Duje (song)

The 61st edition of Festivali i Këngës was organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in order to determine Albania's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.^[9] In early September 2022 it was reported that RTSH had decided to select the winner of the festival using a system containing a public vote.^[10] On 28 October 2022, the voting system of Festivali i Këngës was confirmed: the top three and two prizes would be, as usual, selected by the jury, but the winner of the festival would not receive an official invitation to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, as in the previous years. Instead, the Albanian Eurovision representative would be selected by a separate televoting system.^[11]

"Duje" competed in the first semi-final of that year's contest. As Albina was considered an Established artist, she would automatically move onto the final of the contest. Heading into the final, the song was a fan favorite to win the televoting, winning fan polls on Eurovision fansites Wiwibloggs^[12] and ESCUnited.^[13] In the final, "Duje" would come second in the jury voting, being beaten by Elsa Lila's song, "Evita" as the overall winner of Festivali i Këngës 61. However, "Duje" would come first overall in the televote, earning the Albanian spot for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.^[14]

According to Eurovision rules, all participating countries, with the exception of the host nation and the "Big Five", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.^[15]