🇦🇱 Albania 2019 / “Ktheju Tokës” (English: Return to Your Land)

Photograph by Edvina Meta

Grand Final | 17th Place | 90 points

Semi Final 2 | 9th Place | 96 points | Qualified

Jonida Maliqi is a pop singer with a long history as both a solo artist, theater actress, and presenter in Albania, and with her first victory at Festivali I Këngës with “Ktheju Tokës” in December, she won the right to represent her country at Tel Aviv 2019. She’s a veteran at the long running Festivali I Këngës, participating several times since her debut in 1996 at thirteen years old to hosting the show in 2010. Beyond her musical career, Maliqi is one of Albania’s most popular celebrities and is a known fashion and trend influencer in the country.

“Ktheju Tokës“, in Maliqi’s own words, is a song about returning to your roots. The song was written in response to the current migration crisis in Europe and in personal response to Albanian emigration, and is primarily about not forgetting where you came from and your culture. Maliqi, who herself is a very patriotic person, implores that we not forget who we are or where we came from even if we find ourselves somewhere among others.

Maliqi has been involved with music since a very young age, studying violin and piano for several years and performing at numerous festivals and events in Albania. Her second entry in Festivali I Këngës in 1999, before Albania even began participating in Eurovision, reached second place and helped cement her national career.

Follow Jonida Maliqi on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Listen to more of her discography on Spotify.