Albania finished on the same points as Belarus in the Aussievision team rankings, but scrapped ahead into 16th with the better higher ranking (a 5th v a 6th). All up three Aussievision jury members put it in their top 10 (full rankings below).
The entry
Isea Çili - 'Mikja ime fëmijëri' (My childhood friend)
To represent Albania 11-year-old Isea Çili battled her way through the hotly contested Albanian Junior Eurovision Selection Show Junior Frest 2019 and came out on top in a field of 18 contestants. Her winning song "Mikja Ime Fëmijëria (My childhood friend)" is a sweet and soulful pop ballad about the love of her friends and yearning to never part. The song will be performed in Albanian. Çili is no stranger to television performances making it to Week 4 of The Voice Kids Albania in 2019.
The Aussievision Team Rankings
Liv - 5th
Alyce - 8th
Kyriakos - 8th
Dale - 13th
Guy - 15th
Emma - 16th
Mike - 16th
Fleur - 16th
Aaron - 17th
The comments
Isea has an excellent voice and strong intonation control! A really lovely piece and display of the Albanian language. The choruses have a nice build and attention-grabbing melodic structure. The last minute is simply delightful. ~ Liv
Nice vocals but this is almost like a lullaby – could send the kids to sleep! ~ Emma
Isea’s song has grown on me the most out of all the entries. She is so impressive with her emotive ballad. ~Kyriakos
There is nothing wrong with this song. It really is a lovely ballad. Isea sings it well and gives it everything but the song simply sounds dated. It sounds like the sort of song you would hear on the end of movie credits. Can see it do reasonably well with the juries but not in the online vote. I don’t see this as a challenger. ~Fleur
Isea has a super strong vocal and I enjoy this song the more I hear it. It is however a ballad heavy year, and unfortunately I think the entry will struggle to get the attention of many. ~Dale
There's nothing to disliked about it, but there's also nothing to make you sit up and notice though - kind of comes and goes. ~ Guy
This song connects with me in a similar way to what Albania’s ESC entry this year did. It connects with me in an emotional way and I can’t help but just sing and sway along. ~ Alyce
Albania at Junior Eurovision
Albania debuted in Junior Eurovision in 2012 with this years entry marking it their 6th participation. The selection process consists of a National Final - currently Junior Fest and historically Festivali i Këngës për Femije. For the 2019 selection the votes were 100% jury only.
On debut in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the first entrant to represent Albania was Igzidora Gjeta with "Kam një këngë vetëm për ju" - unfortunately the entry received the wooden spoon that year. Due to financial and organisational difficulties Albania withdrew in 2013 and 2014.
Bursting back on the scene in 2015, Mishela Rapo claimed their best JESC result 5th with the unique entry "Dambaje" - complete with six languages and the first appearance of Turkish at JESC. Iconic performances include Ana Kodra's "Don't Touch My Tree" and the infectiously fun number of Efi Gjika "Barbie". Albania overall has struggled to capture the votes at JESC but has provided some memorable and fun performances in recent years - let's hope 2019 brings them more luck!