This morning Festivali i Këngës 59 continued with the broadcast of the second night of the national final filled with acoustic and unplugged versions of all 25 songs at the National Archaeological Museum in Tirana, Albania.
Performed in semi-outdoor conditions tonights performances were very stripped back giving the night a very different and subdue mood to yesterdays show. Surprisingly the qualifiers for the show were released before the show was broadcast. 18 out of the 25 artists will proceed to tomorrows final.
Of course the hosts made a big entrance once again, this time in their traditional costumes as they were brought onto the stage in a horse drawn carriage.
Though tonight, without a doubt belongs to the female artists who absolutely delivered great performances.
Here are some of the highlights of the night:
Xhesika Polo – 'Me mbron’
Xhesika delivered us an emotional ballad in the first show, but tonight she took the emotion all the way up to absolutely heartbreaking with beautiful vocals and touching delivery. She definitely pulled on the heartstrings tonight in a song dedicated to her mother who passed away earlier this year. She is one to watch in the final!
Inis Neziri - 'Pendesë'
Inis Neziri screamed Eurovision tonight. She is clearly the front runner in this national final, she delivered some of the best vocals of the night delivering a stunning acoustic performance of ‘Pendesë'. It is a still a fan favourite and the Aussievision team's favourite song of the national final.
Era Rusi - 'Zjarri Im’
Era's performance was by far the biggest surprise of the night! She delivered a hot mess in the first show that was intriguing. But she delivered a very cohesive stripped down version of 'Zjarri Im’ that absolutely worked! And she managed to still bring in the fire from her previous performance with the stage background and her fiery red and black outfit.
Anxhela Peristeri – ‘Karma’
Once again brining her radiance on to the FiK stage, Anxhela performed a great performance with vocals to match.
The 18 finalists for Festivali i Këngës were surprisingly announced ahead of the televised second night.
The finalists for the final night of Festivali i Këngës are:
Anxhela Peristeri - ‘Karma’
Devis Xherahu - ‘Peng’
Era Rusi - ‘Zjarri im’
Evi Reçi - ‘Tjerr’
Festina Mejzini - ‘Kush je ti dashuri’
Florent Abrashi - ‘Vajzë’
Giliola Haveriku - ‘E lirë’
Gjergj Kaçinari - ‘Më jep jetë’
Inis Neziri - ‘Pendesë’
Kamela Islamaj - ‘Kujtimet s’kanë formë’
Kastro ZIZO - ‘Vallja e jetës’
MIRUD - ‘Nëse vdes’
Orgesa Zaimi - ‘Valixhja e kujtimeve’
Rosela Gjylbegu - ‘Vashëzo’
Sardi Strugaj - ‘Ka me t’ba me kajt’
Viktor Tahiraj - ‘Nënë’
Wendi Mancaku - ‘Ves I shpirtit im’
Xhesika Polo - ‘Më mbron’
The final takes place tomorrow morning.