Elhaida Dani

Elhaida Dani
Dani at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Background information
Birth name	Elhaida Dani
Born	17 February 1993 Shkodër, Albania
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)	singer
Instruments	piano
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Universal Music Italy (2012) Independent (2012–present)
Associated acts	•Riccardo Cocciante, •Elina Born, •Maria-Elena Kyriakou, •Stephanie Topalian

Elhaida Dani (born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer. She rose to fame after winning Star Academy Albania in 2009, and Top Fest in 2012. Later that year, she auditioned for The Voice of Italy, and won the show with over 70% of the public vote.^[1][2] She released her first single "Baciami e Basta" through Universal Music in Italy.

In December 2014 she won the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës with the song "Diell" ("Sun"),^[3][4] and was going to represent Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria with this song. However, on 23 February 2015 Dani announced that the song's songwriters had withdrawn the song from the competition and she'd be performing a different song at Eurovision.^[5] The next day it was revealed that the song would be called "I'm Alive".^[6]

Life and career

1993–2012: Early career

Elhaida Dani was born on 17 February 1993 in Shkodër, north Albania. She studied piano from the age of 6. She started appearing on national television in 2008, after participating in Kënga Magjike with her song "Fjala e fundit" (The last word).

In 2009, she auditioned for the Albanian version of Star Academy and won the show. She then continued singing at various music competitions around the Balkans. In 2011 she participated in Sunčane Skale, held in Montenegro with "Si asnjëherë" (Like never before). and won the youth category of the show.^[7][8] Later that year, she won two competitions in Bulgaria and Romania. She also participated at the 50th edition of Festivali i Këngës with "Mijëra vjet" (Thousands of years).

In early 2012, she worked with Threedots Music Albania, a popular music label and wrote "S'je më" (You're not the same anymore), and won Albania's biggest music show, Top Fest.^[9][10] After returning to Albania, the first song she sang was "Ya nabi salam alayka" of Maher Zain in the Medrese Haxhi Sheh Shamia of Shkodra. There she wore a headscarf.^[11][12]

2012–2014: The Voice of Italy

After seeking an international career and winning many music competitions in the Balkan region (she won all the contest she took part in), Elhaida decided to temporarily move to Rome, Italy to audition for the Italian version of The Voice. She appeared on the "Blind auditions" with Jessie J's "Mamma Knows Best" and received a huge feedback from the jury and the viewers.

She chose to join Riccardo Cocciante's team, and the world-renowned songwriter became her coach. She advanced to the battles and knockouts and reached the finals in May 2013.

She sang Lara Fabian's version of "Adagio" and "When Love Calls Your Name", the unreleased song that Riccardo Cocciante wrote for her with Roxanne Seeman, and won the show with over 70% of the public vote.^[13][14]

2014–present: Eurovision Song Contest 2015

In 2014, Dani revealed that she was going to participate at the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës, with the hope to represent Albania at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.^[15] Her song "Diell" (Sun) was among the 28 participating entries.^[16] The competition was held from 26 to 28 December in Tirana. She was the favourite to win the show.^[17][18] On 28 December 2014, Elhaida won the contest with a total of 82 points.^[19][20]

After Festivali i Këngës, Dani was forced to change her Eurovision song "Diell" to "I'm Alive", after the original song's composers decided to withdraw it from the contest. She then competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with this song. She qualified from the first semi final in tenth place.

At the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Elhaida Dani placed 17th, with a total of 34 points, similarly to previous Albanian entrants Olta Boka in Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and Kejsi Tola in Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Discography

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		ITA [21]
Elhaida Dani	Released: 2 July 2013 Label: Sony BMG Formats: CD, digital download	28[22]

Singles

List of singles, with chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Certifications	Album
		ALB	ICE	ITA [21]
"Fjala e Fundit"	2008	–	–	–		Non-album single(s)
"Si asnjëherë"	2010	–	–	–
"Mijëra vjet"	2011	–	–	–
"S'je më"	2012	–	–	–
"When Love Calls Your Name"	2013	–	–	–		Elhaida Dani
"Baciami e basta"		–	–	–
"In the Sky for a While"		–	–	–
"Diell"	2014	–	–	–		Non-album single(s)
"I'm Alive"	2015	1	46	–		I'm Alive
"Në Jetë"		–	–	–

Featured in

• 2015: "The Otherside" (Tamar Kaprelian featuring Elhaida Dani, Elina Born, Maria-Elena Kyriakou & Stephanie Topalian)^[23][24]

Awards

Festivali i Këngës

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2014	"Diell"	First Prize	Won

Top Fest

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2012	"S'je me"	First Prize	Won
		Best New Artist	Won

The Voice

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2012	Herself	First Prize/The competition winner	Won

Star Academy Albania

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2009	Herself	First Prize/The competition winner	Won

Sunčane Skale

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2011	"Si asnjehere"	First Prize for New Stars	Won

Bullgaria International Festival

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2012	Herself	First Prize	Won

Romania International Pop Festival

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2012	"Suus"	First Prize	Won

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Star Academy Albania	Herself	Season 5 (Winner)
2011	Portokalli	Herself,Musical Guest	Season 16
2012	Top Fest	Herself	Season 9 (Winner)
2013	Apartamenti 2XL	Herself, Special Guest	Season 2
2013	The Voice of Italy	Herself	Season 1 (Winner)
2014	Portokalli	Herself,Musical Guest	Season 21
2014	X Factor Albania	Herself, Musical Guest	Season 3-4
2014	Festivali i Këngës	Herself	Season 53 (Winner)
2015	Eurovision Song Contest 2015	Herself	Contestant
2015	Chance	Herself	Jury

References

1. "The Voice: Elhaida Dani vince la finale del talent show (FOTO,VIDEO)". HuffingtonPost Italy. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. "Elhaida Dani, vincitrice di The Voice of Italy".
3. Nuhiu, Rinor. "Albania: Elhaida Dani to represent Albania in Vienna". escXtra.com. escXtra. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
4. Besim, Ramadan (28 December 2014). "Albania: Elhaida Dani wins Festivali i Këngës 53 with 'Diell'". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
5. Niyazi, Dan. "Albania: Diell withdrawn – A new song will be chosen for Vienna". escXtra. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
6. Granger, Anthony (24 February 2015). "Albania: Elhaida To Sing "I'm Alive"". eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
7. "Suncane Skale 2011: Pobjednica ja Elhaida Dani iz Albanije". Radio GBG.
8. "Video: Suncane Skale, Elhaida Dani - Si asnjehere".
9. "Elhaida Dani fiton edicionin e nëntë të Top Fest". panorama.com.al. Panorama. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
10. "Elhaida Dani fituese e "Top Fest 9" (VIDEO)". Albeu.
11. Elhaida Dani - (Live) Cover of: Maher Zain - Ya Nabi Salam Alayka on YouTube
12. Silvi Halili (2014-05-03). "Elhaida Dani, në koncertin e saj të parë në Shqipëri". Shëkulli online (in Albanian). Retrieved 2015-01-14.
13. "Elhaida Dani, fituese në "The Voice of Italy"". Albinfo Switzerland. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
14. "Elhaida Dani shpallet fituese e 'The Voice of Italy'". Bota Sot. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
15. Besim, Ramadan (30 October 2014). "Albania: 28 Festivali i Këngës 53 contestants revealed". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
16. Wells, Simon. "Albania: Familiar faces face fresh foes at Festivali i Këngës". escXtra.com. escXtra. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
17. Besim, Ramadan (28 October 2014). "Editorial: Why Elhaida Dani should sing for Albania at Eurovision". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
18. "Elhaida Dani fituesja e publikut në festivalin e RTSH". Infomedia Albania.
19. Granger, Anthony (28 December 2014). "Albania: Elhaida Dani Is Off To Vienna". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
20. Ramadan Besim. "Albania: Elhaida Dani wins Festivali i Këngës 53 with "Diell"". Eurovision 2015 Predictions, Polls, Odds, Rankings - wiwibloggs. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
21. "Classifiche - Album - Classifica settimanale WK 50 (dal 08-12-2014 al 14-12-2014)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
22. "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Classifiche". Retrieved 29 December 2014.
23. Wiwibloggs: Tamar Kaprelian releases ESC collaboration "The Otherside"
24. iTunes: "The Otherside"