Who are Albina and Familja Kelmendi? Meet the Eurovision 2023 representatives from Albania

The Kosovar duo Albina & Familja Kelmendi were chosen to wave the Albanian flag in Liverpool for Eurovision 2023 after conquering the Albanian audience at the regional Festival i Këngës in its 61st edition.

Despite not being the winners of the festival, Albina and Familja Kelmendi received the maximum support from the Albanian televote and were chosen to represent Albania with their song “Duje”. After their selection, RTSH, the Albanian public television, interviewed Albina where she confirmed that “Duje” will remain in Albanian, as well as in its newly released version.

Learn more about Albina Kelmendi

The sextet, representing Albania in Liverpool 2023, comes from Kosovo, specifically from the region of Pëjë, bordering both Serbia and Montenegro. The group’s leader, Albina, was born on January 27, 1998, currently 25 years old, and learned to play the clarinet and piano at the music school in her hometown. Albina’s family has been one of her biggest supporters in her musical career.

The Kelmendi family was full of musicians, including Albina’s father, Bujar, and mother, Albana. Albina has two other siblings, a sister, Sidorela, and a brother, Albin, who are also singers. Albina and several of her relatives joined to form a musical group they called Familiar Band. The group often performed at weddings both in Albania and abroad.

In 2014, Albina auditioned for the fourth season of The Voice of Albania and surprised with her blind audition with Elsa Lila as her mentor. In May 2015, Albina participated in the 12th edition of Top Fest, another prestigious televised Albanian singing competition inspired by Festivali i Këngës. In the final, Albina performed the song “Nuk ka ma mire”.

In November 2015, Albina released her first single, one of the 23 that she has released to date, as a lead artist, “Endrren Mos Ma Merr”. Albina’s first album as a lead artist, “Nana Loke”, was released in June 2022 and features several duets with her mother Albana, including “6 Tetor 68”.

Albina & Familja Kelmendi were confirmed, along with 25 other candidates, to compete in the 61st edition of Festivali i Këngës in December 2022. “Duje”, the song they participated with, was composed by Enis Mullaj, with lyrics by Eriona Rushiti. After the top three were announced by the jury and Elsa Lila was declared the winner of the edition, Albina and Familja Kelmendi were declared winners of the televote with 36%, which gave them a direct ticket to Liverpool.

«Duje» their song for Liverpool

The song “Duje”, by Albina and Familja Kelmendi, tells the story of a relationship that has ended and the pain and regret that come with it. The lyrics describe the singer’s feelings of emptiness and confusion after the breakup, as she struggles to move on and find a new purpose in life. The pre-chorus and chorus reveal the central theme of the song, which is the power of love and the importance of holding onto it. The singer reflects on the beauty and passion of her past relationship, urging her ex-partner to remember the love they shared and to always appreciate it.

The conclusion repeats the key motifs of the song, with the phrase “Janë tu u nda, dashnin’ kanë vra” (They’re parting, killing the love), which reinforces the idea that relationships can be fragile and that we should do everything we can to preserve the love we share with others.

Overall, “Duje” is a touching and sincere song about the power of love and the importance of cherishing our relationships, even after they have ended.

“Duje” Lyrics

Albania at Eurovision

After a great debut in 2004 with Anjeza Shahini, which gave them a direct pass to the final the following year, Albania’s 2005 entry, “Tomorrow I go” by Ledina Çelo, finished in 16th place.

Things didn’t go as well in 2006 and 2007, as Albania failed to qualify for the final in both years. In 2008, in Serbia, they made it to the final but only finished in 17th place with 55 points. They qualified again for the final in the following year with Kejsi Tola’s entry, finishing 17th again. It wasn’t until the 2010 festival that Albania managed to improve their position with “It’s All About You”. After failing to qualify for the final in 2011, Albania achieved their best result in 2012 with Rona Nishliu’s entry “Suus”, which finished in 5th place with 146 points and 4 maximum scores.

After their success in the 2012 festival, Albania managed to qualify for the final in 2015 with Elhaida Dani, in 2018 with Eugent Bushpepa, in 2019 with Jonida Maliqi, and in 2021 with Anxhela Peristeri.

Last year, Albania was not so lucky with Ronela Hajati’s entry “Sekret”, which failed to qualify for the final after finishing 12th in its semifinal with 58 points.