Elhaida Dani

Elhaida Dani
Dani at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Born	(1993-02-17) 17 February 1993 (age 31) Shkodër, Albania
Education	University of Arts, Tirana, Albania
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, composer, actress
Years active	2008–present
Musical career
Genres	Pop-rock[1]
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Labels	Folé Publishing

Elhaida Dani (Albanian: [ɛlˈhajda daˈni]; born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Dani performed in diverse singing competitions and started to play piano as a child. She rose to national recognition in the Albanian-speaking Balkans, after her victories at Star Academy Albania, Top Fest and Festivali i Këngës. In Italy, she is also prominent for being the winner of the first series of The Voice of Italy.^[2] Dani represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I'm Alive", after she won the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës.^[3] She participated in Kënga Magjike for the first time in 2017 with the song "E Ngrirë" whereas she finished second.^[4] She rose again great popularity in Italy as well as in France upon her international acting debut in the musical of Notre-Dame de Paris.^[5][6]

Life and career

1993–2012: Early life and career beginnings

Elhaida Dani was born on 17 February 1993 into an Albanian family in the city of Shkodër, Albania.^[7] She started singing at the age of four and subsequently took piano lesson.^[8] She later studied musicology at the University of Arts in Tirana.^[8] Dani started her initial forays into the music industry in 2009 as she won a multitude of music festivals, including Star Academy, Sunčane Skale, Festivalul George Grigoriu and Nova Musica.^[7][9][10] In December 2011, she attempted to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, following her unsuccessful participation at the 50th edition of Festivali i Këngës with the song "Mijëra vjet".^[9][11] In June 2012, she was chosen as the winner of the ninth edition of Top Fest with the song "S'je më".^[12]

2013–2015: The Voice of Italy and Eurovision

Dani performing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria.

In March 2013, Dani successfully auditioned for the first season of The Voice of Italy singing "Mamma Knows Best" for judges Piero Pelù, Raffaella Carrà, Riccardo Cocciante and Noemi and persuaded all four coaches to turn their chairs and chose to compete as one of the members of Team Cocciante.^[13] Dani received high scores in the time of her tenure on the show and ultimately won the competition in the final in May 2013 with over 70% of the votes.^[14][15] Later that year, she signed a record contract with the Italian subsidiary label of Universal Music.^[14][16]

In October 2014, the broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), announced Dani as one of the contestants selected to compete in the 53rd edition of Festivali i Këngës with the song "Diell".^[17] She emerged as the winner of Festivali i Këngës and was thus confirmed as Albania's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.^[18][19] After being selected, Dani announced that she had changed her song to "I'm Alive", due to the composer's withdrawal of "Diell".^[20] In the contest, Albania qualified for the grand final during the first semi-final and ultimately finished in the 17th place with a total of 34 points.^[21][22]

2016–present: Notre-Dame de Paris and continued success

Dani as Esmeralda on Notre Dame de Paris

In 2016, she has been called by Riccardo Cocciante and Luc Plamondon to play the role of Esmeralda in the world renown musical Notre Dame de Paris. And since 2016 she is touring worldwide. In December she competed in Kënga Magjike ending up in second place with 988 points. Returning after a three-year absence, Dani released her second extended play Zanin on 20 September 2021, which she created with Albanian songwriters and producers such as Alban Kondi, Elgit Doda, Endrit Mumajesi and Kledi Bahiti.^[23][24][25] Since October 2022, she has been competing on the 8th season of Dancing with the Stars Albania, getting the maximum jury points on several occasions during the live shows.^[26] December 2022 Elhaida Dani released a new single “Vetja”. The song is written by Kledi Bahiti.

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		ITA [27]
Elhaida Dani	Released: 1 January 2013[28] Label: Universal Music Formats: CD, digital download	28
Zanin	Released: 20 September 2021[29] Label: Independent Formats: Digital download and streaming	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Album or EP
"Fjala e fundit"	2008	Non-album singles
"Si asnjëhere"	2010
"Mijëra vjet"	2011
"S'je më"	2012
"Baciami e basta"	2013	Elhaida Dani
"When Love Calls Your Name"
"Diell"	2014	Non-album singles
"I'm Alive"	2015
"Më mbaj" (featuring Dj Olti)	2017
"E ngrirë"
"Let It Go (Lascerò)" (with Nathaniel)	2018

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		ALB [30]
"Zanin"	2021	1	Zanin
"Jam betu"		2
"Amore"		9
"Kënga jonë"		26
"Hajmali"		24
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

1. "Elhaida Dani–Credits". All Media Network. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
2. "The Voice: Elhaida Dani wins the final of the talent show (PHOTO, VIDEO)". huffingtonpost.it (in Italian). The Huffington Post Italy. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
3. "Elhaida Dani". eurovision.tv. eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
4. "Anxhela Peristeri fiton "Kënga Magjike 2017"". telegrafi.com (in Albanian). 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
5. "LES ALTERNANTS–Elhaida Dani". notredamedeparislespectacle.com (in French). Notre-Dame de Paris. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019.
6. "Elhaida Dani, Esmeralda shqiptare e "Notre-Dame de Paris"?". telegrafi.com (in Albanian). 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
7. "Elhaida Dani–Biografia" (in Albanian). TeksteShqip. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
8. "Elhaida Dani (Albania): 'I feel very alive with this song'". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
9. Sahiti, Gafurr (1 December 2011). "Albania: Elhaida Dani speaks to esctoday.com". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
10. "Elhaida Dani (Albania): 'I feel very alive with this song'". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
11. Brey, Marco (29 December 2011). "Rona Nishliu to represent Albania!". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
12. "Elhaida Dani fiton edicionin e nëntë të Top Fest". Panorama. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
13. Cecchini, Chiara (31 May 2013). "Elhaida Dani vince 'The Voice of Italy'" (in Italian). Today. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
14. Serini, Raffaela (31 May 2013). "The Voice, vince Elhaida Dani: 'Sogno di cantare con Beyoncé'" (in Italian). Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
15. "Elhaida prima a The voice of Italy: 'Ho vinto grazie agli amici di Formia'" (in Italian). Latina 24 Ore. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
16. Cascone, Sebastiano (30 May 2013). "The Voice of Italy: vince Elhaida Dani" (in Italian). Blogo. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
17. Wells, Simon (30 October 2014). "Familiar faces face fresh foes at Festivali i Këngës". ESCXtra. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
18. Besim, Ramadan (28 December 2014). "Albania: Elhaida Dani wins Festivali i Këngës 53 with 'Diell'". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
19. Nuhiu, Rinor (28 December 2014). "Albania: Elhaida Dani to represent Albania in Vienna". ESCXtra. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
20. Besim, Ramadan (24 February 2015). "Albania 2015: Elhaida Dani will sing 'I'm Alive' in Vienna". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
21. "Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
22. "Results of the Final–Albania". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
23. "'ZanIn', surpriza që e prisnim të gjithë; Elhaida Dani zbulon albumin e saj të ri, në një mbrëmje plot emocione" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
24. Vautrey, Jonathan (26 September 2021). "New music this week: 20 songs from Lordi, Il Volo, MELOVIN and more". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
25. Fowell, Ian (25 September 2021). "Elhaida Dani releases 'Zanin' Ep". Esccovers. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
26. "Elhaida Dani breaks the record on Dancing with the Stars". Liberale. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
27. "Discographie: Elhaida Dani (Albums)". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
28. "Elhaida Dani – EP by Elhaida Dani on Apple Music" (in Italian). Apple Music. 1 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
29. "Zanin – EP by Elhaida Dani on Apple Music". Apple Music. 20 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
30. For peak positions in Albania:
    • For "Zanin":"The Top List – 25/09/2021" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 25 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
    • For "Amore":"The Top List – 02/10/2021" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
    • For "Jam betu" and "Kënga jonë":"The Top List – 09/10/2021" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 9 October 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
    • For "Hajmali":"The Top List – 16/10/2021" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 16 October 2021. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

External links

• Elhaida Dani at AllMusic
• Elhaida Dani at IMDb
• Elhaida Dani discography at Discogs

Awards and achievements
Preceded by N/A	The Voice of Italy winner 2013	Succeeded by Suor Cristina Scuccia
Preceded by Hersi Matmuja with "One Night's Anger"	Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015	Succeeded by Eneda Tarifa with "Fairytale"