Top Fest was an Albanian music competition organised by Top Channel. It began airing in 2004 with its last edition being in 2015. The event was annually held in Tirana, Albania at Palace of Congresses. The songs were usually performed in Albanian with artists from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and other Albanian-speaking territories. From its 7th edition (2010), the participants performed their entries 100% live.
Format Since 2010, the show has been split into three phases. The first phase airs all accepted entries, performing their entries in playback. The second phase is the Semi-Finals, usually split in three shows, where the winners from phase one perform. The qualifiers from the semi-finals perform in the final, usually 10 to 13 acts. The winner is chosen in the Finale-night, usually held in late-May or early-June.
Presenters and directors The contest has been always held in the Congress Palace of Tirana and the personnel, has varied through the years. Since the first edition of the contes to 2009, the festival was directed by the Rock performer Bojken Lako, also known for his participation in other festivals. From 2010 to the final contest in 2015, the festival was directed by Ergys Lubonja.
The festival has been presented by many prominent personalities. The first presenters were Evis Mula, Arbana Osmani and Alban Dudushi. Since 2006, Ledion Liço presented or co-presented the contest until the last edition. YearPresentersVenueDirector2004Evis Mula, Arbana Osmani & Alban DudushiCongress Palace of TiranaBojken Lako2005Arbana Osmani, Alban Dudushi2006Arbana Osmani, Alban Dudushi, Ledion Liço & Xhemi Shehu2007Alban Dudushi, Arbana Osmani & Ledion Liço2008Ledion Liço & Arbana Osmani2009Ledion Liço & Arbana Osmani2010Ledion Liço & Arbana OsmaniErgys Lubonja2011Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca2012Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca2013Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca2014Ledion Liço, Marina Vjollca & Luana Vjollca2015Dojna Mema & Ledion Liço
Winners The contest has produced many artists, like Alban Skënderaj, Elhaida Dani, and many others, who were established and rose fame after their participation in Top Fest.
Year Origin Artist Song TranslationComposers 2004 Stine "Lady Lady" – Stine 2005 Alban Skënderaj "Vetëm ty" Only youAlban Skënderaj 2006 & Alban Skënderaj & Kthjellu "Diçka" Something 2007 Greta Koçi "Sa më lodhe" You annoyed meGenti Lako & Arben Dusha 2008 Besa Kokëdhima "Engjëjt vrasin njëlloj" Angels kill the sameOlti Curri 2009 Linda Halimi "Ëndërroj" I dreamFlori Mumajesi 2010 Eneda Tarifa "Me veten" With myself 2011 Elvana Gjata "Me ty" With you 2012 Elhaida Dani "S'je më" You're not anymoreKledi Bahiti 2013 Samanta Karavella "Loti i fundit" The last teardrop 2014 Soni Malaj "Me të jeton" It lives with him..Rozana Radi & Gent Myftaraj 2015 Ermal Fejzullahu, Lumi B & Ledri Vula "Shko" GoBig Bang, Lumi B & Ledri Vula
Trivia
The only performer who won Top Fest more than once, was Alban Skënderaj, with two victories in a row in 2005 accompanied by the Kosovan Kthejllu, and in 2006 as a solo artist. Flori Mumajesi is the most successful composer in the history of the contest, with three of his compositions winning the event in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Kledi Bahiti, is the second most successful composer, with two winning songs in a row, 2012 and 2013. From the technical point of view, Top fest in 2008 was the very first Albanian song festival to use LED screens in the stage of the Tirana Congress Palace.
Cancellation Although the contest was, at first very popular and generated many positive opinions from music experts, because the opportunity for new Albanian talented artists, the organisers of the event, for unspecified reasons, declared that the 12th edition of the festival would be the very last one. The reasons behind the discontinuation of the event remain unknown, however, the falling audiences of the last editions might have determined the end of the festival.
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