Kosovo. From this period until today Kosovo has been inhabited, and traces of activities of societies from prehistoric, ancient, whereas, in some archaeological sites, multilayer settlements clearly reflect the continuity of life through centuries
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Kosovo War
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The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 5 March 1998 until 11 June 1999. After attempts at a diplomatic solution failed, NATO intervened, justifying the campaign in Kosovo as a humanitarian war and this precipitated a mass expulsion of Kosovar Albanians as the Yugoslav forces continued to fight during the aerial bombardment of Yugoslavia. The war ended with the Kumanovo Treaty, with Yugoslav and Serb forces agreeing to withdraw from Kosovo to make way for an international presence, Kosovos borders did not precisely match the areas of ethnic Albanian settlement in Yugoslavia. Kosovos formal autonomy, established under the 1945 Yugoslav constitution, initially meant relatively little in practice, the secret police cracked down hard on nationalists. In 1956 a number of Albanians went on trial in Kosovo on charges of espionage, the threat of separatism was in fact minimal, as the few underground groups aiming for union with Albania had little political significance. Demaci himself was imprisoned in 1964 along with many of his followers, Yugoslavia underwent a period of economic and political crisis in 1969, as a massive government program of economic reform widened the gap between the rich north and poor south of the country. Student demonstrations and riots in Belgrade in June 1968 spread to Kosovo in November of the same year, however, Tito conceded some of the students demands—in particular, representative powers for Albanians in both the Serbian and Yugoslav state bodies and better recognition of the Albanian language. The University of Pristina was established as an independent institution in 1970, the lack of Albanian-language educational materials in Yugoslavia hampered the Albanisation of education in Kosovo, so an agreement was struck with Albania itself to supply textbooks. In 1974 Kosovos political status improved further when a new Yugoslav constitution granted a set of political rights. Along with Vojvodina, Kosovo was declared a province and gained many of the powers of a fully-fledged republic, power was still exercised by the Communist Party, but it was now devolved mainly to ethnic Albanian communists. Titos death on 4 May 1980 ushered in a period of political instability, worsened by growing economic crisis. The disturbances were quelled by the Presidency of Yugoslavia proclaiming a state of emergency, sending in riot police and the army, hard-liners instituted a fierce crackdown on nationalism of all kinds, Albanian and Serbian alike. Kosovo endured a heavy secret-police presence throughout most of the 1980s that ruthlessly suppressed any unauthorised nationalist manifestations, according to a report quoted by Mark Thompson, as many as 580,000 inhabitants of Kosovo were arrested, interrogated, interned or reprimanded. Thousands of these lost their jobs or were expelled from their educational establishments, during this time tension between the Albanian and Serbian communities continued to escalate. Such concerns did attract interest in Belgrade, stories appeared from time to time in the Belgrade media claiming that Serbs and Montenegrins were being persecuted. There was a perception among Serbian nationalists that Serbs were being driven out of Kosovo, in addition to all this, the worsening state of Kosovos economy made the province a poor choice for Serbs seeking work. Albanians, as well as Serbs, tended to favor their compatriots when hiring new employees, Kosovo was the poorest entity of Yugoslavia, the average per capita income was $795, compared with the national average of $2,635. 33 nationalist formations were dismantled by Yugoslav police, who sentenced some 280 people and seized arms caches, in Kosovo an increasingly poisonous atmosphere between Serbs and Albanians led to wild rumors being spread and otherwise trivial incidents being blown out of proportion
20.
Top Channel
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Top Channel is a national commercial television station based in Tirana, Albania, founded by businessman Dritan Hoxha in 2001. A part of Top Media Group, in January 2008 Top Channel was awarded national frequency coverage by making it the third channel in Albania. In 2009, it was the first Albanian channel to become available in 16,9 widescreen high-definition television for selected programs, since September 2003, Top Channel has been present on satellite by broadcasting all over Europe through Digitalb, and North America through TV ALB and Shqip TV. The channel is available through IPTV in Europe and North America, Top Channel began experimental broadcasts on 30 July 2001 at the International Center for Culture also known as the Pyramid or former mausoleum of Enver Hoxha in Tirana. Since then it has seen a very fast growth and success as it has become preferable by a number of people through the qualitative level of broadcasting technology. As of 2006, it was believed that Top Channel held an average viewing rate of 70%, though these are based on approximate evaluations and not officially confirmed. In 2003, a survey ranked Top Channel as the most watched TV channel in Albania with 50% of the national audience, one year earlier, it was ranked in third place with 11. 9% behind the public broadcaster TVSH. Its success relates to its informational programs about the problems that Albanian society faces, in addition, Top Channel has seen growing partnership with international news agencies such as Reuters in exchanging news coverage. His wife, Vjollca Hoxha, has taken over the business since 2008, the programs also provide information regarding the main events occurring in every part of the world. This program is broadcast every day of the immediately after the main news edition. Is the version of an Italian format Striscia la Notizia, Shqip is the flagship program shown on Top Channel TV on Mondays. The one-hour live interview is the result of detailed research and investigations, the program host asks the difficult questions and gets behind the stories that make the news in the country - from political leaders to intellectuals and decision-makers facing huge challenges. Shqip reports the events and interviews on politics development, security and it was closed on September 2015. Portokalli is a weekly sketch comedy and variety show filmed in Tirana in front of a live audience. The format of the show includes stand-up comedy, sketch comedy, portokalli is known to make fun of everyday problems through humor and satire. It also makes fun of political figures such as Sali Berisha, Edi Rama, Hashim Thaçi, Ramush Haradinaj, portokalli reaches an audience of many ages through young and old, and has been criticized over the vulgar language often used. DigitAlb Communications in Albania Dritan Hoxha Radio Televizioni Shqiptar Official website
21.
Anjeza Shahini
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Anjeza Shahini is an Albanian singer. She represented Albania at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song The Image of You in the debut year in the ESC. Anjeza Shahini was born in Tirana the capital of Albania, in 2003, by the age of 16-year-old, Anjeza Shahini, won the first edition of Friday Night Fever, the Albanian version of Pop Idol. In December of the year, along with 29 other singers, she competed at the three-day RTSH song festival at the Tirana Palace of Congress with the song Imazhi yt. After two preliminary rounds, Shahini reached the final on 20 December, at the end of which, hosts Adi Krasta and Ledina Çelo presented her as the winner of the combined jury and televote. That meant she would represent Albania in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, Turkey, for the ESC finals, a three-minute English version of the song entitled The Image of You was created. Anjeza sang in the semi-final of ESC on 12th of May 2004 and this top-ten finish, secured Anjeza a place in the final where on 15th of May she competed with contestants from twenty-four other countries and finished seventh with a total of 106 points. In 2004, Anjeza recorded a song with the Kosovo band Marigona, in 2005 she signed a contract with an artist management agency based in Vienna. Anjeza Shahini made it through the two semi-finals to the last twenty at the National Final and was one of the favourites to win. However, at the final, which aired on 18 December 2005, on 3 June 2006, Anjeza Shahini was a special guest performer at the Euro Video Grand Prix contest, which was held in Albania. She opened the contest with the song Welcome to Europe, which was produced as a single by same studio production in Vienna. After completing her studies in Austria in 2007, Anjeza returned to Albania and she performed at Këngët e Shekullit 2, a successful series on TV Klan consisting of remakes of the best Albanian songs from the past century. She took part in Kënga Magjike 2007 with the song Nxënësja më e mirë, where the other singers votes landed her in 4th place, in August 2008, Anjeza Shahini released her first album, Erdhi momenti, containing only new songs, all in Albanian. The songs Erdhi Momenti and Lot Pendimi were promoted with a video produced by Max Production. Shahini took part in the Albanian national Festival 2009 with the ballad Ne Pasqyre for Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, the song was well received by the public, but the jury placed her second. In 2010 Anjeza Shahini finished her contract with Eurostar and became an independent artist and their song Ti dhe une was awarded for Best Interpretation. A music video was released after the festival in partnership with PinkMoon production and this song was very successful in Albania and Kosovo. In 2012 Anjeza released the ballad Te desha shume, composed by Endrit Shani, Anjeza Shahini took part in the Albanian Eurovision Song Contest Selection for 2013 with the song LOVE, when she again finished in second place
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Eurovision
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The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956 and it is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia was invited back as a participant in the 2016 contest after their success in 2015, following their success again in 2016, Australia will compete again in 2017. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet via the Eurovision website, winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA, Bucks Fizz and Céline Dion, all of whom launched successful careers after their wins. Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times—including four times in five years in 1992,1993,1994 and 1996. Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner is Jamala of Ukraine who won the 2016 contest in Stockholm, under the previous system, in place from 1975 to 2015, the highest scoring winner is Alexander Rybak of Norway with 387 points in 2009. Satellite television did not exist, and the Eurovision Network comprised a terrestrial microwave network, the name Eurovision was first used in relation to the EBUs network by British journalist George Campey in the London Evening Standard in 1951. The first contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland, seven countries participated—each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in more than one song per country was performed, since 1957. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland, the programme was first known as the Eurovision Grand Prix. This Grand Prix name was adopted by Denmark, Norway and the Francophone countries, the Grand Prix has since been dropped and replaced with Concours in French, but not in Danish or Norwegian. The Eurovision network is used to carry news and sports programmes internationally. However, in the minds of the public, the name Eurovision is most closely associated with the Song Contest, a country as a participant is represented by one television broadcaster from that country, typically, but not always, that countrys national public broadcasting organisation. The programme is hosted by one of the participant countries, during this programme, after all the songs have been performed, the countries then proceed to cast votes for the other countries songs, nations are not allowed to vote for their own song. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared as the winner, the programme is invariably opened by one or more presenters, welcoming viewers to the show
23.
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th Eurovision Song Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing Everyway That I Can, the hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. Ukrainian singer Ruslana won the contest with Wild Dances and it is notable that this was only Ukraines second participation in the contest. This was also the year in a row in which the contest was won by a woman. To accommodate the number of countries who wished to participate. The countries which didnt qualify for the final are normally calculate like participating countries, the contest was held in Istanbul following Turkeys victory in the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia with Sertab Ereners Everyway That I Can. Originally the Mydonose Showland was chosen by TRT to host the event, korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul were presenters of the show. In the semi-final and the final, Meltem Cumbul warmed up the audience with a sing-a-long of Eurovision classic Nel blu dipinto di blu, originally by Domenico Modugno. Sertab Erener returned to the stage in the final to perform Everyway That I Can, the 2003 winning song, Sertab also interviewed contestants in the green room. The Turkish dance ensemble Fire of Anatolia performed as the interval act, an official CD was released and, for the first time, the entire contest was released on DVD which included the Semi-Final and the Grand Final. The contests new official logo was used for the first time this year. The slogan for Istanbuls contest was Under The Same Sky, which communicated the importance of a united Europe and this year was also notable as it was the first year that Turkey voted for Cyprus and the second year in a row that Cyprus voted for Turkey. Nevertheless, in a move that angered some Cypriots, when the country presented its votes no map of the island was shown and this was due to Turkeys recognition of the northern half of the island as an independent republic. It is likely Turkey pulled out of showing the map because it would have highlighted the southern portion of the island. This was also the first year that the scores were only re-read by the hosts in one language. Before 2004 every point was repeated in French and English, but due to 36 countries voting and this was in the opposite of the original country representative spoke in. Also, this year was the first time in which a non-winning entry scored over 200 points, prior to this contest, only Rock n Roll Kids and Love Shine a Light, the winners in 1994 and 1997 had passed this mark. In this contest, all songs in the top 3 got over 200 points and this years Eurovision contest was the first to be a two-day event, with one qualifying round held on a Wednesday and the grand final held on the following Saturday
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The Image Of You
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The Image of You was the debut entry for Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest, being performed in English by Anjeza Shahini in the semi-final of the 2004 Contest. The song was performed 13th in the semi-final, following Lithuanias Linas & Simona with Whats Happened To Your Love. the song ended the night in fourth place with 167 points, enough to qualify for the final. Drawn seventh in the final, the song followed Germanys Max with Cant Wait Until Tonight, at the close of voting, the song had received 106 points to finish seventh, which guaranteed Albania a final berth at the 2005 Contest. The song itself begins with Shahini singing over a melody before it quickly builds to a moderately-paced dance number. The lyrics deal with the feelings in what appears to be a whirlwind romance. An Albanian version of the song was released, entitled Imazhi yt. The song was succeeded as Albanian representative in 2005 by Tomorrow I Go, performed by Ledina Çelo
25.
Rona Nishliu
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Rona Nishliu is an Albanian Kosovar singer and songwriter. She came to prominence after representing Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Rona Nishliu was raised in her birth town Mitrovica, but had to move with her family to Pristina at the age of thirteen due the political reasons in her hometown, in 2004 she entered Ethet e së premtës mbrëma - a similar show to Idols. She successfully passed the first rounds and entered the live shows, after the show, she worked on Radio Blue Sky in Prishtina as a presenter. In 2005, Rona teamed up with Vesa Luma and Teuta Kurti to enter the 43rd edition of Festivali i Këngës, the trio were qualified for the final night held on December 18,2005 but lost to Ledina Çelo who was declared the winner. The song was a Pop-Dance track, and even winning the contest. Nishliu represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku and she is the first singer from Kosovo to represent Albania in the contest. Because of the Qafa e Vishës bus tragedy, RTSH deferred the first semifinal by more than two hours on May 22, resulting in low ratings during Nishlius appearance. It did not affect Nishlius own participation in the contest, as she got second place in the semi-final, Albania used its jury votes to vote for the other 17 countries in the semifinal, and it used the jury votes again on May 26. RTK also did not air highlights from the first semifinal due to the bus crash and she ended up winning fifth place in the final with 146 points - Albanias best result to date. She became an Albanian citizen on 12 January 2012, Nishliu was committed to her humanitarian work immediately after Eurovision. She became a member of a project called Bonu cool, mos bjer shpullë and she released a song especially for this occasion called Se vetëm zemra flet saktë which speaks against adolescent gender violence, produced and penned by Rona herself. The song is part of a public awareness campaign led by the Kosovo Gender Studies Centre. It was supported and financed by the European Union, on 18 September 2014, Rona Nishliu held a concert in Belgrade, Serbia to promote the Kosovar culture, part of the Mirëdita, dobar dan festival. She received an ovation from the public. In Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro, she is known as a pop singer/musician, the audience in Pristina and Tirana know her also as an experimental jazz singer. Her interpretation is characterized with nuances of music influences as well. Her vocal range and interpretative power are her strongest points, Nishliu is depicted for her humanitarian spirit, taking part in numerous humanitarian concerts for the people in the need
26.
Arta Dade
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Arta Dade is a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania for the Socialist Party. She has been a MP since 1997, during her political career she served as Minister of Culture and Minister of Foreign Affairs, being the first women to be appointed as a Foreign minister. She is currently Chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Dade was born on 15 March 1953 in Tirana. She graduated from the University of Tirana in English Literature and has worked as a lecturer in the University until 1997 and she represents Fier County in the Parliament
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Luiza Xhuvani
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The Socialist Party of Albania, is a social-democratic political party in Albania, it gained power following the 2013 parliamentary election. The party seated 66 MPs in the 2009 Albanian parliament and it achieved power in 1997 after a political crisis and governmental realignment. In the 2001 parliamentary election the party secured 73 seats in the Parliament, which enabled it to form the Government. In the general election of 3 July 2005, the Socialist Party lost its majority and the Democratic Party of Albania formed the new government, having secured, with its allies, a majority of 81 seats. The Socialist Party of Albania is an associate of the Party of European Socialists and its official newspaper is Zëri i Popullit, which had been the organ of its predecessor, the Communist Party of Labour of Albania. The party, formed in November 1941, has known as the Socialist Party since 1991. The Communist Party of Labour of Albania, the ruling party since the end of World War II, was the most rigid Stalinist party in Europe under its founder. However, Hoxhas successor, Ramiz Alia, was forced to introduce limited reforms in the late 1980s, finally, on 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had given up its monopoly of power. The PPSh won the Constitutional Assembly elections of March 1991—the first free elections held in the country in almost 80 years, by this time, however, it was no longer a Marxist–Leninist party. At an extraordinary congress in June 1991, in its efforts to survive in the new system, fatos Nano, a man from the intelligentsia, was elected the new chairman. Nano helped to reform the old communist party and made it a member of the Socialist International, on 1 September 2005 Nano resigned as the chairman of the Socialist Party, after losing the elections. He was succeeded by Edi Rama, fatos Nano was the head of Socialist Party of Albania from 1991 to 2005. In 2005, after a defeat in the elections, he resigned from his post. PSs current leader is Edi Rama, former Mayor of Tirana, gramoz Ruçi, who was Interior Minister of the last cabinet of the communist regime and is well known for his loyalty to the party, is the head of the Socialist Group, which has 64 MPs. Ben Blushi is an important party politician that has strongly criticized the way Edi Rama is leading the Socialist Party. Vice-coordinators of the group are Erjon Braçe, Vasilika Hysi, Saimir Tahiri, Eduard Shalsi, arta Dade is the party secretary for international affairs, and she is assisted by Arben Ahmetaj, Taulant Balla, Olta Xhacka, Ditmir Bushati and Qemal Minxhozi. Ahmetaj and Balla usually deal with PS relationships with the left parties in Europe, especially with the Greek Panhellenic Socialist Movement. Blendi Klosi, is seen as a very important politician in PS
